Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey, Johto Arc
by SaoirseParisa
Summary: A young girl with autism is elated to be able to have her own Pokemon, and content with her life. But when her world is thrown in upheaval, she realizes it's time to step out into the world and face it head on. Can she survive with her friends by her side? Or will the world be too much for her to handle?
1. A Surprise Friend

Author's Note: Hello, everyone. I'm back in the Pokemon fandom, but this time with a very ambitious project. I've had this story in my head for years, but only just now got around to perfecting it. I wasn't planning on writing it, but an author I liked, who wrote _Journey of an Autistic Trainer_ ( _ **IT'S SO GOOD PLEASE GO READ IT!**_ ) went on hiatus to work on his novels. He is one of my dearest friends, and I aspire to be like him, so I'm writing this both for myself, for him, and for any and all autistic people out there. I want to write a story that tells people, "Hey! It's okay to be autistic! It's nothing bad, it's just a part of who you are, but it doesn't define you! And even though there are people out there who don't understand, it's okay to be you." I really hope I can do this right, as I myself am struggling to recover from some backlash from another fandom. I do hope you enjoy it, and if there's anything you feel I can improve upon, don't be afraid to bring it up or offer suggestions! I'm open to any con-crit as long as its civilized and rational in nature. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Game Freak, Nintendo, and other associated parties (also, fun fact: Satoshi Tajiri is autistic!).

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Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey

Chapter 1: A Surprise Friend

New Bark Town. An odd name for a town, yes, but a small town a few miles east of the bigger and prettier Cherrygrove City, it was considered a quaint, peaceful, quiet little community known for the fresh fir trees that would grow all throughout the year, which many would use for Christmas trees. It wasn't big like other cities by any stretch. Any stores it had were relatively small and didn't exactly have a variety of brand name goods. Mostly small places and family run businesses. In fact, most people referred to it as a town, not a city, as it didn't have skyscrapers or anything like that. It didn't even have its own school. Any kids who lived in New Bark Town either went to the school in Cherrygrove or the one in Violet City depending on how many students the former school could accommodate.

New Bark Town was small, and the residents liked it that way. While it did get caught up in the wave of industrialization that drowned most of the Johto region in the past decades, paved roads and modern technology and the like, the communities still managed to stay together and do what they always did. Even so, New Bark Town stood out as a town that seemed to be one with nature, boasting lush trees, gardens with flowers in abundance, reds, blues, whites, and purples dotting the fields, and grass grew tall and wild, unrestrained, making it stand as a monument to nature. It helped that many of the native pokemon there were relatively tame and easy to domesticate.

For those not in the know, Pokemon, also known as Pocket Monsters (No, they don't fit in your pocket if that's what you're thinking), are basically the animals of this world. Unlike regular animals, they are far more intelligent, more so than most humans give them credit for, capable of understanding human speech. They come in all shapes, sizes, and elements. Some can be as small as an eraser, while others are as big as giant cruise ships, maybe even bigger. There are many pokemon in this world, with over 700 confirmed species worldwide, with possibly more undiscovered species lurking around. Whether it be soaring the vast blue skies, digging deep in the earth's mantle and crust, frolicking in the grassy terrain, leaping in the thick jungles, and even in the endless cosmos of stars itself, space, pokemon are everywhere, and humans rely on them for many things. For some, pokemon are pets. Others pit them against other pokemon in non-lethal, completely safe battles as long as they obeyed battle regulations. There are people who make careers out of battling others and helping train pokemon. Tragically, there are also those who use them for crimes, ranging from petty crimes to horrific and downright unspeakable crimes. Basically, pokemon and humans alike dominated the world, and both species have coexisted for thousands of years.

In terms of raising pokemon, one couple was known almost all throughout their neighborhood for doing just that, and in great numbers. Neatly tucked away on a meadow was an average, middle class house painted yellow crowned with a white roof, with a six-foot wooden fence circling almost an entire acre of land in the back, housing many pokemon, some large, some small. Some reddish orange flower pots decorated the front porch, giving it a warm, welcoming atmosphere. A dark blue mailbox stood tall near the front door, with the word Parisa on the front written in white.

On a warm, sun-kissed morning in tiny New Bark Town, a young girl sat on her bed, a heavy book in hand, her dark brown bangs dangling over her forehead. Green eyes flickered across the pages as she read, _"The Beginner's Guide To Raising Pokemon"_ written across its cover. It was a book every trainer needed, explaining the qualities needed to tend and train to their pokemon friends.

Sitting on her white book shelf, a pikachu shaped clock read 8:20 AM.

"Bliss-ee!"

The girl's head snapped up, hair falling into her face as she started at the white and pink pokemon's unnoticed entry. Then a small grin touched her face.

"Hi, Blissey!" The girl moseyed over to Blissey and wrapped her arms around her, trapping her in a hug. Blissey simply closed its eyes and put its stubby arms on the girl. "You're so nice to hug!"

"Bliss-eey!"

The girl took her arms off of Blissey. "So what's up?"

"Blissey blissey!" The Blissey chirped in a sing-song voice.

"You're wishing me happy birthday?" The girl's eyes glimmered with joy as she translated the Pokemon's words, her hands clasping together. "Thank you!"

Blissey jabbered on some more. "Mom wants me downstairs? Sure. I'll be down in a jiffy!" The girl ran back to the bed, slipped a small bookmark in her book, closed it shut, and darted down the stairs, going right past Blissey. The big pink and white Pokemon simply smiled and followed her from behind at a slower pace. A calendar that she passed had a red circle around a particular date. June 25th, with the words " _Julia's 11th Birthday!"_ written in black pen ink right in the middle.

She had gotten herself dressed long before hand so she would be ready right from the get-go. Today she chose a favorite choice of raiment: a periwinkle, short sleeved hoodie with a pocket in the middle covering a sleeveless white top, a pair of light rosy pink shorts, white ankle socks with pink stars on them, and blue sneakers. Already, her nostrils could whiff the sweet, buttery smell of fresh toast right out of the toaster.

She ran right by a large, chubby man with dark brown hair sitting at the dining room table, reading the newspaper with one hand, and holding a mug of black coffee with the other. "Hi Dad!" Julia exclaimed cheerfully.

The bespectacled man looked up at his daughter with his deep blue eyes, soft like a clear lake on a summer day. "Morning sweetie. Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Dad!" Julia grabbed a banana, peeled its skin off, and scarfed down the insides without a second thought. An older woman with frizzy light brown hair stretching down to her back and pale green eyes greeted Julia with a smile. "Hello, Julia. Happy birthday," She handed her daughter the toast, and Julia ran to the dining room table with it. "You're pretty bouncy and chipper today."

"Why wouldn't I be?!" Julia chirruped before taking a bite of her toast. "I get my own Pokemon today! Isn't this awesome, Mom?! Now I get to have a very special forever friend of my very own!" She talked so loud she didn't notice a girl in the living room, sprawled out on the couch scrolling through her phone. Said girl facepalmed and let out an irritated groan.

"Kassia. Are you seeing this?" Julia's father asked. Kassia came over and peered down at the newspaper. "There's more and more cases of Pokemon being taken from their trainers and being sold on the black market. Isn't this just terrible?"

Kassia's eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth formed a frown. "It is. Don't these people have better things to do in their lives than hurt, steal, and sell Pokemon?" She fixed her gaze on Julia. "Have you decided which Pokemon you're going to get at Professor Elm's lab?"

"Of course!" Julia rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a photo of a small, pale yellow Pokemon with shiny red eyes and a big green leaf on its head. "Chikorita! It's the cutest of the bunch!"

Her mother's smile returned. "I see! Chikorita was my first Pokemon when I was starting out. I guess I can't say I'm surprised," Kassia said with a chuckle.

By this time, Julia had finished her breakfast. "I'm gonna go in the ranch so I can tell everyone about it!" Without stopping to put her plate away, Julia burst through the back door without a second thought.

Right in her backyard was a huge, green meadow that stretched out for miles, all encased by a wired fence meant to keep pokemon from escaping. The meadow was overrun with all kinds of Pokemon. Some of the bigger ones were a large yellow fox with nine fluffy tails, a green dinosaur with a big pink flower around its neck, a large yellow sheep-like creature with black stripes and no fur, a bug covered in shiny red armor, a big brown bear with a yellow ring on its abdomen, etc. To the normal child, seeing all these big Pokemon would be somewhat scary. But to Julia, it was as commonplace as waking up every day.

"Morning everyooooone! Guess whaaaat?!" Julia yelled loud enough for all to hear. The Pokemon all turned their heads to face her, wondering what the hubbub was all about. "I'm gonna get my first Pokemon todaaaaaay! Isn't that awesoooooome?!"

It was here that the big green dinosaur approached her, tilting its head to one side. "Manyuu?"

"Hi there, Meganium!"

"Mega mega!"

"Guess what? I'm gonna get a Chikorita at Professor Elm's lab today!" Julia talked to her mother's Meganium like they had been friends for years. Then again, they had been. "It's gonna be so great! I'm gonna have a friend of my very own to play with forever and ever! I've always wanted my own Pokemon, and Chikorita's my favorite out of all the starters, and we can be best friends! Don't you think that's great?"

The joy in her voice was unmistakable. All Meganium did was smile and nod like it understood everything she said. "Mega mega."

"If it's a boy, I'll name him Florian. If it's a girl, I'll name her either Megan, Chloris, or Midori! How's that?" Julia asked curiously.

Meganium didn't say a word. It did let out an odd snorty sound. Julia simply smiled sweetly, like she always did when meeting the Pokemon. She flapped her hands up and down while jumping up and down, squealing like a little kid. "This is soooooo awesome! I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait I can't waaaait!"

The big bear Pokemon wasn't bothered by her squealing, letting out a big yawn before drifting back to sleep. The yellow fox Pokemon simply smiled and walked to another part of the meadow. The sheep Pokemon simply nudged Julia's face and cooed as it nuzzled her. Julia couldn't help but laugh sweetly.

"Hi, Ampharos!" Julia chirruped, stroking Ampharos's cheeks gently. "I know, right? I'm gonna get a new friend! Isn't this great?"

 _CRASH!_ All the joy was suddenly knocked out of her system by the thundering sound of crashing glass. It made Julia jump at least an inch off the ground, and her eyes got so wide they looked like saucers. All the other Pokemon held their heads up in surprise. The sound of crashing glass wasn't anything anyone heard every day.

"Get out of my face, you freakin' piece of sentient trash!" A shrill, hysterical voice screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Vapooor!"

"Oh no!" Julia wasted no time running back into the house. A blue four legged creature was running all over the house with a look of fear on its face. An older girl of about thirteen with light brown hair tied in a ponytail held a spatula in her hand, chasing it all over, ice blue eyes blazing with rage.

Julia ran into the dining room and saw that one of her mother's flower vases had fallen onto the floor, reduced to nothing but large shards. A sentret was quietly poking the glass shard gently, taking care not to cut itself on a sharp edge. Some withered flowers scattered on the floor, and a sunflora picked them up, putting them in the trash can in the kitchen diligently. Next to the sentret was a tennis ball. Julia deduced that might have been what broke the vase.

"Amara, no!" Kassia cried. "Leave Vaporeon alone!" Finally, she managed to grab the girl by both arms and restrain her, much to Amara's infuriation. Amara kicked her legs up and down and screeched. Vaporeon ran into Julia's arms like a lost child looking for its mother and buried himself in her warm, loving arms.

"It stepped on my I-pod!" Amara screamed, her eyes red with fury. "I paid a thousand bucks for that thing!"

"Vaporeon vaporeon!" Vaporeon cried.

"Vaporeon says it was an accident. It didn't mean to step on your Ipod," Julia told her.

"I can't listen to my durn music anymore and it's all your fault, you idiot!" Amara screamed. Julia's hands flew to her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Amara's yelling pounded on her ears, and despite her hands shielding them, the yelling wasn't muffled enough. The sentret and the sunflora stopped to nervously observe the chaotic scene playing out before them.

"Amara! Stop this right now!" Kassia scolded. "You wonder why your trainer's license got confiscated! This needs to stop!"

Amara pried herself out of Kassia's grasp and slammed her fist on the dining room table. Julia was quick to take vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora out of the room. "Oh, so it's my fault my I-pod got destroyed?! My God, I swear you care way more about that spoiled brat and these stupid beasts than you do me! You wonder why I freakin' hate you so much!"

"I'm not blaming you for anything! You need to learn to take responsibility for your actions, and you can't treat pokemon like they're your punching bags!" Kassia argued, running her hands through her hair. When was this going to end?

"Why does Julia get a Pokemon?! What makes her so freakin' special?! Why do you care so much about everyone else but me?!"

Julia, vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora all gathered in her bedroom, huddled together. Sunflora had her leafy arms right on Julia's ears, protecting them from the booming sounds of Amara's yelling. "Thanks, Sunflora. You're the best," Julia told her gratefully. "Sunflora!" The sentient flower chirruped with a forced smile.

The sounds of Kassia and Amara arguing had become a common occurrence in the Parisa household. There was never a day when her mother and sister weren't arguing over something stupid, and it was mostly Amara starting all the arguments, usually by making a big deal out of something small. She always had a short fuse. She certainly wasn't like this when she was young. In fact, Amara used to be nice and kind. But all of a sudden, she became moody, rebellious, argumentative, and even cruel. Not just toward people, but Pokemon.

Her sudden change in personality happened after she got her first Pokemon two years ago. It was a totodile. Julia liked that blue alligator pokemon and it's happy, peppy, and energetic personality, and playing tag with it had been a regular occurrence for about a year. One day, out of the blue, Kassia had gone out with her meganium to water some flowers...only to witness a horrible sight: Amara had been beating her totodile with a rock! Luckily, it wasn't badly hurt, and Kassia's meganium was able to stop the beating before it could turn deadly. By law, Kassia had to take Amara to the police. That was when Kassia learned the awful truth: this wasn't the first time it happened. Other witnesses had come forward, saying that they saw Amara kicking and punching innocent pokemon for no real reason, treating them like her personal punching bags.

After going through court sessions and witness accounts, it was decided that Amara be stripped of her trainer's license and put on the Trainer Blacklist indefinitely. That was a court sponsored document that had names of any ex-trainers who harmed or mistreated pokemon in any fashion, all of whom had their trainer licenses confiscated or exterminated. Amara didn't get thrown in jail thanks to Kassia paying a fine, but she would no longer be allowed to own any of her own pokemon, and her totodile was taken from her, given to another trainer.

The only way she could get off the blacklist was to rectify her behavior, go to counseling or therapy, and promise to treat pokemon better. Amara didn't do any of these things, nor did she have any intention of doing so, and considering how sour her attitude had become, it didn't seem like she would be doing anything anytime soon. She did go to therapy, as the court mandated, but she heard her parents say that Amara was giving the counselors and therapists grief and not cooperating. It certainly didn't help that she refused to explain why she treats Pokemon the way she does, and to this day she still hasn't spilled her guts to anyone, not even the therapists.

Julia let out a sigh. "I hate it when she gets like this…"

The blue mammal let out an apologetic sob, its long ears pointing downward. Julia forced a smile and stroke his head gently. "It's okay, Vaporeon. I know you didn't mean it. I don't know why Amara's like this…"

"Sentret sentret!"

"I hear you. I kinda figured she'd flip out on my birthday too, so I'm not surprised."

 _SLAM!_ The sound of a door slamming shut made Julia's hands fly to her ears once more. This time, it was only for a brief moment. She pitied her poor parents for having to deal with Amara. In her heart, she wished there was something she could do to make their lives easier. But wasn't it about time she get her Pokemon? She remembered that her mother promised she would take her to Professor Elm's lab.

Quietly, she went out of her room and walked into the living room, noticing her mother sitting on the couch hunched over, with her hands running through her scraggly hair. Kassia let out a loud, irritated groan that told Julia that she was in no mood for talking with anyone. She knew that from experience. Julia took a step backward, looking away as she turned around and left her mother in there. Oh well. Maybe her dad could help.

As she expected, Julia found her father in his room, folding shirts and pants on his bed diligently. To think her mother would sometimes complain about how he wouldn't help out around the house sometimes. "Hey, Dad?"

Her father turned around to find his youngest daughter behind him. "Oh! Hey there, Jules! Sorry about that fiasco just now," He said as he put down a folded shirt. "How come Kassia hasn't taken you to Elm's yet?"

"She's in a bad mood," Julia answered, tapping a foot on the floor twice.

Her father rubbed his head with a big hand. "I'm not surprised. If you want, I can-" Before he could fulfill Julia's request, his big black cell phone let out a ringtone that sounded very much like a race car going at high speed. Since it was at a high volume, Julia's hands flew to her ears once more. He was quick to answer it. "Hello?"

" _Hey, Truman!"_ The scratchy voice on the other end was so loud, Julia was able to hear it. It was here that sentret and vaporeon peeked into the bedroom.

"Hey, Lawrence!" Truman replied. "Yes. Yes. What?!" Truman yelped, his glasses falling down his nose. "Right now?! Why didn't you tell me this last week?! I would have delivered it to you right then and there!"

" _Sorry. It slipped my mind."_

Truman let out a sigh. The sentret and vaporeon gave each other confused looks. "Alright. I'll be there in a jiffy. Bye," With that, he hit the end button and stashed his phone in his pocket. "Sorry, Jules. That was Lawrence. I have to go and deliver some papers to him right now."

"What?!" Julia couldn't believe it. "Right now? But his house is twenty minutes away from here, and what if my Chikorita gets taken by another trainer?!"

Truman put a hand on his daughter's shoulder, looking her in the eye with a sympathetic expression. It pained him to see his daughter disappointed, especially on her birthday, no less. He wished that Lawrence requested them last week so he wouldn't have to do this on her special day.

"It'll be alright, sweetie. Elm's a good guy. We told him about this in advance, so I'm sure he has one just for you. I'll try to come back as quickly as I can, and I'll pick you up so we can go to Elm's lab to pick it up together. Promise?"

Despite his reassurance, Julia could feel doubt gnawing at her heart like an arbok swallowing its prey whole. She was always one to be punctual, to get to any place she wanted to at a certain time, on time, so everything could go smoothly. She hated it when things like this happened, even though she understood that sometimes things like this were inevitable. Besides, if she couldn't get a Chikorita today, she could always get one tomorrow, or even a week after. "Sure."

"That's good. I'll be back soon!" With that, Truman grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. Julia could hear the motor in his black Mercedes roar as he turned on the ignition, and watched as he drove away.

When the car left, Julia went downstairs to find Kassia in the den, lying on the couch, watching yet another show about soon-to-be brides trying on fancy white wedding dresses. She went into the living room and plopped on the couch. "Just great! This just haaaad to happen on my birthday, didn't it?!" She hated complaining, and knew it wouldn't do any good, but she needed to let her feelings out somehow.

She had been looking forward to this day for six months straight. She had planned everything. The time to get there, the pokemon she would pick, the name she'd give it, she even bought two accessories for it with her own money. One was a pink and white ribbon with a darker pink fake jewel on it in case the pokemon was a girl, and the other was a silver and blue ankle bracelet in case it was a boy. Amara just had to ruin it with her yelling. Now some trainer would probably get her chikorita before she could.

Come to think of it, Professor Elm's lab was just a five minute walk from here. If that was the case...then what was stopping her from going there by herself? She and her family had passed the lab a million times throughout her life, so she knew where it was. If she could try going there by herself, she could go get her chikorita on time, that way Kassia and Truman wouldn't have to.

It would be that easy. Julia hopped off of the couch right as some pokemon approached her. "Mom's always telling me I need to do more things by myself, so it'll be perfect!" She darted into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, wrote something down, and slapped it on the kitchen counter. She grabbed her pink house key and quietly closed the door behind her.

She didn't get one step past the porch because some pokemon squeaked, catching her attention. One was a yellow and white shrew pokemon, sandshrew. The other was a blue plant with big green leaves on it, an oddish. Another was a purple and white rat, a rattata. Another was a sentient piece of pink and white coral, a corsola.

"Rattata!"

"Sand! Shrew!"

"Odd odd oddish!"

"Corsola!"

"Hey guys!" Julia kneeled down to their level and put a finger in front of her mouth. "I'm going to Professor Elm's lab to get my friend. I'll be back in a few minutes. Okay?" The pokemon nodded in unison. With that, she stood back up and walked away. "Here goes nothing!"

Some other pokemon, such as a bellossom, a miltank, and a big blastoise watched as she quietly and contentedly walked away from the Parisa house. "Bella bella!" The bellossom chirped with a bright smile, waving its stubby hand right at her. Julia waved right back before turning left at the sign.

The sound of a soft, gentle breeze echoed in her ears, rustling the green leaves on the big trees, making them sound as though they were whispering. Was this the passing of a god? She couldn't help but breathe in willfully as she walked, enjoying the tranquility that lay in the air. Her mind cleared, but one thing didn't change: she was going to get her pokemon today. A large building came into view, with a big sign in front of it reading _Professor Elm Lab_. This was it!

"Yay! I'm here!" She found herself running toward the building, right as a young girl with flowing orange hair came out the doors with a pokeball in her hand. "Whoa!" Luckily, she saw her in the nick of time and stopped right before she could potentially knock her over. "Whoops! Sorry about that!"

The orange haired girl chuckled. "It's okay. Are you here for a pokemon, too?" She asked in a clear, pretty voice.

Julia's cheeks burned. "Uh...Y-Y-Y-Yeah!"

"You have a good one."

"Y-Y-Y-You too!" With that, the girl walked away, and Julia let out a relieved sigh. "Glad that didn't last long."

Now that the coast was clear, she approached the automatic doors, which opened as she was only a foot away from them. She walked inside without a word, glancing at the clean walls, the odd machines that beeped and flashed multicolored lights, the desk that had three red and white pokeballs on them.

"Excuse me!" She called out. No response. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Finally, she saw a man looking deep into a microscope. He was a plain, lanky man dressed in a clean white lab coat, his dark eyes obscured by his thick glasses, and the tuft of brown hair on his head didn't exactly make him handsome. Julia recognized him right away. "Professor Elm!"

"Yes?" He replied insouciantly, not taking his eyes off of his microscope for a second.

"H-He-Hello! I-I'm Julia Parisa. I live down the road a bend?"

"Yes."

Julia couldn't help but be a little confused. Sure, it was nice that he was absorbed in his research, but she couldn't help but be a little annoyed at his lack of attention. The least he could do was say hi. "Umm...I'm here to pick up my pokemon."

"Which one?"

"A chikorita? My dad told you about it. Y'know, Truman Parisa? You guys talked and said I could get one today?"

"Sorry. The last one was taken just now. There are no more pokemon left."

"WHAT?!" She screamed so loud, it was enough to make Professor Elm finally take his eyes off of his microscope. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her at first. But her ears were hypersensitive, and there was no way she could mistake it for anything else. Her chikorita was taken? The pokemon she planned on getting? Gone? Just like that? Perhaps that girl from earlier took it. But it couldn't be true! She had planned for this for weeks. "Didn't you have one on reserve or something?!"

Professor Elm stammered, holding his hands up like he was being arrested. "Sorry! By law we can't put pokemon on reserve. Any trainer that comes in is allowed the option of choosing their pokemon right on the spot. There are no special reservations period," He explained ruefully.

Julia looked down at her feet with a disappointed look. "Oh. I see. So...are you going to get another one soon?" She looked up, noting the single tuft of hair on his head. She couldn't help but think it looked like misplaced pokemon hair, like from an ursaring.

"Hmm…" Professor Elm put a hand on his chin before losing himself in his thoughts for a brief moment. "I do have more pokemon on the way," He began. There was absolutely no confidence in his voice. "But the shipment won't arrive until at least another week or so. Airlines have increased their security because of Team Rocket's schemes, and security teams are investigating any and all packages to make sure there's no bombs or anything like that."

If words could be knives that could stab people in the heart until they bled, Professor Elm's answer pierced Julia's heart, splitting it in two. "A week?! Seriously?!" Her mind was running in circles. A whole week? Just to get a pokemon? She didn't think she could wait that long. Was getting a pokemon really that hard? She let out a rueful sigh. Yet another birthday disappointment. "Oh well. Thanks anyway."

"Sorry, dear."

Without another word, Julia walked out the door. "Tell your parents I said hi!" He exclaimed. Julia didn't look at him, nor did she say goodbye. Now, the pretty trees and flowers didn't delight her. Once she was on the path, she stopped and let out a wail.

"Awwwwww! I can't believe this!" Julia wailed, falling to her knees. "I should have gotten here earlieeeeeer!" She cried loud enough to make some hoothoot fly out of their trees. She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about the disappointment. Her birthday wasn't supposed to turn out this way. She wished she had left earlier. Better yet, she should have planned this out better. But she knew in a way this was inevitable, and he did say more pokemon would arrive in a week, so it wasn't all bad.

She stood back up and stretched her arms out. "This stinks, but I might as well wait. Complaining isn't gonna do any good," She told herself. "Better deal with it."

Sometimes things like this could be a blessing in disguise. God works in mysterious ways.

Julia had passed by a small rose bush when she heard it rustling rather loudly. She stopped in her tracks, freezing in place. Was it a wild pokemon? Her parents drilled it into her head that if a wild pokemon hopped out of tall grass that she run. Feral pokemon were sometimes dangerous, especially if she didn't have a pokemon of her own to hold it off. What if it was a big and dangerous pokemon? Fear overtook her, and her feet were glued to the dirt path beneath her sneakers.

She shut her eyes, fearing the worst.

"Chu!" A tiny squeak prompted her to open one eye.

Much to her surprise, it was a small pokemon. A dark yellow mouse creature with big ears shaped like diamonds with black tips. It had a black tail shaped like an L, cherry red cheeks, a pointed black neck ruffle around its neck, and small feet and arms.

"It's a pichu!" She exclaimed. The pichu was lying on its stomach, breathing heavily like it had run a marathon.

Upon closer inspection, something was odd. She had read plenty of books to know that pichu normally had light yellow fur, not dark yellow. But that wasn't the big problem. Its face was purple and pale, and sweat beaded from its face. Its tiny feet were covered in dirt and scratches, and there were fresh scratches on its body, with fresh blood trickling right out.

"Oh my goodness!" The fear morphed into concern as she kneeled down to pick up the tiny pokemon. "You poor thing! Are you okay?" She cradled the tiny pokemon in her arms like a mother holding a baby. Its body was hot to the touch, like fire. The pichu kept taking in huge breaths of air, but it's breathing was hoarse. But something about its breath was odd.

It smelled sweet, like honey.

"Poison!" Julia mused to herself. She had read a book about poison type pokemon and how their poison attacks could severely hurt pokemon, or even kill humans. It said something about a poisoned victim's breathing could smell sweet like fresh honey.

There was no denying it. She needed to get help right away. Her mother could help. She worked at a Pokemon Center. "Don't worry, little pichu! My mom can help you! Everything will be a-okay!"

Before she could rush to her house, a loud buzzing sound stopped her in her tracks. Once again, fear froze her in place. This time, it really was a dangerous pokemon. A group of large, pale yellow bees with large white wings, big white stingers, and glowing red eyes flew out of the bushes, ready to attack.

' _OH NO! Beedrill!'_ Julia screamed in her head. With a scream, she made a beeline for the road home. The seven or eight beedrill were in hot pursuit.

Clutching the sick pichu tightly in her arms, Julia tried forcing her legs to carry her back home. She was never one for running, but she knew she had to, for this pichu's sake. With every step she took, fear turned into adrenaline, shooting right through her body. With every breath she took, the beedrill continued to fly after her, their stingers ready for piercing.

' _Please don't let them hurt me please don't let them hurt me please don't let them hurt me please don't-'_ Julia kept reciting this mantra in her head over and over. The beedrill's buzzing became louder and louder with every step. The pichu in her arms clutched her shirt for dear life. All of a sudden, Julia's sneaker ran into a big rock, and with a yelp, she fell right down on the dirt.

Some gravel underneath the path skinned her knee, and her elbows ran right into some rocks. She struggled to get back up, but her legs felt heavy, like someone had duct taped cinder blocks on them. Julia turned around, her eyes widening with fear at the sight of even more beedrill behind her. Their glowing red eyes and their large stingers could strike fear into anyone. Her mouth fell open, and her whole body trembled. Even her hands shook. The pichu in her arms could feel her hands shaking.

Was this it? Was this how her life was going to end?

"Pichu!" Suddenly, the pichu hopped out of her arms despite wobbling. "Piii…" It flung its tiny hands in the air as sparks of yellow electricity flashed around its tiny cheeks. "CHUUUU!" A big bolt of thunder shot at the beedrill. They all managed to evade the attacks save for one beedrill, who came out of the attack roasted like roast beef.

That was enough for the pichu to completely collapse. "Pichu!" Julia caught it before it could fall down. "You tried to save me, didn't you?" This Pichu was so brave. Despite being sick with poison, it still managed to find the strength to try and save a complete stranger.

Why couldn't she be that brave?

She knew there was no way they could fight them off. Despite Julia's efforts to stand back up, two beedrill used their stingers to stab her in the back. "PICHU!" The pichu cried. They didn't stab so hard that they went through the girl, nor were they dripping with poison, but it still hurt enough to make Julia fall to the ground again.

Julia squeezed her eyes shut, held the pichu close, and let out a scream.

Someone...help…

"VAPOOOOR!" A blast of water shot at the beedrill that tried to attack her, sending it flying. Julia opened her eyes to find…

"Mom!"

Kassia stood in a battle stance, with her vaporeon by her side. "Vaporeon! Use Aurora Beam!"

"Vay!" A surge of rainbow hued light swirled around vaporeon's mouth before shooting right at the beedrill. The beam of light managed to hit three of them, encasing them in big blocks of ice. Julia took this chance to run to her mother's side.

Knowing this battle was hopeless, the beedrill conceded defeat and flew away, retreating. Julia let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh my God! I thought I was done for!"

"Julia!"

"Mom!"

Kassia threw her arms around her daughter. "Thank goodness I made it in time! You're safe!" Kassia cried, burying her face in her daughter's shoulder for a brief moment. She then pulled it out and gave Julia a stern look. "What were you thinking?! You actually went to Elm's lab all by yourself?!"

"That's not important right now! Look!" Julia showed her mother the sick pichu. "The poor thing's sick with poison! I thought maybe you could try and help it."

"My word!" Kassia took the pichu from her daughter's arms. The pichu's body was so hot it was almost burning, like a heater on full blast. "Come on. We're taking it to Elm's lab." Immediately she marched in the direction of the lab.

"Huh?" Julia tilted her head to one side in confusion, but followed from behind. "But his lab isn't a Pokemon Center."

"I know, but he has a healing machine we can use," Kassia explained. "It works just like the ones that Pokemon Centers use."

It didn't take long for them to get to Professor Elm's lab. As soon as Kassia told him everything that happened, he took the pichu and put it in the machine without question or hesitation. Since the pichu was a wild one and didn't belong to any trainer, it was placed in another room where it was put inside a glass container. The pichu slept contentedly and it glowed in a soft blue light. Julia watched from the window as the pichu slept inside the container.

Already, her heart went out to the yellow mouse pokemon. Even though it was very severely injured and poisoned by those beedrill, as she assumed, it still tried to save her. The odds were completely against it, yet it took the chance. Julia couldn't believe that a tiny pichu could be so brave, so courageous, so willing to help a total stranger. She could see the scratches on its body gradually disappearing, and it's face relaxed, so it no longer looked twisted or contorted.

"It's a good thing you took it here," Professor Elm suddenly said from behind her.

"Is...is the pichu gonna be okay?" Julia asked shyly.

Professor Elm gave a firm nod. "Everything's going smoothly, so the pichu should be released in about fifteen minutes tops."

A smile creeped onto Julia's face, stretched toward her cheeks. "Thank goodness!" The minute he said that, it felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of her heart. The pichu is going to be okay! "Yes!" Julia jumped up once and twirled around like a top joyfully. She had saved the pichu.

Kassia suddenly approached her. "Julia. Why did you go to Professor Elm's lab alone? Why didn't you ask me to take you?"

Julia looked down at her feet, averting her mother's gaze. "You were in a bad mood. I didn't want to make you angrier than you already were, and...I got a little impatient. Sorry."

So that was it. Her daughter just wanted to be considerate and do something herself. Kassia had always been nagging her daughter about doing more things by herself. Perhaps this was good for her. It was definitely good for that pichu. Kassia's lips curled up and she put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. Did you get your chikorita?"

"No. Professor Elm said there are none left," She replied.

"I'm going to talk with the professor for a while. You wait here, okay?"

"Yes, Mom."

Normally when she was asked to wait, Julia would get bored if she didn't have a book or games with her. Instead, when Kassia and Professor Elm went into another room, all she did was watch the pichu from the window. The scratches on its body had disappeared completely. The color had returned to its face.

Speaking of color, the pichu's darker coloring was still a strong thought in her mind. Many books she read about pokemon showed pichu being a pale yellow color. No pichu she saw had ever had dark yellow fur. Was this a new species of pichu yet to be discovered? Or just a different coloring that had recently appeared? Julia wasn't sure, and she figured Professor Elm may not have much answers on it either.

A warm feeling enveloped her heart, morphing into love as soon as the machine beeped. A woman took the pichu out of the glass container, but the pichu suddenly darted out the door. It hopped right in front of Julia, its eyes shining, flashing a bright smile that could light up an entire room.

"Pichu pichu!" The little pichu leaped into Julia's arms and nuzzled her shirt happily. "Pichu pichu pichu!"

"Whoa! Hi!" Julia exclaimed. The pichu had jumped on her so hard that she almost fell over, had she not maintained her balance. But she had to admit, the pichu's fur felt nice and soft, and it wasn't hot to the touch like before. "I'm...glad you're okay."

"Pichu!"

"Huh? Am I okay? Sure I am!"

"Pichu chuuu!"

"You're welcome," With that, the pichu chirruped as it crawled up to Julia's face and rubbed itself against it. Julia let out a merry giggle as the pichu cuddled with her. "You're so cute!" Something in her just clicked. This pichu was quite the adorable little pokemon. It didn't want to stop nuzzling her, and Julia didn't mind at all. She sat down on a chair and let the pichu shower her with cuddles.

Perhaps...she wouldn't have to wait a week for her own pokemon after all.

Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room. "Oh! Looks like the pichu's all better now!" Professor Elm exclaimed, noting not just the pichu and its dark fur, but the fact that it was sitting in Julia's arms with a content expression on its face.

"Pichu!" The little pichu squeaked.

"Aww. It's adorable," Kassia crooned, stroking the pokemon's ear with her finger.

"Mom? Professor Elm?"

"Yes?"

"I…" Julia had to get it out. And she did. "I want this pichu!"

"What?!" Both Kassia's and Professor Elm's eyes increased in size, like they heard Julia say she wanted to play with a gyarados. They couldn't prevent the ungraceful dropping of their jaws. For a moment they were sure Julia had said something else. However, in the back of their minds, they knew that when Julia said she wanted something, she meant it.

Julia held the pichu close to her. "You heard me. I want this pichu to be my friend."

"Are you sure about this?" Professor Elm asked, rubbing his head with one hand with a doubtful expression on his bespectacled face. "That pichu's a wild pokemon, and I was planning on studying the difference in it's fur color later on."

"I am sure, Professor."

"Pichu pichu pichu pichu!"

"What's it saying?" Kassia asked.

"She's saying, _'Don't worry! I don't bite! I want to be her friend! She saved me!'_ " Julia translated before looking her mother right in the eye. "Mom! I promise I'll take super duper good care of her! She likes me too much already! I'll do the dishes! Clean my room every day! Do the laundry! Anything!" Julia begged. She hated the subtle whine in her voice, but she couldn't help it. "Pleeeeease, Mom?"

Professor Elm and Kassia looked at each other before whispering amongst themselves. Julia hugged the pichu, holding her close. Would her mother say no? Would Professor Elm give her permission? She could see the serious looks on their faces as they whispered in low voices. As much as she liked chikorita, she loved pichu even more, especially this one. Julia closed her eyes, awaiting yet another birthday disappointment. There was no doubt about it. They'd say no.

"Alright, Julia. You can keep Pichu."

Wait...what? Julia opened her eyes. Were her ears playing tricks on her? "What? Did you...just say yes?!"

Professor Elm nodded. "We'll let you keep the pichu. Here," He handed her a red and white pokeball, an item used to capture a pokemon. "If you catch it with this, it'll be yours for life unless you choose to release it."

Julia couldn't believe it. She got to keep the pichu. The joy inside her heart bubbled over before bursting out in the form of a loud cheer. "Yaaaay! Julia held pichu in the air and spun around, squealing and rejoicing like she had won the lottery. "Thank you thank you thank yoooouuuu!" She leaped onto Professor Elm and gave him a big hug, right as pichu hopped on her head.

"You're welcome…"

The little girl let go and looked up at her furry friend. "Isn't this great?! We're officially friends now!"

"Pichuuu!" The pichu chirruped. She seemed to like the idea of being her pokemon. Julia held the ball up so the pichu could touch it. The pichu tapped the button with its paw before turning into red light. The ball opened up, and the red light went inside. The pokeball shook for a brief moment, with the button flashing a blinking red light. Soon, the red light disappeared. "Come on out, pichu!" Julia re-opened the ball, and pichu came right back out.

"Pichu!"

"Julia?" Professor Elm brought her back to reality.

"Hm?"

"I have more gifts for you," Professor Elm held out a silver tray, which contained a small red machine, five small PokeBalls, and a small card with a photo of herself on it, along with other information. "These are your PokeDex, PokeBalls, and your trainer ID. These are essential items that a trainer needs in order to pursue their dreams," Julia took everything from the tray and examined them carefully. She stashed the PokeBalls and the trainer ID in her pocket.

"Thanks! These are great! I'm a real trainer now!" Julia cheered. Just then, it hit her. Pichu are electric type pokemon. She remembered a story she read once, about a pokemon who, with its electric powers, made light reappear in a dark land, bringing everyone happiness.

Light…

"...Hikaru."

"Chuu?"

Julia kneeled down and scooped the pichu in her arms. "Would it be okay if I named you Hikaru?" She asked politely, meeting the pichu's eyes without hesitation. Funnily enough, the pichu didn't even hesitate and let out a cute, joyful squeak, along with shaking its head in agreement.

"Pichuuuuu!"

"Alright! From this day forth, you're Hikaru Parisa!" Julia held Hikaru close and nuzzled her fur. Hikaru let out some merry giggles, basking in Julia's love and affection.

"Thank you so much, Professor Elm. We really appreciate this," Kassia told him.

"It's no problem," The lanky professor replied sheepishly.

"Hey, Hikaru! I wanna show you my house! I'll race you there!"

"Pichu!"

Julia and Hikaru darted out of the lab quicker than Kassia could stop her. "Julia! Wait!" Kassia called out, but her daughter was already far ahead of her, with Hikaru happily tagging behind. Regardless, her lips curled upward, and a warmth enveloped her heart. Her daughter was growing up fast. Now that she had her very own pokemon, there was a lot more she could learn that would really help her in life. Just seeing her happy like this sent Kassia's heart aflutter with joy.

Hikaru chased after her new trainer, happy as can be. Julia burst through the door without knocking. "I'm back!"

"Shut up, you brat!" Amara shouted from the living room couch. Still scrolling through her cell phone like usual.

' _Welcome home, Julia. I missed you too. Is it really so hard for you to be nice for even a few seconds?'_ Julia thought to herself sarcastically. Of course Amara would greet her with a shut up. That didn't make it hurt any less. But now was not the time to angst over Amara's lack of affection. "Amara! Look! I got my new pokemon!" Julia couldn't help but show Amara Hikaru. "She's a pichu, and her name's Hikaru! Isn't she adorable?!"

The older girl barely even glanced at Hikaru. The tiny mouse flashed a smile, but it faded when Amara got up and stomped away from the couch. "Do I look like I care? You idiots are pathetic," Amara sneered with a bitter tone of voice before stomping into the kitchen.

"Sorry about her. She isn't very nice," Julia told her little friend. "Come on! Let's go to my room and play!" Both she and Hikaru ran up the stairs.

Amara stood in the kitchen, gulping down a can of cold soda. It did nothing to ease not only her anger, but jealousy. Why was Julia able to get a pokemon and she had to get hers taken away? Then again, she knew the reason why, but couldn't accept it. In fact, just seeing Julia with her new friend made flames of envy dance in her heart. In her mind, Julia didn't deserve a pokemon. What made her so special? Why did everything have to always go so swimmingly with her? Amara just couldn't understand.

She was sick of it. Sick of everything.

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Thundershock, Tail Whip, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss)**


	2. A Theft In The Pokemon Lab!

Chapter 2: A Theft In The Pokemon Lab!

Having Hikaru in the house made all of Julia's previous birthday disappointments go away, like they had never been there in the first place. Sure, it stunk that she couldn't get a chikorita like she wanted, but that was okay with her. Sometimes things in life happen that people can't control, and the best thing to do was to deal with it in any way she could. Besides, she had already fallen head over heels for Hikaru the minute she laid eyes on her.

A week after she received her starter, milky morning light illuminated her room, forcing her awake. This time, she welcomed the new morning with a light heart as she peeled her eyes open, gazing down at little Hikaru sleeping right next to her. The little pichu was snug as a bug underneath a small, warm, white and pink blanket she had had since she herself was a baby, right underneath Julia's pink and blue comforter. Julia knew she loved this little pichu from the bottom of her heart. She was a girl who would protect the smallest pokemon, cry over the terminally sick pokemon who had to go to heaven, and take wounded pokemon to her parents so they could help them, no matter what, even if it meant she'd get scratched and sometimes bitten. Julia stroke Hikaru's soft, deep yellow fur and knew that this little friend would be far more satisfying than any doll she had ever owned, and she definitely wasn't any typical pichu. This pichu, Hikaru, was special.

A little later, Hikaru awoke and greeted Julia with a happy chirrup, as if to say, "Good morning!" Right afterward, Julia put Hikaru on her lap and read a book about Pokemon. "See this one? That's a Gyarados," Julia pointed to a page depicting a large, blue serpentine pokemon with a big, wide open mouth. "They're very fierce and easy to anger. In fact, it says here that they can reduce entire villages to rubble if they're angry enough, and they can go on destroying everything for a month straight!"

"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru found herself shivering in fear, terrified at the thought of such a scary pokemon living on Earth.

"Scary, aren't they?" Hikaru nodded as her trainer stroke her ear reassuringly. "Don't worry. We're far away from where gyarados live," The yellow mouse found some comfort in her new trainer's words. "See here?" Julia pointed to two different pictures. "Here's how you can tell their gender. If the whiskers on their faces are white, that means they're girls. If they're blue, they're boys. Got that?"

Hikaru nodded without a word. "Oh! Here's a pretty pokemon!" Julia turned the page and stopped at one showing a butterfly with large, white wings. "Have you ever seen a butterfree before?"

"Pichu!"

"Of course you have. They're pretty common," Julia agreed. "I wouldn't mind catching one of my own. If I catch a girl one, I'll name her Papillon. That means butterfly, and it sounds so pretty. Don't you think?"

Watching from the hallway, Kassia wiped a tear out from her eye. She was never one to cry at things like this, but it warmed her heart to see her daughter so happy, so radiant, so...overcome with joy. Perhaps getting this pichu did prove to be a good thing after all, and to think Julia had been so set on getting a chikorita before. As long as her daughters were happy, Kassia was happy, and that was all that mattered. She gently knocked on Julia's door three times.

In perfect unison, both Julia and Hikaru looked up. "What's up, Mom?"

"Breakfast is ready, dear," Kassia told her.

Julia picked Hikaru up and nuzzled her cheek warmly. "I'll bet you're hungry, aren't you?"

"Chuu!" Hikaru had to admit, she found herself liking this girl. At first, she wasn't quite sure what to think of her. She had heard stories about bad humans and how they would hurt pokemon. But Julia didn't seem like those bad humans. If she was, she would have hurt Hikaru by now. The fact that Julia was showering her with all the love she could give was enough to let Hikaru know that this girl wasn't anyone to be afraid of.

Neither of them wasted any time getting down to the dining room table and chomping down breakfast. Kassia had taken the time to make a special bowl of brown pokemon food just for Hikaru, right next to Julia's plate. Of course, that didn't mean Julia didn't give her little friend some of her own breakfast, such as a small slice of her toast and bananas. The entire dining room was enveloped in warmth, and everyone smiled upon seeing Hikaru and Julia interact. Well, except Amara.

Amara kept staring at the happy pair with a permanent scowl, her eyebrows furrowed in contempt. Just seeing the two of them together made her sick to her stomach, but more than anything, the blazing flames of envy danced in her heart wildly. Amara pressed her lips together so as to not say anything, but it was hard. Julia kept going on and on about how wonderful Hikaru was. She just wished she'd stop.

"Hey, Amara," Truman piped up, taking a glance at his older daughter. "I hear you got a B on your history test. Congrats," He told her kindly.

"It's no big deal," Amara hissed in a deadpan tone. "I just happened to know everything, that's all."

"How about later on, we go to your favorite restaurant tonight?" Truman suggested, smiling warmly. "I know how much you like their shrimp scampi."

For the briefest moment, a smile touched Amara's face. However, it immediately disappeared the moment Julia talked once more. "Is it true that pichu touch their tails and let off sparks as a test of courage?" Julia asked before sipping some water out of her teddiursa themed cup.

"Yes," Kassia replied after sipping some coffee. "For the most part."

Truman's face was buried in the newspaper like usual, but that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. Amara's hand formed a fist. "I read that even though pichu aren't good at storing electricity, they get better as they get older."

"Pichuu!" Hikaru patted its chest with one paw as if to flaunt something. "Pichu chu pichupi!"

"Hikaru says she can use her thunder powers just fine," Julia said with a giggle. "You little braggart," She stroke Hikaru's diamond shaped ear with one hand. "Oh! Hikaru! Exactly what were you doing before you came to New Bark Town? Why were those beedrill chasing you?"

Amara dropped her spoon and an expression of surprise appeared on her face, like Julia asked a really inappropriate question. Hikaru talked as she moved her hands around. "Ohhh. So you wanted get some berries but shocked a beedrill by accident. I can see how that can happen-"

 _SLAM!_ Amara slammed her fist on the table before standing up, freezing Julia in place with an angry glare. Julia's hands flew to her ears, but Hikaru was quick to stand in between the two in a defensive stance. Truman put his paper down, and Kassia stood up in alarm. "Will you stop already?!"

"Stop what?"

"Your whole _'I can talk to pokemon'_ schtick!" Amara yelled. "We all know you just want attention like the little attention hog you are!"

"Amara! Watch your mouth!" Truman scolded, walking over to his older daughter. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but the older girl was quick to push it away.

"Oh! It's perfectly okay for her to be a straight up freak and get everything handed to her on a silver platter while I can't do what I want?!" Amara snapped. "I hate you! ALL OF YOU!" With that boiling rhetoric, Amara stomped all the way up to her room, making absolutely no attempt to hide her contempt.

"Amara-" Truman tried to interject, but his wife interrupted him before he could do so.

"Drop the attitude!"

"You stop treating me like I'm nothing!" Amara shouted before slamming the door.

Julia's hands didn't come off of her ears. Hikaru could feel her pain, so she simply tapped her trainer's hand twice with one paw reassuringly, hoping to let her know that she's there. Julia smiled silently. Kassia crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. "Amara hates me, doesn't she?" Julia asked, her voice low and sad.

"That's not true, dear!" Truman was quick to pull his youngest daughter into a warm, tight hug. "Amara's just going through a tough time. She needs to do some growing up, that's all. Kids her age tend to be rebellious and think they can do anything. Plus...she's still grieving."

"Truman. We can't ignore this, you know," Kassia told him. "Her behavior's getting worse. I'm going to sign her up for counseling whether she likes it or not. This can't go on," Right then and there, the phone rang. She was quick to answer it. "Hello?"

Julia quietly finished her breakfast without a word, with Hikaru close behind. "Oh! Hi, Professor Elm! How's your research going? Wait...what? You want her to do what?" Kassia's voice changed from low to loud and back to low within a few seconds. "Can we...go to your lab and talk about this first?" She asked in a whisper. "Yes. Yes. Alright then. As soon as she gets dressed, I'll bring her with me. Okay. Bye," With that, she hung the phone up. "Julia? Get dressed, dear. Professor Elm wants us to come to his lab right away."

"How come?"

"He says he wants to talk to you about something. Bring all of your trainer essentials just in case."

With that, Julia got herself dressed and ready. But she had to wonder why Professor Elm would want them to come by so early. She didn't complain, though. She could bring Hikaru with her, so that was a plus. Once she prepared everything-her PokeBalls, her PokeDex, and her trainer's license-she, Hikaru, and Kassia were on the road to the lab. It had been a week since they were last there. Kassia was quick to meet with Professor Elm and go into another room to talk with him.

Julia sat in the waiting room with Hikaru resting comfortably on her lap. "Now, we can't play in here. There's lots of important things in here, and if anything's broken or ripped, we could get in trouble," Julia told her yellow friend gently. Hikaru seemed to understand and nodded.

Right then, both she and Hikaru noticed three pokemon playing in the middle of the room. One was a pale green dinosaur-like creature with big red eyes, green dots lining its neck, and a big leaf on its head. Another was a yellow anteater with a dark blue back with red spots on it, and another was a bipedal light blue alligator. Julia recognized them all immediately.

"Look, Hikaru," Julia pointed to the three pokemon. "See those pokemon? Those are chikorita, cyndaquil, and totodile!" She thought that Professor Elm might have gotten a new batch of starters just now. He did say that it usually took at least a week for new starters to get sent to him. Julia shrugged. Oh well. Perhaps a new trainer would come and pick them at any time. Besides, as much as she liked chikorita, she would never trade Hikaru for anything else.

Hikaru was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

But Julia couldn't resist doing one thing. "Hi there, chikorita!" She chirruped. The leaf pokemon turned its head around, facing the girl and the pichu, blinking twice. Seeing that they weren't doing anything, the chikorita simply smiled and let out a "Chiko chiko!" in response.

The greeting left Hikaru stupefied. The yellow mouse looked up at her trainer and asked. "Pichu pichu pichu chu pichu?" ( _"How come you said hi to the chikorita just now?"_ )

"I just felt like it," Julia replied. "You know, before we met last week, I wanted to get a chikorita as my starter," She explained. "They're just so cute! But Professor Elm didn't have any left," Hikaru's ears drooped downward a bit. Julia could see the dejected expression. "Don't be sad! I'm happy I met you!" A smile returned to the mouse's face again. "Hey! I wonder if my PokeDex will work."

The brown haired girl pulled out her PokeDex. Good, it wasn't broken. No scratches, nicks, or dents. She held it up to the chikorita, who just sat on the floor to watch his friends play. Immediately, the PokeDex turned itself on.

" _Chikorita, the leaf pokemon,"_ Julia thought chikorita looked more like a baby dinosaur than a leaf, but considering it has a leaf on its head, she figured that was understandable. _"Chikorita are docile, friendly pokemon who love bathing in the sun's rays, especially during the summer. The leaf on its head emits a sweet, pleasant aroma that changes in intensity depending on the humidity and the temperature. This helps it seek out warm places to live. People in the old days used chikorita as a barometer. Because of their sweet temper, they have been frequently used as therapy pokemon for people of all ages, whether to help war survivors or people with disabilities and other psychological problems."_

"Oh! How about I check you out next?" Julia held the PokeDex up to Hikaru.

"Pichu!" Hikaru simply smiled, staring at the PokeDex with awe.

" _Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon,"_ The PokeDex said in a dull, monotone, robotic voice. _"Despite their small size, pichu can release bursts of electricity that are strong enough to shock humans, but not to a lethal degree. However, because the sacs on their cheeks are underdeveloped and their lack of skill in controlling said electricity, they release it by accident when they're surprised or are laughing. They can't attack others without shocking themselves in the process. They can charge themselves more easily on days where there are thunderclouds or when the air is very dry."_

Before she could zone out, Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room, with the bespectacled professor kneeling to her level. "Hello, Julia."

Julia didn't meet his gaze. She just kept looking down at Hikaru. "Hi there, professor. Mom said you wanted to...talk to me?" She asked shyly.

"Yes. May I ask you something first?"

"Sure."

"Do you remember my acquaintance? Mr. Pokemon?"

"Uhh…" Julia tried to look through her memories. Mr. Pokemon...an image of an old man in a brown suit with a grey beard entered her mind. She had met him once before. Just last year, to be exact. Truman had to visit him to talk some things out with him, but Julia kept her ears covered the whole time. He was too loud, and all she wanted to do was leave. Just being in the same room as him made her feel like all the air was being sucked out of her, but she didn't dare say anything because she didn't want to make anyone mad. "Yeah, I remember him. Isn't he really loud?"

Professor Elm let out a chuckle. "Yes, he can be loud. He likes to exaggerate things as well. But anyway…" The bespectacled professor cleared his throat. "Since you have your own pokemon now, we were wondering if maybe you would like to do me a favor."

"A favor? Like what?"

"You see, I got an email from him saying he has a pokemon egg he wants me to examine," Professor Elm told her calmly. "But both our schedules are tied up at the moment. Do you remember where he lives?"

"Yeah. Just past Cherrygrove City, right? It's right near that big cave where all the geodude and zubat and dunsparce live?"

"Yes! Would you like to go to Mr. Pokemon's and bring the egg here to me?"

If Julia heard him say he caught a legendary pokemon, she wouldn't be any less surprised. Her mouth fell open. He was asking her to leave the house and go someplace all on her own. Julia clutched Hikaru tightly, her green eyes wide like saucers. Julia was never one to leave the house on her own. True, she went to Professor Elm's lab last week, but that was because it was close by and because she was impatient.

Going past Cherrygrove City was another story entirely. Driving through Route 29 usually takes about five minutes tops, but on foot it takes at least half an hour, with Mr. Pokemon's house fifteen minutes away from there. Since both areas had grassy places where pokemon easily roam, if she were caught in any battles, the trip would take even longer. Julia wasn't sure if she could do this, and why Professor Elm was asking her about this was beyond her.

"It's been a week since you received Hikaru," Professor Elm explained. "Usually, trainers take their pokemon and go on their journey right away. Since you're more cautious, I want to see if you can handle something like this on your own before doing anything else."

"So...you just want me to go get an egg and bring it back here?" Julia clarified.

Professor Elm nodded. "That's the gist of it, yes."

"If you don't want to, that's perfectly fine," Kassia told her reassuringly. "We don't need to rush things, and you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Julia was already lost in her thoughts. Lots of trainers traveled the world with their pokemon. She wasn't sure if she could do that. For her, being with Hikaru was good enough. But if she went on this errand, she could catch some more pokemon. She could make more friends. She could go to Pokemon Marts and buy whatever she needed, go to Pokemon Centers in case her friends got hurt, gather berries to use, and maybe see and catch new pokemon. Plus, it wasn't as though Mr. Pokemon's place was hard to get to. She had seen plenty of signs to get there whenever she and her family would drive past it, and for the most part, it could be an easy trek.

Her mind was made up. "I...I want to do it! Is...that okay?"

"Of course it is."

"How come?" Kassia asked.

Julia stood up. "I can catch some pokemon while I'm out, right? If I have lots of pokemon with me, I can feel safe on the way there and back, right? Hikaru can come with me!"

"Chupi!" Hikaru added to her argument.

"I'm not sure about this…" Kassia added nervously. "I'm happy you want to do this, but we can easily get there by car. You don't have to-"

"I want to! Please?"

The bespectacled professor put a hand on Kassia's shoulder. "Let's let her go on her own. It'll be good for her."

After some more talking, they agreed to let Julia go see Mr. Pokemon and pick up the egg. Kassia was quick to hand her an odd, pink cell phone. "This is called a PokeGear. It's a cellphone, map, and radio all in one. I've already put important phone numbers in it in case you need to call us," Kassia explained, placing the phone in her daughter's hand. "We already made a call to Mr. Pokemon letting him know you'll go to pick up the egg. Just call us if you need anything or have any trouble. Okay, sweetie?"

"Yes."

Kassia pulled her daughter close and pecked her forehead once. With a quiet wave, she and Hikaru walked on the dirt path away from the lab. Kassia buried her face in her hands, worried about what might happen. She had never seen her daughter go off on her own before. To suddenly be away from her, even if it was for a short while, made her heart feel as though someone was duct taping titanium bricks on it. Then again, maybe this would be good for her. After all, children grow up and learn lots of things, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to let her try this out. Besides, she needed to be there for Amara and help her through her grief. With that in mind, Kassia returned home.

A pair of eyes stared at them from a nearby window, fixating their gaze on one of the pokemon. Particularly the totodile.

* * *

"Wow! Look, Hikaru! See all those pokemon?" It had been a while since Julia left, but already she was amazed by the pokemon running about. Sentret and rattata scurrying around. Tiny bird pokemon flying across the sky with the wind beneath their wings. The rustling of the trees sounded like a lofty lullaby, and just a whiff of the spring breeze was enough to revitalize anyone who had an appreciation for nature.

"Pichuuuuu…" Hikaru watched as a small sentret scuttled to a nearby stump, standing on its puffy tail to observe its surroundings.

"Oh! A sentret!" Julia pulled out her PokeDex and held it to face the sentret. The brown pokemon glanced at Julia, but didn't look or feel intimidated in any way.

" _Sentret, the scout pokemon,"_ The PokeDex announced in a robotic female voice. _"It stands on its tail so it can see a long way. If it spots an enemy, it lets out a loud cry in order to warn the rest of its kind."_

"So this is how a PokeDex works. Now let's see…" Julia pressed some buttons and held the PokeDex in front of the sentret once again. A pink female sign appeared at the corner. "Oh! This one's a girl! I'm gonna catch it!"

Julia rummaged through her pocket to find a PokeBall she could use. _'I know the books say I should weaken a pokemon to catch it, but...I don't want to hurt it!'_ She told herself, finally pulling out a PokeBall. "Sentret, you're-" When she raised her hand to catch it, her mouth fell agape. The sentret had run away. The girl fell on her knees and let out a whine. "Bwaaah! I wanted to catch her!"

With a sympathetic expression, Hikaru tapped Julia's arm reassuringly. "Pichu pichu pichu…"

The girl stood back up. "Yeah. You're right. There's plenty more, so I can catch another one. Plus there's lots of other pokemon around here. Hey!" She saw some buildings nearby. "That's gotta be Cherrygrove. We made it!" She cheered.

"Pichu!"

Cherrygrove City was a calm, quaint, and lovely little town a little ways from New Bark Town. Although it was bigger than Julia's hometown, it had a greater sense of community. Whenever she and her family would drive through it, there was no shortage of people talking to each other or pokemon and kids playing. It helped that the town was known for their cherry trees, which would blossom in pink white blooms during the spring, and they never ceased to be amazing.

On Julia's left was a Pokemon Mart. A tall white building with a blue roof. For a brief moment, she thought about going inside. She thought she could get some potions in case Hikaru got hurt. But Kassia didn't give her any money, so that was a no-go. With a shrug, she turned away and looked for the path leading to Mr. Pokemon's house.

"This is Cherrygrove City, Hikaru. Have you been here before?"

Hikaru nodded.

"It sure is nice, isn't it? But I like my home the best."

Once she stepped on the dirt path, a round, blue and white mouse pokemon suddenly shot out of a little pond. "Awww! How cute!" Julia was quick to pull out her PokeDex once more.

"Marill marill!" The pokemon chirruped, contentedly sniffing a berry nearby.

" _Marill, the aqua mouse pokemon,"_ The PokeDex explained, in the usual robotic voice. _"Marill's oil-filled tail acts much like a life preserver. If you see just its tail bobbing on the water's surface, it's a sure indication that this Pokémon is diving beneath the water to feed on aquatic plants."_ Julia saw a female sign pop up on the PokeDex, indicating it was a girl.

"I've gotta catch this one!" Before Julia could pull out her PokeBall, Hikaru charged at the marill with a battle cry.

"Pichuuuu!" Sparks of electricity crackled from her cheeks before Hikaru unleashed a strong bolt of lightning. Before the marill could react, the lightning bolt shot down on it, sending pain all throughout its body. Julia covered her eyes. She wished Hikaru hadn't done that. Then again, all her books said that in order to catch a pokemon, she had to weaken it with one of her own.

This was her chance. Hikaru knew it.

"Pichu pichuu!" Hikaru commanded, pointing to the fallen marill.

"Alright! I'll catch it! Go, PokeBall!" With a single swing, the PokeBall flew into an arch before hitting the blue and white mouse. Marill turned into red light as it was absorbed inside the PokeBall, which then fell on the grass. The circle on the center flashed in a red light, and the PokeBall wiggled from side to side.

Julia crossed her fingers and prayed. _'Please work...please work...please work...'_ Finally, a click sound echoed, and the flashing light on the PokeBall disappeared. Julia looked down at the PokeBall and picked it up. Already she could feel her whole body become enveloped with an overwhelming sense of joy.

"Wow! I...I...I did it! I caught my first pokemon all by myself!" Julia stood up and jumped around with the PokeBall in her hand, shouting in her loudest voice possible, "Woohoo! Yaaaay! I caught a marill!"

"Pichu pichu!" Hikaru joined in on her joyous dance, hopping and twirling right along with her. Some trainers admittedly stopped to watch.

"What's with her?"

"She's weird."

"Maybe she caught her first pokemon."

"Come on. Let's go."

Julia didn't notice, nor did she care. She was just too happy to have caught her first pokemon. "Come on out, Marill!" She opened her PokeBall, and out came the marill from before, who scratched one of her ears with a stubby hand. Julia kneeled to its level to make eye contact with it. "Hello! I'm Julia, and this is my friend Hikaru!"

"Pichu!"

"Marill marill?" ( _"What happened?"_ ) The marill tilted its head to one side with a confused expression, looking around in a daze.

"Sorry for scaring you like that," Julia told her apologetically before giving Hikaru a stern glance. "You didn't have to use Thundershock on her, y'know."

"Pichu pichuuu!" Hikaru argued.

The blue mouse pokemon gave Hikaru a disapproving glare, looking angry at her for shocking her like that. Feeling the intensity of the glare, Hikaru backed away two steps to give the marill some space. The marill let out a sigh. "Anyway, would you like to be our friend?" Julia asked kindly, offering her hand out for the marill to sniff.

Marill didn't approach her right off. The blue mouse raised an eyebrow, giving her new trainer a quizzical, confused look. "Marill marill…" ( _"I'm not sure…"_ ) The blue mouse wasn't sure what to make of being caught by a human. She had seen glimpses of them before, but was always told to stay away from them. But something inside her told her that Julia didn't seem like one who would hurt her.

"If you don't want to, that's fine," Julia told her. Her parents always drilled it into her and Amara's heads that when dealing with pokemon, you always had to take their feelings into consideration. Just because they can't speak human language doesn't mean they don't have anything to say or don't have feelings.

"Mar...marill…" ( _"Sure...I guess…"_ ) Keeping a guarded demeanor about her, the marill walked over to her new trainer and tapped her hand with her small blue one.

"Yay! We're friends now!" Julia chirruped sweetly. "Oh! Would it be okay if I gave you a name?"

"Marill?" ( _"A name?"_ )

Julia nodded. "I always give my pokemon names," Marill stopped to think. Perhaps having a name won't be so bad. The marill never did like being confused for other marill. The blue mouse nodded reluctantly.

"Alright!" The girl clasped her small hands together, the cogs in her mind moving. "Since the PokeDex says you're the aqua mouse pokemon...how about…" It came to her right away. "Aqua! How about that?"

Aqua...the marill liked the sound of that. It had a distinct, watery feel to it. "Marill!" ( _"Sure!"_ ) Aqua replied, adopting her new nickname.

"Oh! That's right! I can't forget to go see Mr. Pokemon!" With that, they went further down the path. Julia decided against putting Aqua in her PokeBall right away. She figured it'd be nice to have a good walk with them and let them get used to her before keeping them in PokeBalls. In her mind, they deserved some fresh air and a chance for some quality time with her.

Hikaru crept closer to Aqua and whispered, _"Sorry I shocked you like that."_

The aqua mouse backed away a little bit, not sure what to make of this pichu. The tiny mouse was smaller than she was, and despite her harmless appearance, her thundershock threw her for a loop. Aqua kept her guard up, hoping it wasn't a trick. But some other part of her said that Hikaru and Julia seemed friendly enough. At the same time, however, she didn't want to take any chances.

"Marill marill," ( _"It's alright. I forgive you."_ ) Aqua replied politely. Hikaru could hear the guarded tone in her voice. _"I must ask, why is your fur so dark?"_ She asked. _"Most pichu I've seen have light colored fur."_

All Hikaru could do was scratch her ear sheepishly. _"I dunno. I was born this way,"_ Hikaru answered with a giggle.

" _Can I ask why you're with a human?"_ Aqua asked tersely. _"Aren't you afraid she might hurt you? Humans can be dangerous."_

" _Julia's not dangerous,"_ Hikaru replied without hesitation. _"She saved me from some angry beedrill about a week ago,"_ This straightforward revelation made Aqua's eyes light up with surprise. Humans could really do that? Aqua was sure they didn't care about pokemon, mostly because everyone else told her so. _"My friends used to say that humans were bad, too. But Julia's been nice to me, so she's not bad."_

Aqua couldn't help but find that hard to believe. But in a way, she could sense that Julia didn't seem like a bad human. Pokemon have a mysterious sixth sense that lets them know which humans are kind and which humans are cruel. But that didn't mean some would open up to them right off. Aqua wanted to trust the feeling she got, but still kept herself guarded.

Julia kept her eyes on the road in front of her, with Hikaru and Aqua following close behind. She passed by a small house, noticed some trainers battling their pokemon rather passionately, and saw some bird pokemon fly to another tree. All of a sudden, she passed by one tree and saw a small green bug pokemon, eating some leaves. The pokemon was about as big as Hikaru, with a big pink antenna, big black eyes, and stubby yellow feet.

"A caterpie!" Julia pulled out her PokeDex a third time, holding it up to the caterpie.

" _Caterpie, the worm pokemon. Caterpie have a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odor, and their legs have special suction cups designed to stick to any surface."_ Once again, a female symbol appeared on the PokeDex as it hovered over the caterpie.

"Caterpie can evolve into metapod and then butterfree," Julia mused to herself, pulling out a PokeBall. "This one I have to catch!"

Once again, Hikaru took the initiative. This time, she ran toward the caterpie and threw herself at it, throwing it right off the tree. Before the caterpie could get up, Hikaru blew a soft kiss, and a pink heart floated toward the caterpie. Once it hit the caterpie, it began to wobble and lose its sense of direction. "Hey!" Julia exclaimed. "I told you not to attack any pokemon!"

"Pichu pichu chuuuu!" Hikaru argued, pointing to the caterpie.

"You have a point…" She gripped the PokeBall before throwing it. "You're mine, caterpie!" Oddly enough, as the ball was thrown, the caterpie didn't even attempt to move. It just stood blinking at the object coming its way. Like with Aqua, the ball hit the caterpie, turning it into red light. The PokeBall fell to the grass and wiggled, with the red light flashing. After a few seconds, the ball stopped, and the red light ceased.

"Yay!" Julia picked the PokeBall up and held it in the air. "I caught another pokemon!"

Two pokemon caught in one day. Julia couldn't help but wonder if lady luck was smiling down on her. But regardless, she made yet another new friend, and she was too quick to let the caterpie out of its PokeBall. As soon as the caterpie met Julia's eyes, all she did was tilt her head to one side, examining the trainer curiously. "Maaaaao," ( _"Are you a human?"_ ) The little caterpillar asked in a sweet voice.

"I am. I'm Julia," She pointed to Hikaru and Aqua. "And these are my friends Hikaru and Aqua," She spoke in a soft, calm voice so as to not scare the little caterpillar. "Sorry we scared you."

The caterpie barely reacted. She just continued to stare at them with her big, curious black eyes, like she wanted to understand them from top to bottom. Julia slowly extended her hand out. "I'd love it if we could be friends. If not, that's okay, too," She told her.

At first, the caterpie just stood there, continuing to stare at them. But something told her that Julia was not a human to be afraid of. Slowly, she crawled up to Julia's hand, sniffing it with her big nose. Julia remained still as a mannequin, as she didn't want to scare her new friend. Aqua and Hikaru remained still as well.

Finally, the caterpie closed her eyes and gave what appeared to be a smile as it cooed, "Maaaao!" ( _"You seem nice! I like you!"_ ) Right then, the caterpie crawled up Julia's arm and nuzzled her cheek, making her trainer giggle.

"Can I name you Papillon?"

The caterpie nodded affirmatively. "Mao!"

"Hello, Papillon! We're friends from now on!"

Like with Aqua, Julia kept Papillon outside of her PokeBall, so all three of her new friends were right by her side. Papillon sat on her shoulder throughout the entire walk. They had to get to Mr. Pokemon's house and get that egg. No more delays. Thankfully, Julia passed by a sign directing her to his house. Not only that, a brown and red house came within their vicinity, so they were getting close. Finally, they made it on his front porch. A white sign on his door read Mr. Pokemon. Shyly, Julia walked up to the door and knocked on it three times.

"Hello? Mr. Pokemon?" Julia called out.

"Maaaaaoo!" Papillon cried, helping her out.

The door opened, and a man dressed in a brown suit greeted the girl with a cheery smile. Julia had to back up a few steps because he came a little too close to her for comfort. The man's face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, and underneath his nose was a fluffy grey mustache, with some streaks of hair lining his chin. Probably a small beard. But his beard was bigger the last time she saw him. She assumed he must have shaved it.

"Oh! Good morning, dear child!" Mr. Pokemon exclaimed in an old, crotchety voice that was filled to the brim with merry cheer. "Professor Elm called and told me you were coming! Come on inside, lassie! Come on in! Don't be shy!" He left the door open for her to come inside.

Her body tensed up, and her hands flew to her ears. After all this, he still couldn't understand the concept of an indoor voice. With a sigh, Julia and her pokemon went inside. She immediately noticed a glass container with a white egg inside of it. The white egg was about as large as Papillon, with red and blue markings dotting its hard surface. The faint smell of soft cookies wafted into her nostrils, but as much as she liked cookies, this was no time for eating.

"This is the egg, right?" Julia asked.

"Yes yes!" Mr. Pokemon placed a tray of fresh cookies on the table, right next to the egg. "Help yourself! My! What lovely pokemon you have!"

Julia kept staring down at the cookies to avert his gaze. "Th-Th-Th-Thanks…" On impulse, she grabbed a cookie and chomped it down. They were soft and warm, melting into her mouth, with the bolus bouncing around on her tongue before trailing down her throat. She always liked how chocolate chip cookies tasted. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon grabbed some for themselves, scarfing them down and enjoying every minute of it. Once she finished, Julia picked up the container and held it in her hands.

"I know a couple who run a daycare center just outside Goldenrod City," Mr. Pokemon began, weaving a strand of his mustache around his index finger. "They just found this egg out of nowhere and gave it to me."

"You don't say…"

"Is it true you became a trainer recently?"

"Yes. Last week," Julia forced a smile, not once making eye contact. _'Come on! I have to go take this back to Professor Elm!'_ She thought. She wished he'd let her go already.

Mr. Pokemon pulled out a small bag and poured the cookies inside, along with putting in some blue, pink, and red berries. He tied it up with a black bow and handed it to her. "These are for you. There's berries inside in case your pokemon get hurt," Mr. Pokemon said. Julia took the bag without question.

"Thank you. I'm...gonna go now…" With the egg and bag in hand, Julia left the house, her pokemon following close behind.

Once she walked a safe distance away, she let out a relieved sigh and slumped on a nearby stump. "Whew! I thought he'd never stop talking!"

"Marill?"

"Mao?"

"Sorry. I'm not exactly the best at...talking to people," Julia explained. "Plus, he's really loud," She said with a hand over her mouth. But she had to admit, it was nice to him to give her the berries and cookies, even if it was for her pokemon's sake, so it wasn't as though she hated him. She just wished he'd stay out of her personal space and use an indoor voice sometimes.

"Mao mao maooo…" ( _"I kinda liked him."_ )

Julia smiled at Papillon and stroke her head. "You like him, huh? That's good."

They weren't in any rush, so the young trainer thought it'd be nice to take a break from all the walking. After all, she didn't want those cookies to go to waste. She gave some cookies to her beloved pokemon and saved two for herself, leaving at least three left. There were two blue berries, two pink berries, and two red berries in the bag as well. Oran, pecha, and cheri berries. They were going to be very useful in the future.

"Oh! I should call Professor Elm!" Julia rummaged through her pockets to pull out the PokeGear. She could let him know she got the egg without a hitch. She searched through the number list and found Professor Elm's number. Boy, her mother sure loved to make sure she was prepared. She pressed the call button and held the phone up to her ear. It rang a few times, but no answer came.

"That's odd. I wonder if he's busy?"

"Marill?"

"I'll call him a little later," Julia tied the bag and stood up with the egg container in hand. "We'd better get back home. I'd love to show you two my room."

"Marill mar!"

"Maoooo!"

Both Papillon and Aqua loved the idea of seeing Julia's house. The girl smiled as she walked down the path with a light heart. The morning sun shined in the sky, giving everything a distinct, warm glow, and wildflowers bloomed at every turn. Perhaps going out on her own wasn't so bad after all. She wished she could do this more often. Maybe when she got home, she could talk it out with Kassia and Truman. After a while, she made it back to Cherrygrove. It was the same as usual, so the walk back should be perfectly fine.

Or so she thought.

* * *

Shards of broken glass scattered around the remains of a window in Professor Elm's lab. The bespectacled professor himself laid on the floor face down, his glasses having bounced off of his face. A large, black boot came down on them, crushing the glass beneath her feet. The lens cracked as the boot smashed it deep into the floor. The mop headed man reached one hand out in an attempt to grab the culprit.

"No...why…" He croaked weakly, his voice trembling. His entire body was tense, like a pichu had electrocuted him. A tall silhouette loomed over him, holding a small, handheld taser gun in one hand, and a PokeBall in the other. "Don't...take it away…"

"Shut up!" A woman's voice boomed before the silhouette leaped out of the window.

Professor Elm struggled to get up. His legs felt like jello, and any time he moved, he felt as though he were going to fall over. But he had to do something. With a heavy grunt and shaky breaths, he crawled over to a red alarm button on the wall. Clutching to a chair, he used it to stand himself up. With a loud yelp, he bashed the button once, and a wailing sound echoed all throughout the lab. "HEEEELP!" He shouted at the top of his voice. "Help!"

A young woman burst through the room, her eyes widening at the sight of Professor Elm's weak form. "Professor!" She ran to help him up. "What happened?!"

"Call the police!" Professor Elm choked out. "Call someone! Anyone! The totodile...it's been stolen!"

Said silhouette stood in some bushes nearby, holding the PokeBall in her hand. The sirens wailed from inside the lab. With a grunt, she pushed her long ponytail out of her face. "You belong to me now. It's about time I finally got what I deserve!" With that, she dashed away from the lab.

Finally, this was her chance to fulfill her dream. Now, nobody was going to take it away from her. She could do whatever she wanted and get away from the house she considered a prison.

* * *

Truman stood in front of the bathroom sink, his cheeks and chin caked with thick, white shaving cream. He held a deep red razor to his cheek, pushing the shaving cream away, hoping the excess hairs would come off. Soon after, Kassia popped her head in. "Truman? Have you deposited money in Amara's bank account yet?"

"Yeah, I did. Last week," Truman replied, examining his face closely. Some hairs had come off. "About one hundred, so that comes to…" He counted on his fingers. "About $10,724."

"Jeez," Kassia mused. "You sure do save a lot of money, don't you?"

"Of course!" Truman put his razor down on the sink to make sure he didn't scratch himself as he talked. "We have the mortgage to pay, the pokemon to feed, the girls' college funds in case they need it, the bills, there's a lot to do! You gotta be smart and thrifty when it comes to saving!"

Kassia found herself chuckling. She glanced over at Amara's bedroom door. "I wonder how Amara's doing?"

"Last I checked she seemed fine," Truman looked deep into the mirror. Some hairs were still sticking out from underneath his nose. "I know it didn't work much before, but try to talk to her, Kassie. Try to understand her. Maybe she just needs someone who understands how she feels."

"I'll try," With this, Kassia left Truman to his shaving. She stopped in front of Amara's door and knocked on it three times. "Amara? You in there? It's me," She announced. "Can I come in? I know you think Mom's stupid and annoying. I just...want to talk. Just mother-daughter talk, that's all," She added. No response. When she knocked again, the door moved inward, leading Kassia into Amara's room. It wasn't closed all the way.

Immediately, a red flag shot up in her mind, but she tried to take her mind off it. The minute she stepped inside, she saw the entirety of Amara's room. The walls were painted a pure white, with some walls covered with posters of shirtless men wearing jeans and who had tattoos on their bodies. Some frilly pillows sat on Amara's disheveled bed, with others having fallen to the floor. The light purple comforter on Amara's bed was folded halfway, facing the foot of the bed, indicating that it had been slept in. Kassia always grilled Amara about making her bed. Her white desk was covered with jewelry and cosmetics such as lipstick, bottles of eyeshadow, nail polish, hair scrunchies, etc. Other things lined the desk as well, such as jewelry holders, jewelry boxes, some books (both educational and recreational), a duffel bag full of clothes, etc. Some clothes such as tank tops and skinny jeans were scattered on the floor.

Only one important thing was completely missing: Amara. No Amara, anywhere.

"Amara?" Kassia walked into her daughter's messy bedroom. Worry began as a small sprout, growing with every glance. Where was Amara? Was she in the house? A gentle breeze from her window made the mother's gaze turn to a window. It was open all the way, with the transparent curtains floating about. With a gasp, Kassia ran to the window and looked down. Some grass beneath the window had been pressed down, like someone had laid down on it.

This told her all she needed to know. "Amara!" Kassia screamed. No answer. "Amaraaaaa!"

His wife's screams made Truman put down his razor. He grabbed a towel, wiped the shaving cream off, and ran to the bedroom. "What's wrong?"

"Amara's gone!" Kassia yelped, her green eyes wide with a combination of fear, worry, and anguish. Truman knew that look anywhere. "She must have snuck out again!"

It had become a common occurrence lately. Amara would sometimes sneak out of the house or just leave without saying anything. But Amara never went out the window before. If she was willing to do this much...alarm bells were blaring.

"I'll call the police," Truman suggested, keeping himself calm and collected. "You search the neighborhood and ask if anyone's seen her, or go look for her. I'll catch up with you."

Without another word, Kassia ran to neighboring houses like her house was on fire. She banged on the doors, surprising her neighbors, asking them all the same question. "Have you seen Amara by any chance?"

"No I haven't, Kassia."

"What?! She ran away?! I'll help you look for her!"

"I didn't see her, but if I do, I'll let you know right away."

"Haven't seen her. Sorry."

"I'll ask around. She couldn't have gone too far."

Soon, more people looked around the neighborhood, on foot or by car, searching for the missing girl. Kassia's heart was suddenly plagued with worry and fear. What if something happened to her? What if she got caught up in the wrong crowd? What if she was lost? Hurt? Kidnapped? Just thinking about the awful possibilities made her feel as though she couldn't breathe. Truman was outside on the porch with a phone held to his ear. "Officer? My daughter's gone missing. Please look for her!"

"Kassia!" One woman with blonde hair suddenly ran up to Kassia. "You're not gonna believe what I heard! Professor Elm's lab was robbed! I heard him say that a girl Amara's age with brown hair stole a pokemon!"

Both parents froze, their eyes wide with shock. No. It just couldn't be true. Could it…?

* * *

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" A pink haired nurse greeted Julia as she came in through the revolving doors, with all of her pokemon following close behind. The nurse was dressed in a soft pink dress with a white apron, cream colored stockings, and pink shoes. A white hat with a red cross mark on it cupped her curly pink hair. Two blissey walked around calmly, observing everything around them.

Julia put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls and handed them to the nurse. "You're Nurse Joy, right?"

"Yes I am," She replied in a kind, pleasant voice.

"Can you heal my pokemon, please?"

"Certainly!" Nurse Joy put the PokeBalls on a tray before taking them away.

She had done her research. Julia had always known that Pokemon Centers were good places for trainers to go in case their pokemon had gotten hurt. Of course they would take their pokemon away for a short while. Still, Julia couldn't help but feel as though she lost something important, like her security blanket. She wished she didn't feel so anxious about this. They were still in there, and it wasn't as though Nurse Joy was stealing or hurting her pokemon. She'd get them back in no time.

' _Calm down, Julia. They're fine,'_ She told herself, sitting down on a chair, clutching the egg container. _'You're gonna have to get used to this some time. This is what they're for.'_

"Nurse Joy!" A young boy stormed through the revolving doors in a frenzy, holding an unconscious, injured rattata in his arms. His loud voice made Julia's hands fly to her ears in fright. "You gotta help Rattata!"

"Goodness, Joey!" The Nurse Joy exclaimed. "This is the third time this week you've come here. I know you're excited about battling-"

"NO!" Julia stood up in alarm. The despair in the boy's voice was unmistakable. Not only that, Julia noticed some fresh cuts on the boy's arms, particularly one on his forehead that was bleeding onto his eyebrow. "Some weird girl just came out of nowhere and beat me and Rattata up!"

Hearing this made Nurse Joy come around the corner to take a closer look at their wounds. She gestured for a nearby blissey to come over and take a look. "My goodness! Blissey? Take Joey and Rattata in the back," She told her.

"Blissey!" With that, the blissey escorted Joey and his rattata into another room. Another blissey came with a tray in its hands, holding three PokeBalls. Julia could tell they were her own PokeBalls. She put stickers on them to make sure they were theirs. She took her PokeBalls diligently and left the Pokemon Center.

That was when she saw someone she didn't expect.

"Julia?!"

"A-A-Amara?!"

There was Amara, standing right in front of her. Her long hair was tied into its usual straight ponytail with a purple scrunchie. She was wearing a black tank top, very small, pale blue shorts that did a great job in showing off her legs, and tall brown boots. Her icy blue eyes fixated their gaze on her little sister, and in her left hand was a PokeBall.

Julia's mind was sent into a spiral of confusion, and all kinds of questions were running through her mind. What was Amara doing here? Shouldn't she be at home? She was sure she was grounded for hanging out with a group of kids she wasn't supposed to. Why did she have a PokeBall in her hand? Did Mom and Dad know she was gone?

"Wh...wh...what are you doing here?!" Julia blurted out.

"Totodile. Come on out," Amara said in an icy voice, releasing her totodile from the PokeBall.

The small blue alligator materialized as he appeared. Blinking twice, he looked around to observe his surroundings, finding himself confused. Why was he outside? Wasn't he supposed to be at the lab? Where did this random girl come from? Totodile couldn't help but scratch his head with one claw, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Totototo…" The totodile warbled.

Julia clutched her PokeBalls tightly. All she could do was blurt out what came to mind. Even Hikaru seemed confused. "Why do you have a pokemon?! Mom said you can't have any pokemon anymore! You know that, right?!"

"Shut up!" She pointed an index finger at her frightened sister before shouting, "Use Water Gun!"

"Dahhh?" The totodile whipped his large head around, looking at Amara with wide, confused eyes like he was asking why. Was she seriously making him use an attack on a human being? Why? Both Julia and the other pokemon were dumbfounded.

"Just do it, you wimp!" Amara roared. Totodile shivered, figuring that she was serious. Reluctantly, the totodile shot a blast of water right at Julia, sending her rolling on the ground soaking wet. Some bystanders gasped as they watched the totodile send the spout of water at her. Even Nurse Joy came out to observe the chaotic scene. As soon as the attack stopped, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all popped out of their PokeBalls.

"Chuu chuu?"

Letting out a small grunt, Julia got back on her feet. "I'm fine, Hikaru…" She let out some heavy pants before shouting, "What's going on, Amara?! Tell me! Why are you doing this, and why'd you attack me?!" She stood in front of all of her pokemon like she was a knight protecting a princess. The three pokemon all looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

"Because I'm done babysitting you. Totodile! Use Bite!" She replied in an icy voice.

Obeying its trainer's orders, again reluctantly, the blue crocodile charged at Julia with its big maw open wide for chomping. Once again, Hikaru took the initiative and let out a thundershock attack, sending a bolt of lightning right at the totodile. The jolt was strong enough to make the totodile fall on its rear. Even Aqua and Papillon went into battle stances.

"Marill!"

"Mao!"

"Hey! What are you doing?!" The Nurse Joy ran over to Amara and pulled on her arm. "You can't use your pokemon to attack people!"

"Shut up!" With a grunt, Amara used her arm to shove Nurse Joy to the ground. Two blissey managed to catch her before she could fall, preventing any potential injuries.

"Call the police, will ya?!" A man in a suit yelped. The woman next to him pulled out a phone.

"If that's how you wanna play it then fine! Use Water Gun again!" Amara growled.

"Hikaru! Dodge it!" Julia blurted out. On cue, Hikaru evaded the attack. "Papillon! Use String Shot!" The little green bug shot a web of white silk all around the totodile, trapping it in place.

"Use Scratch and Bite to break free!" Amara commanded. Totodile used its teeth and claws to rip through the silk thread. Some of it did get on its tongue, and the totodile used its claws to wipe the silk off.

' _No! I can't...I don't want to battle! I don't want to do this!'_ Julia thought. Her entire being was frozen with fear and confusion. Too many questions were running through her mind, the biggest of them being...why was Amara doing all of this?

"Marill!"

A scream pulled Julia out of her mind, awakening her to a horrible sight. Totodile had its teeth digging into Aqua's side. She had to do something. Her friend was hurting. This was no time for hesitating. "NO! Aqua! Use Bubble on its face!" On cue, Aqua unleashed a barrage of bubbles, sending them all right into the totodile's face. The soapy bubbles stung its eyes, and it squeezed them shut to prevent further entry. Aqua used the opportunity to pull the totodile's teeth out of her side and run free.

"You won't beat me!" Amara roared.

"Papillon, use String Shot! Hikaru, use Thunder Wave!" Like before, Papillon spat out a long thread of white silk, wiggling around to make it weave all around Amara and her totodile, trapping them in place. With a piercing battle cry, Hikaru unleashed a small jolt of electricity, shooting it right at them. The jolt was strong enough to render the totodile unconscious, but Amara kept her scowl, staring right up at Julia with nothing but contempt. The electricity didn't hit her, so she wasn't paralyzed.

Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all stood in between them, acting like bodyguards protecting their princess. Julia's legs began to feel like jelly, but she needed answers. "Amara? What's going on?"

Before anyone could react, Amara pulled out a Swiss Army knife and used it to cut through the web. Julia's mouth fell open once more. Since when did she get a Swiss Army knife, and how? She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Amara glaring at her. Amara charged at her sister before throwing a fist straight into her face, sending her rolling on the ground. Aqua's hands flew to her mouth, Papillon curled into a ball in fear, and Hikaru let out a hiss. Not even giving her time to react, Amara pinned Julia to the ground and punched her face three more times, the third time being strong enough to make blood flow from her nostrils.

"Why do you always have to get in my way?!" Amara spat, her saliva flying onto Julia's face.

Her mind was swirling in a sea of confusion. The odd taste of liquid iron flowed into her mouth as she flew her arm upward in an attempt to fend off Amara. Too bad she was never physically strong, and despite flailing and kicking her legs, nothing she did worked. Some bystanders did try to pry her off, but Amara was too strong for them and managed to force them off with ease.

It was too much. The yelling, the screaming, the ground rubbing against her soaking wet clothes, the blood on her face, the fist making contact...she had to escape, but couldn't. "GET OFF OF MEEEEEE!" Julia yelled in her loudest voice possible.

"Chupi!" Hikaru jumped up and bit Amara straight on her hand, digging her teeth into her skin, making her yelp from the pain. That was enough to make Amara stop and release her. Aqua and Papillon stood in battle stances once more, giving her deathly glares, almost as if they were daring her to lay yet another hand on their trainer lest she face their wrath. Hikaru was quick to comfortingly lick the wounds on her face.

Her eyesight blurred. Her head was spinning. Finally, everything went black. The last thing she heard were police sirens wailing in the distance.

* * *

 **I redid some parts of this chapter a bit and added some extra stuff. Some people said that Julia's new pokemon instantly becoming loyal to her felt a little unrealistic, so I'm hoping to rectify this somewhat. I hope it helps!**

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Caterpie (Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot)**

 **Amara: Totodile (Lonely Nature, Water Gun, Bite, Scratch, Growl)**


	3. Going Out On My Own

Chapter 3: Going Out All On My Own

It all happened so fast, it seemed as though she had entered a completely new dimension. None of this was supposed to happen.

This was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to go to Mr. Pokemon's house, get the egg, and take it back to Professor Elm's lab. Amara was supposed to be at home. She wasn't supposed to be at Cherrygrove, with a pokemon, no less. Nor was she supposed to battle. Or beat up her own sister. Julia's face throbbed, and it felt like someone was inflating a balloon inside of it with some kind of radioactive liquid. Questions swam through her mind like hungry sharpedo, the biggest being… _'Amara? Why? What happened to you?'_

"Julia!"

Faint voices echoed in the distance, casting a faint light in the pitch black darkness.

"Julia! Wake up!"

That didn't sound like Amara. It sounded more like Kassia.

"Pichu!"

The memories came flooding back. Amara beating Julia bloody. Her pokemon trying to protect her. Clutching that egg for dear life. It wasn't broken...right?

"Wah!" Julia awoke with a start, her eyes flying wide open, taking in a heavy breath. The first thing she noticed was the soft, white blanket covering her legs. Her eyes then locked onto the bandages on her arms. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon were all sitting on the bed with her. A medicinal smell wafted in her nostrils, and the area she was in had clean white walls. She could see things like an IV catheter, a TV on the ceiling, and all sorts of odd machines with too many tangled up cords. This told her that she was in a hospital. Her fingers traced some gauze covering her nose.

Kassia's relief bubbled over, and before she could control herself, she flung herself onto Julia and wrapped her arms around her. "Julia! Oh, thank goodness!" The force of the hug was strong, almost knocking her back onto the bed. Julia could feel her face pressing against the fabric of her mother's shirt.

"Mom...crushing...me…" Julia choked out.

"Oh! Sorry!" Kassia got the hint and released her daughter from her grasp. That didn't stop Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon from leaping on her with loud, relieved squeals, showering her with nuzzles and cuddles.

"Everyone!" Julia squealed, welcoming her beloved friends with open arms, and they took every opportunity possible to jump right in. "Thank goodness you're all okay!" Tears trickled out from her eyes. Whether it was from sleep or relief, she wasn't sure. That didn't matter, though. She was just all too happy to know that her friends were alright.

After she finished cuddling her friends, she gently put them back down on the bed. "What happened to me? How did I get here?" She asked.

"This is Cherrygrove Hospital. It's connected to the Pokemon Center," Truman explained, wiping his glasses with his sleeve. "Some witnesses called 911 and the paramedics took you here. Nurse Joy used your PokeGear to call us and told us where you were."

"I'm so sorry!" Kassia exclaimed, holding her head down to the point where her scraggly hair covered her face. "This is my fault! I should never have let you go to Mr. Pokemon's house!"

"Mom. It's okay," Julia told her reassuringly, holding a hand up. "Amara's the one who went after me. You didn't know."

Truman crossed his arms and nodded. "She's right."

One thought entered Julia's mind. "The egg! It's not broken, is it?!"

"It's fine, Jules," Kassia pointed to a nightstand right next to her hospital bed. There was the glass container, with the egg inside. The shell was completely in tact. Not a scar or blemish in sight. "We'll take it home from here, and I already called Professor Elm so he knows what happened."

A sigh of relief escaped from Julia's mouth. Thank goodness. Truman looked down at his feet with a sad expression. "Julia? Do you mind if we ask what happened?" He asked sadly.

She wasted no time telling them everything: running into Amara in the Pokemon Center, Amara using a totodile to attack her, Hikaru and the others defeating them, and then Amara beating her up in retaliation. Julia had to admit, she was surprised she was able to remember all of this. She secretly thanked her lucky stars that her pokemon were there to protect her, otherwise she would have been way worse off. As she told the story, the expressions on both Kassia and Truman's faces grew more and more horrified, like they saw a ghost pokemon in a scary movie.

One detail stood out like a sore thumb. "You said...she had a totodile?" Kassia asked, her voice trembling.

"Yeah. She isn't supposed to have a pokemon, right? Professor Elm didn't give her one, did he? He knows she's on the blacklist," There was just no way. She couldn't think of any explanation for this.

Her parents looked at each other. "She did it."

Did it? "Did what?"

Truman cleared his throat. "Julia...this…" He looked as though he didn't want to tell her what he was going to say, but he knew he couldn't lie to her. "...There's no easy way to say this. A pokemon from Professor Elm's lab was stolen. It was a totodile."

Stolen? Julia's green eyes widened. Who would steal a pokemon? From its rightful owner, no less? The surprise in her heart suddenly morphed into anger. To her, anyone who stole pokemon was a terrible person. But the more she thought about it, the pieces began to gradually fall in place. A totodile was stolen. Amara had a totodile despite not being allowed to have any pokemon. It all made a scary amount of sense.

"She stole a totodile?"

Kassia nodded. "We had no idea she would go this far…" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I should have seen this coming! I wish I had done something so none of this would have happened!"

Her husband wrapped his arm around his wife and pulled her close. "Kassie. Don't blame yourself. There's no way you could have anticipated this."

"Where's Amara now?" Julia asked. "Did the police get her?"

"No," Truman answered grimly. "She escaped before anyone could catch up to her. For all we know she could be anywhere…" Worry tugged at his heart like a hungry pokemon. The whole story was too much for them to bear. Their first daughter stole a pokemon and brutally injured their second daughter for no reason other than anger and aggression. What had happened to transpire these events?

After a short while, Kassia stopped sobbing and wiped her tears. "Sorry, Jules. This is just too much...I'm at least glad you're safe…"

"Actually, you should be thanking Hikaru and the gang," Hikaru introduced her parents to Aqua and Papillon, who chirruped happily in greeting. "If it weren't for them, Amara might have hurt me a lot worse."

"Chupi!"

"Maaao!"

"Marill!"

Seeing the cheerful pokemon made smiles appear on Truman and Kassia's faces. Slowly, Kassia krept down to their level and extended her finger out so they could give her a handshake. Both Aqua and Papillon took her finger and shook it gently, happy to be acquainted with her. "They're cute. Did you catch them yourself?" Truman asked.

"Yep!" Julia announced proudly.

"You'll be a great trainer someday. They really seem to like you," Kassia said, extended her arm out for Papillon to crawl on. Delighted by the invitation, Papillon cooed before crawling up Kassia's arm, resting on her shoulder and nuzzling her cheek. "Wow. Papillon really likes you, Mom."

"She sure does!" Kassia let out a giggle as Papillon continued to nuzzle her cheek as though they had been friends forever.

"Mao maooo!" The green caterpillar cooed happily, as the peach fuzz on Kassia's cheek felt very soft and tender. Perfect for cuddling.

After a while, a doctor came and told her parents that although she sustained some bruising and a laceration on her forehead, she was for the most part fine, and was allowed to go home right this minute. To say Truman and Kassia were relieved would be an understatement. Nonetheless, they were more than happy to take Julia and her three pokemon back home. They still had to give the egg to Professor Elm though. Julia decided to take it upon herself and give the egg to Professor Elm in person, since he asked her to do it. When she got in the lab, she handed it to him without a word.

"Huh?" Professor Elm received the egg, his eyes glimmering with delight upon seeing that it was in tact. "It's a pokemon egg, and it's in tact! Thank you, Jules. I heard about what happened from your mother," He said as he put the egg on his desk. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just glad the egg's okay," Julia replied with a smile. "I heard your totodile got stolen. Sorry. My big sister Amara stole it. She shouldn't have done that," In her heart, she knew this wasn't anyone's fault but Amara's. Amara broke the rules and should be held accountable for it. Stealing is wrong. She knew this all too well. Still, she couldn't help but feel responsible, even though she wasn't there. She figured the bespectacled professor deserved an answer, especially for what Amara must have put him through.

"It's alright. It's not your fault. I should have been more careful," Professor Elm adjusted his glasses. "Glad to know you're okay though. Thanks for bringing the egg to me. You rest up, okay?"

"I will."

With that, Julia and her parents made it home, and the young girl spent the entire day running around in the meadow with Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon. It felt great to be able to run around in the grass, surrounded by pokemon. The wind in her hair, the sun shining down on the meadow, the merry smiles of the pokemon she befriended, this was heaven in her eyes. The laceration on her head didn't hurt at all no matter how much she played. She did have to go inside after a while, since she needed to rest.

She took her friends to her room and decided to pass the time by reading them her favorite books, or showing them pokemon themed picture books. It felt great to be in her room after a rough day, and with her pokemon by her side, everything seemed fine. However, the sneaky beast called worry began to gradually consume her heart like a hungry pokemon. Amara was out there with that poor totodile, probably hurting it like she did the pokemon she was forced to give up. Journeying with that totodile, breaking the rules, battling other trainers, and who knows what else. Julia was sure her sister would do anything without thought of what her actions could do to both the people and pokemon around her. Some part of her was screaming in her heart to go after her. Give her a piece of her mind. Hold her responsible for everything she's done for the past year.

An answer finally came to mind. Amara was her sister, and a good sister would let them know what they've done. Without another word, Julia stood up and darted down the stairs without thinking to bring her pokemon along. She found her parents in the dining room, sitting at the table with their hands on their heads, and blurted out, "Mom! Dad! I want to go on a journey!"

Truman and Kassia turned to look at their daughter with wide eyes. They saw her balling her fists, pressing her lips together, staring at them with a serious, almost angry expression. "What?"

"You heard me. I want to go find Amara."

"Whoa. Whoa. Back up now," Truman stood up and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Is this about the theft? You don't have to-"

"But I want to!" Julia shouted. "I want to go on a journey and find Amara! I don't want to sit here and do nothing while innocent people or pokemon are getting hurt!" The two parents could hear the desperation in her voice plain as day.

Kassia stood up and brushed a hand through her hair. "Julia. Let's talk about this first-"

"I know why she's doing this."

"Huh?"

"I know you don't think so, but I'm sure it's my fault Amara did what she did."

"Julia!" Kassia exclaimed. "Don't say that."

"Think about it! I get a pokemon and she doesn't? Of course she's gonna get jealous!" Julia exclaimed. Kassia and Truman stopped talking. She had a good point. "She hates me and I know it, and don't tell me she doesn't because I…" She wasn't sure what would be a good answer at this point. "...I-I-I just know it!"

People thought Julia never caught on to things like this. Even Amara thought her sister wouldn't be smart enough to notice. But Julia did notice. She always did. The dirty looks Amara would give her. The bad things Amara would say about her to her friends or anyone who did or didn't want to listen behind her back, when they thought she wasn't listening. The angry faces she would make whenever she saw her parents praising Julia for something, like getting good grades or helping around the house. They all thought she wouldn't understand. But she did, and it hurt to know about it all. Amara always took the opportunity to blame Julia for anything that went wrong in her life.

"Julia. Calm down a little. This is a matter the police are more than capable of handling," Kassia told her calmly. "You don't need to take it so personally. Besides, a journey around Johto is too dangerous anyway."

"Even so, I still want to go!"

Kassia found herself speechless. What could she say at this point? It was clear her daughter was not going to relent. Thankfully, Truman knew what to say at a time like this. "How about your mother and I talk about this first. We don't need to rush into things right away. Give us some time to discuss this further. Alright?"

Julia held her head down. She was sure they would say no. But at least it was better than nothing. "Alright," With that, she went back to her room.

A beautiful night draped its long cape onto New Bark Town, embroidering the sky with sparkling, jewel-like stars, crowned by a white crescent moon. Julia slept snugly in her bed, her body warm from the heavy blankets holding her down. Hikaru slept right next to her, with one of her diamond shaped ears rubbing against her trainer's forehead. Papillon curled up in a curly Q shape on one of her purple pillows, snoring soundly. Aqua slept at the foot of Julia's bed, her body facing the ceiling, with a snot bubble ballooning out of her black nose.

One of Hikaru's ears twitched, as a sound woke her from her slumber. She sat up and rubbed one of her weary eyes. She could hear something, as her large ears could pick up even the faintest of sounds. Curious, Hikaru slowly climbed down from Julia's bed and trotted out of the bedroom. The sound of Hikaru's pitter-pattering feet woke Papillon from her sleep as well. "Mrao?" Her large eyes weary from sleep, but catching a glimpse of the yellow mouse, Papillon crawled down from the bed and followed Hikaru from behind.

The yellow mouse stopped at the bottom of the steps, watching Truman and Kassia sit on the couch together. Papillon caught up and gently tapped Hikaru on the back, catching her attention. "Mrao mrao?" ( _"What are you doing?"_ )

Hikaru turned around, not surprised to find the caterpie behind her. "Pichu chuu." ( _"I heard them talking and want to know what they're saying."_ )

Papillon tilted her head to one side. _"Isn't that eavesdropping?"_

"I think we should let her go," Truman said. This stopped Hikaru and Papillon's conversation as they turned to listen. "She's clearly old enough to go."

"I don't know, Truman…" Kassia replied, her voice peppered with hesitation. "She's autistic, y'know. There's so much she doesn't understand, and I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "Chuu?" ( _"Autistic? What does that mean?"_ ) She had never heard that word before, and this was the first time someone described Julia like that. It didn't sound like anything bad. She figured she could ask Julia about it later.

"It's too dangerous," Kassia clasped her hands together, folding them so tight her knuckles turned white. "There's so much that could happen. If something were to happen...I don't know what I'd do…"

Truman put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Do you remember what she told us at the hospital?" He asked in a low, gentle whisper. "Her pokemon protected her from Amara and the totodile she stole. That shows how much they care about her. That proves Julia can be a great pokemon trainer someday. She loves pokemon. She treats them like family, like we do. You know that."

She wanted so badly to contradict him. She wanted so badly to keep Julia here, safe, away from all the bad things that could hurt her. Away from the danger. She was still so young. But Truman had a point. Julia would have been far worse off if her pokemon hadn't protected her. Perhaps sending her to Mr. Pokemon's place did some good after all. Even so, when Julia said she wanted something, she would do anything to get it.

"Kassie. I understand what you're feeling. But maybe this'll be good for her," Truman told her reassuringly. "We can't treat her like glass. She knows about hardship. You and I know this better than anyone."

"She isn't good with money. What if someone mugs her?"

"I'll teach her how to use an ATM. I can go to the bank tomorrow and ask them to make an ATM card for her. Plus...I knew she was going to ask this someday."

Kassia whipped her head up, eyes wide with surprise. "Huh?!"

"To tell you the truth, I've been secretly saving a lot of money," Truman confessed, putting a hand on his wife's smaller one. "I knew Julia would want to go on a journey someday. I started a savings account for her when she was two, and put money in whenever I had extra. If she ever decided to go on a journey, she could be financially secure and use it for whatever she needed, like for pokemon food and potions. If she decided she wanted to do something else with her life, I'd let her use it for whatever she liked," Truman shrugged once.

Hikaru and Papillon turned to look at each other. They were confused by all the big words they were using, like ATM and financial and savings. What were all of those, and what did they mean? Was it a human thing? They weren't sure. "I think I put about $12,947 in the savings account."

It must be confessed that Kassia almost screamed upon hearing that, but she kept her hands over her mouth so as to stop herself from doing so. She didn't want to wake Julia up. Truman saved that much? She had no idea. But then again, he was always a good father, and whenever something went wrong or if something was coming up, he would always try to come up with some kind of plan or solution, no matter how far away it seemed to be. To him, having a game plan was important.

"I had no idea…"

"Sorry I kept this from you. Also, you've seen how she cares for her pokemon. Even the ones she just caught just adore her. We should let her go on a journey. There's so much she can learn from going out on her own. We'll make sure she's properly prepared. Alright?"

"It's just...I lost one daughter already," Truman could tell she was referring to Amara and the things she did. His smile turned down into a frown. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Julia too…" He rubbed her back to console her, but he wasn't sure if it would help any. Amara was going down the wrong path. He knew it. She knew it. Julia knew it. Despite their efforts, none of them could stop her or rectify her behavior. In a way, he agreed with Julia. He hated sitting here, not being able to do anything but worry about her welfare.

As much as he hated what Amara had done, and as angry as he was for her poor choices, she was still his daughter. Amara was their daughter. He held his head up, looking at the bottom of the steps. That was when he saw Hikaru and Papillon looking at them, not even trying to hide from view. "Look."

"Chu!"

"Mao!" Hikaru and Papillon scuttled over to them and rubbed their heads against their legs, hoping to comfort them somewhat. Their frowns turned into smiles, and Kassia stretched her arm down to pet Hikaru. Papillon crawled up onto Truman's leg and sat on his lap.

"You're darling pokemon," Truman whispered, stroking Papillon's green body with his large, rugged hand. "Take care of our daughter. Okay?"

"Mao!" Papillon replied, as she understood perfectly.

Over the next week, life in the Parisa house was quiet, even pleasant. Julia's parents would give her chores to do like usual, such as feed the pokemon in the meadow, wash her laundry, put the dishes in the dishwasher, even clean up their droppings. That was the chore she always hated, but she put up with it, as she knew it would be an important part of being a trainer. One day, out of the blue, Kassia came back from a store.

"Julia? I got something for you," Kassia announced.

Curious, Julia helped her mother put down the bags and take the stuff out. "What is it?" Her mother went through a bag and pulled out a bright pink bag. It was large, round like a PokeBall, and had a white PokeBall design on the center of it, with a big, black velcro strap supporting it. Julia's eyes widened with delight as she picked it up, looking through it. There were a lot of secret pockets inside where she could put things in, like PokeBalls and her PokeGear. "Wow! This is wonderful! I love it!" She threw it on herself and wrapped her arms around her mother. "Thanks so much, Mom!"

"I'm glad you like it, because you're gonna need it."

Julia held her head up. "What do you mean?"

Kassia took in a breath before announcing, "Your father and I have been talking, and we thought about what you said. We decided that...you deserve to go out on a journey."

Was she hearing things? Julia was convinced they would never let her go. She put her fingers in her ears and pulled out some wax. Maybe she heard it wrong. They said they'd let her go on a journey. "You're not pulling my leg, right?"

"Nope."

They weren't. She knew all too well her parents would never lie about serious things like this. Just the thought of being able to go on a journey with her pokemon made her let out a squeal. Her eyes widened, sparkling with unbridled joy. "Yay! Yay yay yay yaaaaay!" Without hesitation, she jumped all around the room. At one point she even spun around in the living room.

"Now now. Calm down a little. We need to prepare so let's go up to your room," Kassia suggested.

Julia darted up the stairs faster than anyone could catch up. Her pokemon seemed to sense that she was happy about something, and couldn't help but be happy right along with her. Kassia decided to help Julia pack up for the journey, and even picked out her clothes. As happy as she was about the journey, however, Julia couldn't help but be a little miffed at her mother's insistence on picking out her clothes. The girl was quick to throw in some clean underwear and shorts, hygiene products such as toothpaste, shampoo, a towel, toothbrushes, and all of her trainer essentials.

"Mom. You don't have to do this for me," She said. "I know how to pick out my clothes."

"Sorry, Jules. Mom's always gotta make sure everything's a-ok," She replied sheepishly. Julia rolled her eyes and put some clean shirts in her bag. "Don't forget to change your under-"

"You know I always do!" Julia interrupted, her face turning red like a tomato. Aqua burst into merry laughter, rolling on the bed like she heard a funny joke. Papillon just sighed, and Hikaru hopped on Julia's shoulder. "By the way, you said you and Dad are taking me somewhere?"

"Yes. To Cherrygrove's Pokemon Center."

"You work there, right?"

"Yes. He said he wants to teach you how to do something before we let you go out."

It didn't take much to get prepared, and by the time she was packed, Julia was ready. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls and put them in her pocket. Once they were ready, they drove off to the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove. When they got there, Kassia went off to talk to the Nurse Joy there, and Truman escorted Julia to a small silver ATM.

"You know what an ATM is, right Julia?" Truman asked.

"Don't you and Mom use these to deposit or withdraw money?"

"Yes. That's correct. By the way, here's your very own ATM card," Truman rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a shiny, lime green ATM card. Julia took it in her hands and examined it.

"Pretty!"

"First, you slide it in that slot right there," Truman pointed to the card scanner. On cue, Julia slid it through the scanner.

" _Welcome to the Automatic Teller Machine,"_ The silver machine said in a monotone, robotic voice. The screen displayed two rectangle shaped buttons, with the left one reading Withdraw and the right one reading Deposit. _"Please state your transaction."_

Julia had seen them use it before, and knew what withdraw and deposit meant, so she used her finger to press the withdraw button. It displayed the current balance along with some numbers. _"Please type the amount you wish to withdraw."_

"Withdraw forty dollars," Truman suggested. "It'll be enough to buy potions and other items like antidotes and paralysis heals," He added.

Julia typed in the number forty and pressed the withdraw button. Two twenty dollar bills fell out of a slot underneath the screen, and she was quick to grab them. _"Your account has been debited $40. Thank you for your transaction."_ With that, the screen went back to normal.

"Wow. That was really cool," Julia mused to herself, stashing the forty dollars in her other pocket.

"Now, I just want you to know," Truman began. "This ATM card is very important. You absolutely cannot lose it, nor should you just give it to anyone. It is only to be used in case of emergency. You can use it for trainer essentials, but don't spend it all in one day, and don't buy any junk you don't need. Okay?" The girl could tell he was serious about this, so she nodded vigorously. His smile returned. "Good."

At this time, Kassia approached them and gave Julia a quick hug. "You be careful out there," She squeezed her just a little tighter. "Be safe. Call us if you need anything."

Time away from her parents. Going out all on her own. Julia didn't have any doubts before, but a tiny mote of it sprang up in her heart. "Okay, Mom."

"No matter what, we'll always love you, and you'll always have a home with us," Kassia told her. Julia could see a stray tear fall from her eye.

"We're sure you'll do great," Truman said. "Pokemon Centers also function as inns. You can spend the night for free, they let you do your laundry, you can order food there, all that stuff. They're very convenient."

Kassia let go of her daughter and wiped the tear away. With a soft smile, she waved to her parents before stepping out of the Pokemon Center. Truman waved right back, watching as his daughter turned the corner. They couldn't see her anymore. Kassia suddenly sobbed into her husband's shirt. Without a word, Truman stroke his wife's back. Neither of them noticed some people in the lobby watching them with confused faces, wondering what the heck is going on.

On the other hand, Julia stopped in the PokeMart. Shelves were lined with all sorts of things a trainer could need. Potions, PokeBalls, ropes, PokeDolls, paralysis heals, antidotes, burn heals, ice heals, even some fresh berries in plastic cartons. There were also things trainers didn't exactly need, like stickers, plush dolls, fiction books, biographies, etc. One set of stickers caught her eye. They were a variety of shapes, like hearts, stars, tear drops, leaves, etc. They were big enough to write on. She pulled the following off of some shelves: two potions, two sets of stickers, and a mechanical pencil.

"Hello there," A PokeMart clerk said as Julia put her items on the counter. "That'll be $5.67," She handed him a twenty and waited for him to get the change in order. He handed her the change and the items she picked out in a plastic bag. "Have a nice day," Without a word, Julia darted out of the mart and onto the dirt road.

The same road she used when she went to see Mr. Pokemon. This time, she knew she had to go in a different direction. But for now, she just wanted to enjoy the scenery. She thought her pokemon might like it, too. She pulled out her PokeBalls. "Everyone! Come on out!" With that, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all came out of their PokeBalls.

"Pichu!"

"Mraaaao!"

"Mar mar!"

"Guess what? We're going to travel all over Johto! Isn't that great?" She told them as she opened the sticker pack, tearing up the plastic wrap. She pulled the pencil out and wrote Hikaru on the star shaped sticker before peeling it off and placing it on Hikaru's PokeBall. She did the same with a tear drop sticker and a leaf sticker, putting the former on Aqua's PokeBall and the latter on Papillon's PokeBall. "See? I labeled your PokeBalls in case they get lost, so I know exactly which ones are mine."

"Chuuu!"

Some grass rustled beside her. A young sentret suddenly darted out from the tall grass, looking around apprehensively. Staying silent, Julia held up her PokeDex to check its gender. A blue male sign flashed at the corner. It was a boy. She stood up. "I'm gonna catch it this time. Hikaru, use Sweet Kiss on the sentret over there," Julia whispered quietly.

Hikaru nodded before blowing a kiss at the sentret. Lofty pink hearts floated over to the sentret. Once they made contact, the sentret found itself wobbling around, unable to move without falling all over itself. Its eyesight blurred and as it tried to walk, it tripped on the dirt and fell face first. Julia pulled out an empty PokeBall. "Go, PokeBall!" With a swing, the PokeBall tapped the sentret once, turning it into red light, sucking it right in.

The PokeBall's center flashed in a red light, wobbling back and forth. Julia crossed her fingers, praying that it catch it. After a few seconds, the red light vanished, and the PokeBall sat still on the ground. Julia couldn't help but jump and cheer. "Yay! I got a sentret this time!"

Her pokemon jumped right along with her. "Pichu pichu!" "Maaao!" "Marill mar!"

Julia kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. She was quick to peel off a white, circle shaped sticker and press it on the PokeBall. Already a name popped up in her head and she was quick to write it down. She wrote Neji on the sticker. Hikaru curiously peered down at the sticker, taking note of the name written on it. "Pichu?"

"Yes. I'm calling him Neji. It means spiral, and sentret tails have a spiral pattern," Julia explained. "Let's meet our new friend!" She let Neji out of his PokeBall.

"Sentret?"

"Hi there!" Julia greeted it kindly. "Sorry we scared you back there," She kneeled down to its level. "Would you like to be our friend?"

Neji gave a soft smile before nodding. "Sentret."

"You're gonna be called Neji from now on. Is that okay?"

Neji let out a friendly cry. "Tret sentret!" He let out his arms as if he wanted a hug. Julia gave a sweet smile, happy she made a new friend.

"Hey!" A young boy's voice suddenly pulled her out of her reverie. Julia stood up, with her pokemon gathering around her protectively, even Neji.

Some grass rustled in the distance. All of a sudden, a young boy popped out from the grass. He looked to be about eight or nine years old, at least a foot shorter than she, with messy brown hair hidden away in a backwards blue baseball cap. The boy was wearing a bright yellow shirt with blue cuffs at the sleeves, blue shorts, and blue and white sneakers. Band-aids dotted his legs, like he had scratched them a lot. As soon as he appeared, Julia froze in place.

"You caught that sentret, didn't you?" The kid asked in a high pitched, husky boy voice.

"Uhhh...yes?"

"Awwww!" The kid complained, facepalming. "I was gonna catch it!"

"Oh. Sorry," Julia apologized.

"It's okay!" The kid exclaimed. "There's a bunch of them around here, so I can catch another one! Are you a trainer?"

"Uhh...yes. I...I just...started out…"

The kid crossed his arms, examining her with a keen eye. "Yeah, you do kinda look like a newbie," Julia could tell he didn't say that with malice in mind, so she didn't think much of it. But something about him looked familiar. The kid looked down at her pokemon, suddenly noticing Hikaru. "Wow! That's a pichu! Can I look at your pichu?"

"Sure. Just...be gentle," Julia told him.

"Wow! That's so cool!" The kid suddenly hoisted Hikaru in the air with his bare hands. "And it's a different color, too! Awesome!" Hikaru wriggled out of his grasp and hid behind Julia.

"Chuu!"

"You were a little rough," Julia said.

"Oh," The kid scratched his hat. "Sorry about that. I'm Joey, by the way!"

Joey. That was his name. That did sound familiar. He was the kid from the Pokemon Center who was confronted by Amara last week. "I'm...Julia," She mused shyly.

"Hey! Both our names start with the letter J! Pretty sweet, huh? You got some cool pokemon!" He pulled out his PokeBall, showing it to her like it was a trophy. "Wanna see my super awesome pokemon?"

"Sure?"

"Alright! Come on out, Rattata!" A white light appeared out from the PokeBall, materializing into a mouse shaped animal. The light dissipated, revealing a purple and cream colored mouse with red eyes, big teeth, and a curly tail.

"Rattata!"

Without another word, Julia pulled out her PokeDex to give it a look. _"Rattata, the mouse Pokemon,"_ The PokeDex said in its usual robotic voice. _"Rattata are very cautious, even to the extreme. Even when they're asleep, they constantly listen by moving their ears around. They make their nests anywhere they want, will chew on anything with its fangs, and love to forage for food."_

Aqua waddled over to the rattata and offered its hand out. "Marill mar mar!" Rattata didn't seem too interested, as it crossed its forelegs and turned around, leaving Aqua confused. "Marill?"

"My dad got him for me," Joey explained with a cheeky grin, crossing his arms proudly. "He's the awesomest pokemon around! He's kinda the only one I have though, but he's different from other rattata!" Julia took a couple steps away from him. "It's like he's in the top percentage of all rattata!"

"You...don't say…" Julia thought nervously. _'Man, this kid's really full of himself. I should really get going,'_ She told herself. She took her PokeBalls out and made her pokemon go back inside except for Hikaru. "Well, I have to go now-"

"Hey! Don't go! How about we have a battle?" Joey insisted.

"A...battle?" Something in her snapped.

Joey simply smiled and rubbed his nose with one finger. "We can battle our pokemon and see whose are the strongest! I'm gonna win, though! You do look kinda-"

Anger boiled over. The blood in her cheeks made them burn, and she clutched the strap on her bag. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly shouted, "Absolutely not!" Joey stopped talking, and his eyes suddenly widened to the point of looking like saucers. "Do you really think I'm gonna put my precious pokemon through something so cruel and barbaric?!" Even Hikaru was rendered speechless. This wasn't like her. "I refuse to let you hurt my pokemon, nor should you let your precious rattata get hurt!"

Her eyes began to blur and sting a little. Joey took a few steps back, as Julia snapped at him so much she scared him a little. She balled her fists as though she wanted to punch him for even suggesting that they have a battle. Memories flashed through her mind. Pokemon attacking each other in a room, breaking glass windows, sending flashes all over. A young Julia hiding in a corner, crying into her fists. A large, shadowy figure shaped like a woman looming over her with angry eyes.

"Pichu?" Hikaru's sweet voice brought her back to reality. When she saw the fear on his face, she darted away, with Hikaru following her.

"Hey! Wait up!" Joey called out, but she had run too far ahead.

She was only able to run for a short while before panting and resting on a stump near a cave. Hikaru caught up with her, giving her a concerned expression. "Pichu? Pichu pi pichu."

Julia wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing her eyes shut. "Sorry, Hikaru. I don't like pokemon battles. I refuse to put you or everyone else through them."

"Pi?" Hikaru tilted her head to one side, looking confused.

"Because they're cruel, barbaric, violent, and all they do is hurt you and get you in trouble! That's why!" Julia snapped.

This didn't stop some pokemon from popping out of the grass, whether to steal her food or attack her. Sometimes there was no choice, so she would have Papillon come out and use String Shot on them so she could escape without hurting them. Other times, Hikaru and Papillon would act on their own and attack other pokemon to protect her, much to her consternation. At one point, a pidgey swooped down to try and attack Papillon, had she not managed to use String Shot on it in the nick of time.

The good news was, Julia had wanted to catch a pidgey, so this was a blessing in disguise. She threw a PokeBall at the trapped pidgey, and it swallowed it up. When the PokeBall stopped wobbling, she and her pokemon cheered. "Yay! A new friend!"

"Pichu chuuu!"

"Marill!"

Julia looked down at Papillon to find something strange. The little caterpillar was spinning silk around itself while glowing in a soft, white light. "Papillon?" When Papillon was done, she had morphed into a green, crescent shaped shell with a set of eyes looking right up at her. Julia's eyes glimmered. She knew what this was. "Wow! You evolved into a metapod!" She pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Metapod, the cocoon pokemon, and the evolved form of Caterpie. A steel hard shell protects its body from predators, and it silently waits for evolution. They prefer to stay very still as their innards are very soft and tender."_

"Metapod!" Papillon chirruped.

"Wow! You evolved!" Julia scooped Papillon in her arms and hugged her tight. Papillon's new body felt hard yet cool, and she found this to be quite soothing. "I'm so proud of you! You're gonna be a butterfree before you know it!"

Papillon closed her eyes contentedly. She had no mouth, so nobody could tell what she was thinking. But they were sure Papillon was just as happy as the rest of them.

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Metapod (Female, Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot), Neji (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack)**


	4. The Origin of Battling

Chapter 4: The Origin of Battling

It had been at least two hours since Julia began her journey, and she only managed to make it as far as the end of the path leading to a cave. Caves were dark and scary, and probably full of dangerous pokemon she wasn't sure she could handle. Since her legs were getting tired from too much walking, she decided to sit down on a nearby rock and take a break. Her feet were beginning to throb, so being able to stretch her legs out and fold them felt like heaven.

Then a thought popped up in her head. Her pokemon might be hungry by now. She was sure she had a bag of pokemon food stuffed in her new bag. Hikaru sat next to her, happily playing with some tiny rocks that happened to be nearby. She looked down at the PokeBall in her hand, the one she used to catch a pidgey with. She hadn't had the time to check its gender nor its attacks, but a name hatched in her head already. She pulled out a feather sticker and pressed it on the PokeBall, using her mechanical pencil to write a name on it.

"Tsubasa," She murmured before nodding. Tsubasa was a name she found on the internet. It was an ancient word that meant wings. What could be better to describe a flying type pokemon? "It's perfect!" Looking down at Hikaru, she asked, "Hey, Hikaru. Are you hungry?"

Hikaru looked up at her with its usual wide eyed stare, those huge eyes full of youth and curiosity. "Pichu," Hikaru shook her head, but the rumbling coming from her stomach begged to differ.

Julia stifled a laugh. "It's okay. I have plenty of pokemon food for everyone," She pulled out her PokeBalls and let everyone out, including the pidgey she caught. The one she named Tsubasa.

Tsubasa was a small bird pokemon, with cream and light brown fur, fierce black eyes, sharp pink talons, and a matching beak that curled slightly at the end. Julia smiled upon seeing her. Oddly enough, whereas everyone else was still chipper and jovial even from the walking they did, Tsubasa always seemed to have an annoyed expression about her.

"Everyone! I'd like you all to meet the newest member of our family, Tsubasa the pidgey!" Julia introduced her friends to their newest addition. Tsubasa simply turned her head away. "Oh! Sorry! I'm Julia. You don't mind if we call you Tsubasa, do you?"

"Coo coo," Tsubasa replied tersely.

"Pichu!" With a bright, welcoming smile, Hikaru moseyed over to Tsubasa and extended a hand out. "Pichu pichu!" She squeaked. Tsubasa gave her a stern, annoyed look, extending one of her wings out before suddenly...slapping Hikaru's hand away with it. "Chuu!" Hikaru cried, holding her hand. Tsubasa simply turned her head away.

"Hey! That's not nice!" Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn't even react. "You should say you're sorry."

"Coo!" Tsubasa chirped, turning around in order to avert their gaze.

This was a first. All of the pokemon she dealt with were pleasant and well behaved. Perhaps Tsubasa just needed some time. Some friendships don't always happen right away, and she knew she would have to deal with some slightly stand-offish pokemon some time. She kneeled down to Hikaru's level and examined her hand. "Sorry about that, Hikaru. Are you okay?"

"Pichu!"

"Glad to hear it. I'll bet you're all hungry, so it's lunch time now!" Julia unzipped her bag and pulled out a bag of pokemon food. The next thing she needed was something like a bowl to pour it in. She rummaged through her bag once more. All she found her clothes, her PokeGear, her PokeDex, her trainer ID, her ATM card, and other essentials. No bowl. "Oh no! I didn't get a bowl! Awww!" Julia let out a drawn out groan, kicking herself for her carelessness.

She wished she had gotten one at the PokeMart when she had the chance. The next town over was at least half an hour away on foot, and as much as she'd like to just deal with the hunger herself, she wasn't sure about her pokemon. Then again, pokemon normally find food for themselves. With a sigh, she opened the bag and poured a small amount of it on the dirt. "I don't have any bowls, so you're all going to have to share it," She told them ruefully. "And don't eat too much all at once."

The pokemon gathered around the food, happily chomping it down. She made sure to pour enough for them to eat, but not too much so as to completely empty the entire bag. She knew she had to be frugal and use as little as possible so as to save it for later, in case of dire emergencies. If they could get to the next town, she could get the chance to buy some bowls for them to use and get some food for herself at the Pokemon Center. Her stomach growled with an intense roar, begging for food. She didn't pack any food for herself, but she figured she could deal with it for a while.

After a while, the pokemon finished eating. Julia could tell they were ready to head out again. "Is everyone ready to go?" Her friends replied with cries and chirrups. Julia flung her bag over her back but noticed someone was missing. "Where's Tsubasa?"

The pokemon looked around. She was right. Tsubasa was gone. In an instant, a giant hand called worry clasped tight around her heart, trapping it inside and refusing to let it go. "Oh no!" Her hands flew to the sides of her head. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no!" All kinds of horrible scenarios were running through her mind.

What if something happened to Tsubasa? What if she got hurt? Kidnapped? Or even killed by poachers? She had to find her at any cost. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost any of her precious friends.

"Everyone! Tsubasa's missing and we have to find her! Let's split up and search the area!" She commanded.

On cue, her pokemon scuttled about the area to look for the pidgey. Even Papillon, who normally sits still, bounced off to try and find the bird pokemon. Julia walked around, calling Tsubasa's name on foot.

"Tsubasaaaaaa! Tsubasaaaaa! Where are you?!" She called and called, but no response.

"Pichuuuuuu!"

"Mariiiiiill!"

"Sentreeeeeeet!" Neji stood on his tail like any other sentret would, which helped him see a long way.

For a moment, Julia was sure Tsubasa was gone. All of a sudden, a tornado of wind suddenly spiraled up from a few feet away. It was a gust attack. Hikaru's diamond shaped ears picked it up. She and Julia ran to the source of the gust. As soon as they got there, the tiny tornado dissipated, revealing a slew of injured pokemon such as rattata, caterpie, a hairy yellow bug with a horn on its head, a giant ladybug, and a small plant with a yellow bell shaped head and a pink mouth.

There was Tsubasa, flapping her wings, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Tsubasa!" Julia stomped over to the bird with an angry expression. "You didn't just attack those pokemon, did you?!"

"Coo!"

Julia took that as a yes. "You can't just go up to random pokemon and attack them like that!"

"Coo coo coo!" ( _"Yes I can!"_ )

That statement left her dumbfounded. Did this little pidgey just backtalk her? Already she began wondering if she had a rebellious little bird on her hands. But she needed to keep her cool. A good trainer never let their pokemon walk all over them.

She crossed her arms, stomped her foot once, pointed her finger at Tsubasa, and said, "Tsubasa Parisa! There are rules to being a member of this family, and since I'm your trainer, I make the rules, and it's your duty to follow them! From now on, you are forbidden from battling any pokemon!"

Tsubasa suddenly flew away right then and there, ascending into the sky without giving Julia time to react. "Hey! Tsubasa! Get back here!" Julia ran after the rebellious little bird. That didn't go well.

Tsubasa didn't go very far, as she sat on a tree branch and let out a yawn. The frazzled girl managed to catch up, confused by the little bird's defiant behavior. "Tsubasa! Please! Why are you acting like this? Am I doing something wrong?"

"Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"Battling is my life!"_ )

The girl's mouth fell agape. Battling was her life, she said. She had suspected there were pokemon who loved battling above all else, but she certainly didn't expect her own pidgey to be one such pokemon. In all the books she read, pidgey were described as being docile, preferring to avoid battles. To confirm it, she pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Pidgey, the tiny bird pokemon. Among all the flying type pokemon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. If at all possible, they usually avoid battles, and they protect themselves by using whirlwind and kicking up sand. They have an_ _extremely sharp sense of direction, and are capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings."_

Putting her PokeDex away, Julia looked up at Tsubasa and asked, "Why do you like battling so much? Don't you get hurt?"

"Coo coo coo!" ( _"I want to be the strongest pidgey ever! I'm not a puny little weakling!"_ )

"Nobody said you were," Julia said. "But I don't like battles, and I don't want you or anyone else getting hurt."

Tsubasa huffed before turning around. "Coo coo!" ( _"Stupid idiot."_ )

"Hey! I heard that! Don't you take that tone with me, young lady!" Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn't say a word. All of her pokemon looked at each other with worried looks. This pidgey sure was a tough cookie, and a defiant little thing, too. Julia stomped her foot once. "Fine! Be that way!"

Once again, Tsubasa flew off. This time, she didn't sit on any branches. "Come on!" Julia whined, stomping her foot again in frustration. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls sans Hikaru and ran into the tall grass. Julia had to wonder if she made a mistake in catching Tsubasa. She could easily see that Tsubasa was too tough to handle at this point, but she didn't want to give up on her. It had only been a short time since she caught her. Surely, she would come around.

"Yeek!" A girl screeched in the distance. Hikaru led her to the source of the scream. A girl with long, dark blonde hair was aghast, as Tsubasa was pecking her chikorita on the leaf.

Julia's eyes slammed open. "No! Tsubasa! Don't do that!" She leaped on the bird and managed to catch her with both hands, pulling her away from the chikorita.

"Is that _your_ pidgey?" The girl asked, her voice a combination of both confusion, fear, and anger.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, she is. I'm so sorry!" Tsubasa flapped her wings and talons, struggling to break out of Julia's grasp. She was too small to fly right out, and Julia's hands were tight around her body. "Tsubasa! You do NOT go and attack people's pokemon like that!" She scolded sternly, like her mother would when she would scold Amara. "Say you're sorry right now!"

The defiant bird cawed and cooed, still flapping her wings. The bewildered girl's fear morphed into anger. "Control your pokemon, for Pete's sake! That thing just attacked my chikorita out of nowhere!" The girl yelled. Julia squeezed her eyes shut and recoiled. She wished she could cover her ears, but they were occupied with Tsubasa at the moment. The girl's words shot right through her heart. All of a sudden, Tsubasa finally broke free and flew away.

"Tsubasa! Come back! You need to apologize!" Julia yelled.

The girl made her chikorita return to its PokeBall, crossing her arms before sneering, "Wow. Your own pokemon doesn't even listen to you. You must be a pretty pathetic trainer."

Pathetic? Julia couldn't help but be offended. She turned around and shouted, "It's not like I wanted her to attack your pokemon like that, and I said I was sorry!" She glanced at a round, blue berry lying by her feet, picked it up, and handed it to the girl with a grunt. "Here's an Oran berry. They can heal your pokemon's injuries."

"Whatever," The girl walked away without another word.

Julia's shoulders slumped downward, and she found herself holding her head down, staring at her sneakers. She couldn't believe that just happened. Tsubasa had attacked someone else's pokemon for no reason, and Julia was blamed for it. In her heart, she did feel she deserved some blame. Tsubasa was her pokemon, and despite her best efforts to make sure she didn't do things like this, the pidgey didn't listen, and didn't seem to want to. Tsubasa was her responsibility. Still, she felt so berated, so exposed, so attacked. That girl even had the nerve to call her pathetic. What did she know? But it didn't make what she said hurt any less.

Memories flooded back in her mind. Bodiless hands yanked her chin upward with great force, and her fearful green eyes met the glowing eyes of a mysterious black figure. _"You're pathetic! You're a bad little girl! Stop whining! You're selfish! A naughty girl who don't care about anyone but yourself!"_ Julia shook her head and put her hands over her ears to block it out, but it didn't work. Hikaru put a paw on Julia's leg to reassure her, but the dark yellow mouse could tell it didn't console her.

She hated it. She hated it so much when they did that. Called her names and made assumptions about her right to her face that weren't true. Amara calling her stupid and annoying when she wasn't. That girl telling her to control Tsubasa when she rightfully scolded her for what she did. That girl calling her pathetic when she did everything in her power to rectify the situation. That evil figure calling her selfish, naughty, and bad when she spent most of her life trying to be good, kind, and selfless. She took care of her pokemon. Would someone genuinely selfish and bad really go out of their way to care for their pokemon and treat them like family?

No. No they wouldn't.

"Pichuuu?" ( _"You okay?"_ )

"Sorry, Hikaru," Julia stroke her little friend's head gently, happy that she stayed with her. "I'm not a very good trainer, am I?"

The yellow mouse vigorously shook her head in disagreement. "Pichu pichu!" ( _"No you're not! You did everything you could! That girl shouldn't have called you pathetic!"_ )

At least she had Hikaru and her friends by her side. She forced a smile. "Thanks. I appreciate it," Julia scooped Hikaru in her arms. "Let's go find Tsubasa, then go to the next town."

As it turned out, Tsubasa didn't go very far. She was in a tree picking berries, namely Oran berries and Pecha berries. Whether it was for herself or for the pokemon, Julia wasn't sure, and didn't think to ask. She just pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. Those berries would be very useful for her journey, though. But she didn't even walk two feet before a piercing screech froze her in place.

"Jigglyyyyy!"

It was close by, too. "What was that?! A pokemon?!" Julia yelped.

"Pichu!" Hikaru darted into the tall grass, with her trainer quick to follow.

It didn't take long for them to find the source of the screaming, but it was enough for them to hide in some bushes. A round, pink pokemon with pointed ears and large, round, teal eyes was holding its stubby hands over its head, cowering in fear. A man was looming over it with a long rattlesnake whip, his face contorted with rage. He was wearing a black hat, a matching shirt and pants, and tall grey boots and matching gloves, with a big red R emblazoned on the shirt.

Julia didn't even bother to pull out her PokeDex. The round pokemon tried to run away, but the angry man grabbed it by the ear, yanking it so hard the pokemon fell on its rear end. It was what he did next that absolutely horrified the two. The man held his hand upward, high in the sky, before dropping it down across the poor pokemon's cheek with a hard crack. The pokemon wailed after the slap, its large cheek red and stinging from the pain. Julia almost gasped, had she not managed to cover her mouth, but her eyes slammed open with horror.

"That's what you get for trying to run away, you piece of garbage!" The uniformed man roared, his eyes gleaming with nothing but anger and hatred. There was no sympathy nor remorse. "You're mine now, and you do as I say or else you're gonna get a bullet in your head!"

Something inside Julia snapped. This man was utterly deplorable. Slapping a pokemon across the face, calling it a piece of garbage, and giving it orders, completely ignoring its tears. That was the last straw. As much as she hated pokemon battles, she hated pokemon abusers even more.

"Hikaru! Use Thundershock!" She shouted.

"Piiii!" Hikaru leaped out of the bushes with a piercing battle cry, dropping a small jolt of lightning down on the uniformed man. Electricity surged through every single vein in his body, grilling him to the bone. This gave the round pokemon the chance to run away upon seeing Julia within its vicinity. Its round eyes overflowing with tears, the round pokemon ran into Julia's arms.

"Jiggly..."

"It'll be okay! You're safe now, little jigglypuff!" Julia stroke its back, crooning in a soft voice so as to not frighten it.

Unfortunately, the thundershock attack wasn't enough to knock out the man in black. He staggered to his feet, reaching for the holster on his belt. Julia saw a shiny black gun on his belt. Her mind was screaming that guns were bad news, and that she had to run. Now. With Hikaru on her tail, she scooped the jigglypuff in her arms and sprinted for her life.

"Come back here you brat!" The man screamed, holding out his gun, aiming it right at Julia.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Three gunshots echoed through the area, sending bird pokemon flying out of their nests in fear. None of the bullets hit Julia nor the pokemon, but they were definitely loud enough to make her fall to her knees. Seeing bullet casting right next to her sneaker made her shiver, freezing her in place.

The perfect opportunity for the man to grab her by the hair, preventing her from escape. He yanked on her hair so hard, he could very easily pull some strands out. "Jiggly!" The jigglypuff cried. The man then held his gun right at the shivering girl's face. Julia found herself looking right down the barrel of a black gun.

"This oughta teach you to mess with me, you brat!" The man howled.

"PICHUUUU!" With gusto, Hikaru flung herself at the man, managing to knock the gun out of his hand. But it wasn't enough to completely make him fall to the ground, and she herself was too small to do any great damage.

All of a sudden, one of her pokemon popped out of its PokeBall all on her own. It was Tsubasa, and a very enraged Tsubasa, at that. The tiny bird flapped its wings furiously as she dashed right toward the flustered man, pecking on his head with her beak over and over again.

"Tsubasa! Hikaru!"

"Ow! Owowow! Yeowch! Get off me, you little pest!"

It was then that a young girl of about seven or eight shyly moseyed onto the scene. She had pale blonde hair tied in two small braids with purple bows, and her blue eyes were brimming with nothing but worry. Julia took notice of her. 'Oh no! If that man gets her, he might kill her!' She thought.

"My jigglypuff! You brought her back for me?!" The girl yelped.

"Wait. This jigglypuff is yours?" Julia asked.

The little girl nodded. "That mean man took her from me."

So that was what happened. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You and jigglypuff go somewhere safe. It's too dangerous."

"I already called the police," The girl told her.

"That's good!" Julia exclaimed. Her parents must have taught her to do that. That was when they noticed a shadow flying over them.

Silver and red wings reflected the sun's bright rays, blinding the man into holding a hand over his face. Cold steel clamped down on the man's back, pinning him to the ground. Looking up, he saw a large, silvery white bird, wings outstretched, staring down at him with shining yellow eyes like those of a predator ready to consume its prey.

"Skaaaaaar!" The bird roared into the man's face, scaring him into submission.

A police car wheeled onto the scene, sirens flashing a ghostly red and blue. The driver's door came open, and out came a blue haired man in a deep blue policeman's uniform, the golden badge on his breast reflecting the sunlight. Hand cuffs in hand, the man walked over to the large silver bird and placed a hand on one of its wings with a smile.

"Good work, Skarmory," He mused.

"Skarr!"

He looked down at the frightened man with a stern look. "As for you…" He wasted no time kneeling down and slapping the handcuffs on the man. "You're under arrest," He gestured for skarmory to let him go now that he was handcuffed. The man pulled him up, dragged him to the police car, pulled a door open, and threw him inside. Another police officer came out from the passenger seat.

"Great job, Falkner!" The man exclaimed.

"Thanks. You can take it from here, Sargeant," Falkner replied gratefully.

With a nod, the man went in the driver's seat and pulled away from the scene with the prisoner in his custody. The car disappeared into the distance. Julia looked down and noticed the jigglypuff, gently escorting her back to her trainer.

"I believe this is your pokemon?"

"Yay!" The little girl hugged her jigglypuff cheerfully, relieved to have her back. "Thank you, miss!"

"You're welcome."

The jigglypuff took the girl's hand, and the two skipped away from the woods, happy to be together again. The little girl's smile was radiant, and that prompted a smile to tickle Julia's face. She turned to face Falkner and his skarmory. She pulled out her PokeDex to check out his skarmory.

" _Skarmory, the armor bird pokemon. In ancient times, people used to hunt them for their feathers, using them to make swords. Even though it's clad in armor and its wings look heavy, they are actually very hollow and light, and they can fly at a speed of 180 miles per hour."_

"That's a PokeDex, right?" Falkner asked, putting a hand on his hip. "Did Professor Elm give that to you?"

"Ah!" Julia shoved her PokeDex back into her bag, her face turning red like a tomato. "Y-Y-Y-Yes…" She mused shyly. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was being put on the spot. But he did save her and the little girl from that man, after all. "Th-Thanks for helping us back there…"

Falkner pulled skarmory back into its PokeBall, putting it on his holster. "I'm the chief of police. It's my job to help those in need," He said in a low but smooth, rich voice. Upon closer inspection, Julia couldn't help but assume he looked to be in his very late twenties. But he said he was the chief of police. Weren't police chiefs supposed to be older than that?

"Coo coo coo!" Tsubasa rested on Julia's shoulder, cooing.

Julia gave her a stern look. "No, Tsubasa! You're not battling him and that's final!"

"Coo coo!" Tsubasa snapped back.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!"

Falkner scratched his blue hair, tilting his head to one side. "You won't let your pokemon battle?"

"No. I don't like pokemon battles. They're cruel, and I can't stand seeing pokemon get hurt," She replied matter-of-factly.

"Wow. You're the first trainer I ever met who hates pokemon battles," Falkner said. "It seems your pidgey likes battles. Did you just catch her recently?"

"Yes. She's a bit of a handful, though," Julia replied.

"You know…" Falkner pointed to a town just down the road. "You've probably had a long day. Violet City's just down this road."

Violet City. As soon as she heard that name, Julia found herself tensing up like she heard a swarm of beedrill coming her way. _'No way! Violet City?! No! No no no no no no no! Anywhere but that!'_ She scrambled through her bag to pull out her PokeGear. There had to be another town nearby. There just had to be. She looked at the map function on her PokeGear. Much to her dismay, Violet City was the only town that was close by. Everywhere else was just too far.

"Oh no…"

"What's wrong?"

"I was kinda hoping I wouldn't go there…"

Falkner shrugged. "I can escort you there, if you like."

"Sure. Thanks."

As much as she hated where she was going, she knew she and her pokemon had to rest. It would be bad if she stayed out in the wilderness and her pokemon got sick and tired. Knowing she had little choice, she followed Falkner down the road to Violet City. Thankfully, it only took them a few minutes to get there, and it was still light out. Julia checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 2:30 PM. She couldn't believe it. Had she really spent so much time between Cherrygrove and Violet? Her stomach roared, begging for food. Falkner heard it, but didn't say anything, as he didn't want to be rude.

Finally, they made it. Violet City was bigger than Cherrygrove, but still had its own kind of character. All of the buildings were made of greyish brown stones, even the Pokemon Center and the PokeMart, giving them an old, historic air about them. A tall, three-tiered tower stood at the far end of town, towering above everything else as though it were boasting about how it could touch the sky. But the building that caught Julia's attention was a large school building.

The big stone sign on the front read _Pokemon Academy, Grades K-12_. Pokemon Academy itself was a large building going almost two stories high, still dwarfed by the large tower, with deep purple roofing. At the top of the roof was a large, bronze bell that stood still and dormant, not making a sound. Surrounding the school were several smaller buildings with mahogany roof tiles and stone walls. Some small, fluffy trees were planted in some gardens dotting the school grounds. On the left was a pokemon battlefield, with the white pokeball emblem right in the middle.

Julia cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. She could already smell the old, stony scent of the classrooms and hear voice she wished she didn't have to hear again. "Chuu? Pichu?" Not even Hikaru's sweet, comforting voice could pull her out of the nightmare. The bodiless figure from before came back with a vengeance. A hand reached out to grab her.

"Miss? You're crying. What's wrong?" Falkner's voice made the hand dissipate. Julia's eyes slammed open, and the first thing she noticed was that her cheeks were wet. Wet with tears. She stroke her left cheek with her finger, noticing the tears.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. Would you...like to talk about it?" Falkner pointed to some rocks a few feet away.

Julia shook her head. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she didn't bother to brush them out of her face. "Alright then. My gym is over there. If you ever want to battle me, you're more than welcome to-"

"How can you say that?!" Julia suddenly shouted out of nowhere. Falkner took a step back, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "How can you be okay with making your pokemon hurt other trainers' pokemon?! Do you want them to get hurt?! I don't know how you people can be okay with...battles!" She spat out the word like it was too terrible to say. "They're cruel, barbaric, and...all they do is make trouble and hurt the pokemon involved!" The tears wouldn't stop.

The chief of police didn't say a word. He felt she deserved to let her feelings out. Even Tsubasa was silent, listening intently. "I refuse to put my pokemon through such a cruel practice. Why would you even think of putting your pokemon through that?"

"You think battling is cruel?"

The girl squeezed her fists. "Yes. I do."

Silently, Falkner sat down on a rock. "Can I ask why you hate pokemon battles? You...cried when we passed by the school."

Julia didn't even turn around to look at the school. The sight of the purple roof, those stone walls, the bronze bell...all of it made her sick to her stomach. "I...I used to go to that school. In second grade. But my parents pulled me out of there. A teacher was being cruel to me."

"A teacher?"

She nodded. "I think her name was Mrs. Amoretto. She was really mean. She'd yell at me for no reason, even when I wasn't doing anything and when I was doing everything she said, and my parents said she made me cry a lot," She explained. "But...one day, this one kid went into a room where they kept a lot of PokeBalls. He wanted to use the pokemon and battle, even though he wasn't supposed to. He wasn't even supposed to be in there. When they didn't listen, he would stab them with sticks and yell at them. I tried to make him stop, but he wouldn't listen. All of a sudden, the pokemon went completely berserk, throwing attacks at each other like crazy."

The memories were vivid in her mind. Four large pokemon were shooting beams of light, flames, and lightning bolts at each other. One beam of light shattered the glass windows, sending shards scattering across both the floor and the area outside the windows. A big white seal with a horn on its head slammed against the walls, sending PokeBalls rolling on the floor. A white and red dog-like pokemon spewed flames all over. A young Julia huddled in a corner for safety, and she could do nothing but shiver and cry. Glass breaking, pokemon howling, people screaming...it was all too much for her to bear. It sounded as though there were continuous explosions raging all throughout the building, and the heat of the flames kept her in place.

"My goodness…" Falkner said, eyes wide from listening to the story.

"Mrs. Amoretto and other teachers came and stopped it. But the kid claimed I did it. I tried to tell them that it wasn't me, that it was his fault, but…I couldn't talk very well back then, from what Mom and Dad told me, and..." Her expression went dark and she looked down at her feet. "Mrs. Amoretto...believed him."

The feelings from that day returned in full force. Her humiliation. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. But for the second grader, organizing all of that into a form everyone could understand was impossible. She remembered the rage on Mrs. Amoretto's face. Her pearly white teeth clenched together, her sharp eyes, her loud, shrill, husky voice that still made her eardrums feel like they were being torn to shreds, her stinging hands going across her face when she cried after scolding her. She knew for sure: Mrs. Amoretto hated her. She took the other kid's side and blamed her for everything.

"She yelled at me, telling me I was a bad kid, a troublemaker, selfish, naughty, all that stuff that wasn't true. I tried to run out of the room, but she kept trying to pin me to the floor. She even hit me a few times when I cried," Julia continued. "Other teachers stopped her and called my parents. They were really angry. After that, they took me out of school and I never went back there again. I went to a different school in Cherrygrove."

"I see…" Falkner was at a loss for words. Oddly enough, he didn't look surprised. Tears came pouring out from Hikaru's eyes. With a cry, the yellow mouse crawled up to Julia's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. A smile returned to her face, but the sadness was still there. Tsubasa said nothing.

Falkner smiled. "She's wrong. Your pichu clearly cares about you, and I'm sure you've been a good trainer to your pokemon."

"I try to be," Julia said, stroking Hikaru's ear. "I love pokemon. I understand them better than I do people. I know this is hard to believe, but...I can actually understand what they're saying."

"Really? Prove it."

"Pichu pichu chupi!"

"Hikaru says she saved me from a swarm of beedrill once."

"So the rumors are true…"

"Huh?" Julia noticed the tone he used. It was low, like he was implying he knew something.

Falkner stood up, putting a hand on his hip. "It's been a while...Julia Parisa."

"Huh?!" She took two steps back, her green eyes slamming open. "H-H-H-How do you know my name?! We...we never even met!"

The blue haired man let out a chuckle. "Actually...you may not remember, but I was there when the incident happened."

"You...you were?!" She had no idea. She tried looking through her memories to see if he was there. Nothing came up...except for a set of voices. One was Mrs. Amoretto's. The other one was...Falkner's.

" _Stop! Don't restrain her! You're making it worse!"_

" _She's my responsibility and I have to discipline her! I told you she was a naughty little troublemaker!"_

" _If you think hitting her and screaming at her is going to solve anything, then you're not fit to be a teacher!"_

It all came so suddenly. She sat down on the rock next to him, losing herself in her memories. "It was Police Appreciation Day at the school that day. I was invited to talk to your class. I even showed you and the other kids my Pokemon. You said that my hoothoot's favorite food was brown rice. You wanted so badly to play with my pokemon."

"Did I really?"

Falkner nodded. "I was also the one who saved you from the pokemon duking it out. You were in a corner crying. You were so scared, you were practically shivering."

"I...I had no idea…"

The blue haired man looked up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen. A perfect blue sky. "I arrested Mrs. Amoretto on the spot."

"What?"

Falkner stood up from the rocks, crossing his arms. "It's against the law for a teacher to hit, restrain, or mistreat a student, no matter the reason," Memories of putting the woman in handcuffs and escorting her to the police car played through his mind. Mrs. Amoretto kept ranting and raving about how she was trying to rectify Julia's so-called bad behavior, but he wasn't having any of it.

The girl next to him smiled. "I agree."

"I'm sorry it turned out that way, and I apologize on her behalf."

"It's okay. I...I don't remember much of it, but...thanks...for at least being there."

Falkner turned around to face her. "It's okay to dislike pokemon battles. There are many people who prefer living with pokemon and not going on journeys at all," He closed his eyes. "However, you may think pokemon battles are cruel, but they actually aren't. Come with me."

Gesturing for her to come with him, Julia stood up and followed him. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were heading to one of the buildings next to the school. Julia found herself shivering. Although she was happy that Mrs. Amoretto got arrested for what she did, it didn't make coming here any less painful. But she didn't want to make a scene, and she knew that Falkner wasn't trying to be cruel, so she decided to be silent. They walked into a small library. There were shelves full of books, from top to bottom, very neatly organized.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Chief Falkner!" An old lady with thick glasses greeted him kindly.

"The same to you. Do you have a copy of _The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles_?" Falkner asked, pulling out a black library card.

"Hmmm…" The old librarian put a hand on her chin, losing herself in thought. "We have a few copies. Hold on just a moment," She went into the back of the counter, digging through some books. "Ah! There we go!"

She came back to the counter, handing Falkner a very old book. The title read _The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles_ in gold letters. The cover was made of brown leather, and the corners were folded and floppy. Upon further inspection, the pages were old and yellow, with some parts having been ripped, but not too a point where any pages were missing or unreadable. Falkner handed the librarian his card and she scanned it, along with the book.

"Here. It's due back in two weeks."

"Thank you."

With that, he and Julia left the library. He suddenly turned around and handed her the book. "You should read this. It details how pokemon battles came to be and why they're so commonplace," Julia found herself dumbfounded, giving Falkner a confused expression. He rented a library book for her to read? Nobody had ever done that for her before. But she figured it'd be rude to reject his offer, so she took the book, holding it in her hands. Despite its old age, it was heavy on her hands, like a big rock.

"It's one of my favorite books. I think you'll like it. Of course, if you don't want to read it, that's fine, too," He said. "My gym is just over there," He pointed to a big stone building next to the PokeMart.

"Gym…" She had read about pokemon gyms in books. "You're the gym leader, right?"

"Yes. If you ever want to battle, my gym's always open from eight AM to two o'clock noon. Also, see that tower over there?" He pointed to the large tower at the end of town.

"Yeah."

"That's called Sprout Tower. Many trainers train their pokemon there, and the sages there are experts in battling," Falkner explained. "They see battling as a way to connect with their pokemon. If you want, you should stop by. They may teach you a thing or two about battling that may help you a lot."

Battling as a way to connect with pokemon...Julia wasn't sure what to make of that. She had always convinced herself that battling was cruel, barbaric, violent, and did nothing but hurt people and pokemon. She couldn't picture battling being anything else. But the book she held in her hands detailed the history of battling. Maybe she could read it and learn something from it.

"I'll think about it," She answered. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Night fell once more, and Julia had checked into a Pokemon Center, staying at their inn for the night. She laid down on her assigned bed, reading the book Falkner gave her intensely. _The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles_. The lamp's light was dim, but still bright enough for easy reading. Aqua, Papillon, Neji, and Tsubasa slept in another bed, all letting out contented sighs and snores. Hikaru, on the other hand, stayed up with Julia, also engrossed in the book despite not being able to read human language.

Julia was engrossed. Not once did she take her eyes off of the book and its dusty, yellow pages. The book began with discussing how pokemon used to fight violently over territory, food, dominance, etc. Their battles would be so violent and so intense that people would end up getting caught in the crossfire. Towns and livelihoods were destroyed, people and pokemon were killed, and they left nothing but destruction in their wake. The pokemon would always kill each other over anything. Understandably, humans got sick of this, and tried to brainstorm ways to rectify the problems the pokemon were causing.

After months of discussion, they came to a potential solution: capture and tame the pokemon and temper their powers to a manageable level. Since there were no PokeBalls back in ancient times, the humans had to resort to measures such as catching them with nets and traps. They had no prior experience with pokemon, so they learned everything through trial and error. Sometimes, pokemon still went after each other, even for no reason, and some pokemon just refused to do anything except attack others. This didn't stop them from trying.

Some people saw it from a different perspective. Instead of forcing the pokemon to contain their powers, they decided to intentionally pit them against each other, not to kill each other, but just have them let it all out and harness their powers in ways that can be used to benefit humanity and the pokemon. This was the very first pokemon battle ever recorded in history. As it turned out, pokemon battles could be viewed as a sport that would result in monetary gain, and the earliest pokemon trainers domesticated their pokemon and harnessed their powers enough to pit them against each other. Pokemon battles turned out to be a worldwide success, and with all the money they gained from it, the trainers used it to buy things that could restore their towns back to their original states, such as food, lumber, building materials, furniture, etc.

Pokemon battling singlehandedly saved pokemon from killing each other in cold blood. Instead, battles ended when a pokemon was too tired to go on, and killing was outlawed, with indecent battlers either being arrested for a year or fined huge sums of money if a pokemon died in battle under their jurisdiction. Forests, rivers, and lakes returned in full force. Towns and the livelihoods of people managed to be rebuilt. Humans found a way to coexist alongside pokemon, and ever since then, battling became a staple of becoming a pokemon trainer.

"Wow…" Julia gently closed the book shut, placing it on the pillow next to her. "I had no idea pokemon used to be so vicious. So that's how battling came about…"

"Pichuu…"

Reading that book made new ideas sprout in her head. She always hated battling because she couldn't bear to see pokemon get hurt. But battling was created to keep pokemon from hurting and killing themselves and others. In today's world, battling was tame compared to back then. Perhaps Falkner was right. Maybe battling does have its benefits.

She sat up in her bed, not thinking to turn off the lamp on the nightstand next to her. "Hikaru. Would you like to go to Sprout Tower with me tomorrow?" She asked.

Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "Pichu?"

"We're going to battle the trainers there. I...I want to see their perspective on battling," Julia replied. "Maybe...maybe they can help me not hate battles anymore…"

"Chuu!" Hikaru leaped into Julia's arms with a chirrup, which told Julia all she needed to know.


	5. Seeing Battles From a New Perspective

Chapter 5: Seeing Battles From a New Perspective

Falkner sat in his office with his eyes glued to the screen, his fingers dancing across the keyboard faster than even he could see. Letters formed on the email he was planning to send to the mayor of Violet City. The email detailed a proposal to make officers attend training classes on how to deal with people with autism, whether they're the victims of a crime, perpetrators, or just people who have wandered away from their caretakers. His fingers stopped typing as he moved the mouse on the bird themed mousepad, dragging the cursor to the send button.

 _Click!_ Off went the email. Falkner smiled with a twinge of hope in his eyes. He hoped this proposal would be put into place. After all, it was his job to make sure Violet City was crime free, but even he knew that even police officers were prone to going against what they're supposed to do. Falkner could never turn his back on a crime taking place. Whether it was someone littering or someone attempting to slaughter many people, he considered it a sin to turn his back on those in need, even when the fight was nearly impossible to win.

Especially that day, when he had to arrest that teacher right in front of many children.

Julia Parisa...he sure didn't expect her to turn up again. How she had grown. She was only a small girl when he first met her. A shy, reserved, but still sweet young girl. But the memories of her remained in his memory...and he knew why. The events that transpired that day had changed his views on justice forever, and his view on teachers.

He had always respected teachers. They were the ones who would pass their knowledge down to the next generation. The ones he grew up with had always been kind, helpful, and more than willing to deal with any child, no matter their race, social class, or even whether they had disabilities or not. He hadn't been to school since his days in the police academy, but the teachers he learned from had been nothing but good to him and others he knew. To the young, idealistic Falkner, teachers deserved all the respect in the world.

What happened to make a teacher resort to not only singling kids out among their peers, but berating them, hitting them, and deeming them hopeless without even trying to understand them or get the whole story? The memory of Mrs. Amoretto's treatment of little Julia made him sick just thinking about it. But in his heart, he was happy he had been there, otherwise everything might have turned out far worse.

Falkner picked up the cordless phone next to him. He punched in some numbers and held the phone to his cheek. The phone rang three times before someone answered.

" _Hello?"_ The husky voice of an old man answered the phone.

"Elder Li? It's Falkner."

" _Ah! Young police chief Falkner!"_ Li exclaimed, his voice brimming with delight. _"This is quite unexpected! You haven't called in months. I suppose you are busy with your work."_

"I am, but it's worth it. How is everything at Sprout Tower?" Falkner asked as he looked through some papers.

" _Everything's going very well, sir,"_ Li replied, his tone of voice having lowered somewhat. _"The sages have dealt with some fine trainers. I myself have been defeated by a few. Sometimes defeat can be a good thing. After all, failure is what paves the path to success if one is willing to walk on it."_

Falkner let out a chuckle. "When did you get so preachy?" The sages of Sprout Towers had always been diligent in their ways, teaching philosophical concepts to new trainers, sometimes with success and sometimes not so. But he had always respected their philosophies, and wished more people would abide by them. Life would be so much better that way. "Anyway, that's not why I'm calling. Have you...ever battled any trainers who said they hated battling?"

There was a brief pause. _"Hmmm...I've met a few back in my day. But that was long ago."_

"Did any of them think that pokemon battles were cruel and barbaric?"

" _Not that I can remember, no. Actually, no, I've never met trainers who thought pokemon battles were horrible,"_ Li replied. _"I certainly can't imagine why one would think so."_

"The reason I asked is that I met a new trainer who loathes battling with her whole being, and I think she may benefit from learning about your views on battling," Falkner explained.

" _I see…"_

"Does the name Julia Parisa ring a bell?"

" _Is that the girl who was being abused by that teacher some years ago? My goodness. I can't imagine why or how a teacher could do such a terrible thing. It's a good thing you arrested her."_

"Yes. Clearly, Hester Amoretto could learn a thing or two from you," Falkner told him sarcastically. "Anyway, she's grown up now. I told her to go to Sprout Tower and learn about your perspective on battling. If she doesn't come, that's fine, but in the event that she does of her own volition…" He paused for a brief moment, thinking about everything she had said to him the night before. "...Will you show her a new perspective on battling? She has a pichu for a partner, and said pichu has a darker coloring than normal pichu."

There was a brief pause. _"I'll see what I can do. I'll let the other sages know. What does she look like?"_

"She's about eleven I think, with short dark brown hair and green eyes," Falkner explained. "I'm not expecting her to drop everything she knows right off. Even I know that's not realistic. But…" He gripped the phone tightly. "...I want her to at least know that battling isn't about senseless violence or hurting pokemon."

" _I get what you mean. Many trainers I've encountered battle for the thrill of it,"_ Li told him before clearing his throat. _"Some trainers think battling is all about fighting and winning and losing. But it's not as simple as that. It's a good thing the Federation set strict laws on battling, otherwise things would be far out of control. People like you are also in part to thank."_

Falkner smiled. "I just want to make the world a better place. That's all there is to it. Thank you for hearing me out, Elder Li," He said, glancing at a photo on his wall. It showed an old man dressed in a dark blue monk outfit standing next to Falkner in the middle of a park full of people. The two of them were holding small gold trophies in their hands. If one looked hard enough, the engravings on the trophies read _'For Doing a Great Service To Violet City.'_ A white pokemon with red and white markings on its body fluttered next to Falkner, flashing a wide smile brimming with unbridled joy.

" _You're doing enough as it is, Falkner,"_ Elder Li told him reassuringly with a slight cough. _"I've never met anyone else who has done so much for Violet City as you have. By the way, how's your wife?"_

A small hoothoot fluttered over to Falkner's desk with a hoot. "You mean Jenny? She's doing well. She's nine months along. We're going to the hospital next week for the delivery," He replied. "My father's watching her for now in case anything happens."

" _My my. That's wonderful. I'm sure you two will be great parents,"_ Elder Li exclaimed joyfully.

"I'll let you go now. Okay? I have some papers I need to go through. I'll see you later," Falkner pressed the END button on the phone, putting it back on the receiver.

"Hoothoot!" The hoothoot hooted, catching its trainer's attention. Falkner smiled and stroke its head gently. Basking in its trainer's affection, the hoothoot then hopped off the desk.

Falkner looked down at the pile of papers before him, taking a pen and writing some things down. However, the memories of that day replayed in his mind like a tape recorder. Vivid and clear as day.

(flashback)

 _Falkner stood before a classroom full of children, dressed in full uniform. A young teacher with short, cropped, scraggly light brown hair stood next to him with her arms crossed, wearing a bright yellow office suit consisting of a jacket over a white blouse, a long skirt going down to her knees, dark brown stockings, and black high heels. Freckles sprinkled across her long nose, and she stared at the children with a severe, austere expression, like she dared any one of them to disrupt Falkner's lecture about his job._

 _Even he couldn't help but notice that something felt...wrong about the teacher standing next to him. She gave off a stern, domineering air that seemed to make him feel as though he were being put on the spot. There was no warmth in her expression or being. Something nagged at him, telling him that something was wrong. But he had to focus on his lecture. After all, today was Police Appreciation Day, and the Pokemon Academy invited him here, so he couldn't break the trust the school had with him._

 _As he talked about the good and bad of his job, he kept facing the classroom of children before him. There were about twenty kids aged seven or eight sitting at their desks. One little boy was stuffing his finger in his nose and eating the snot. Two girls were looking out the windows they sat next to. Another boy's eyes were barely closed, and he kept bobbing his head up and down as though he were trying to keep himself from falling asleep. It didn't help that drool was trickling out of his mouth, right down to his chin. A purple haired boy kept flinging his legs back and forth._

 _One boy raised his hand. "Yes?"_

" _Do you ever shoot anybody?" The boy asked._

" _Well, our job is mostly to try and talk to people," Falkner explained. "To make sure they do the right thing and don't hurt anyone in the process. It's not always easy."_

 _Another boy raised his hand. "Yes?"_

" _Is the gun in your belt real?"_

" _Yes. Very real, bullets and all. They're very dangerous if not used carefully."_

" _Do you beat people up?"_

 _Falkner's cheeks burned. He couldn't believe these kids were so obsessed with asking about nothing but the violence. What were their parents teaching them? He tried to keep his composure. "Being a police officer isn't about beating people up. There are times when we have to resort to force when the criminals are being uncooperative. It's not like we like resorting to it, though."_

 _He did notice one little girl sitting in front, with her hand high in the air. She had short brown hair and green eyes, and was wearing a purple sweater, black jean pants, and pikachu themed sneakers. "Yes? Do you have a question?"_

" _Um…" The girl's face was red. "...Do you...ever get scared?"_

" _Scared?"_

" _I mean…" The girl stammered, looking down at her feet. "You arrest bad people, right?" She sounded as though she were trying her best to form her words correctly, from the way she kept pausing in between every word. "Aren't you scared...that the bad guys might hurt you? Kill you? Afraid that you won't...see your Mom or Dad or wife or kids or pokemon ever again?"_

 _The gym leader found himself speechless. Nobody had ever asked him a question like this before, let alone a girl of such a tender age. He had considered the possibility, but he never let it scare him. Everyone he talked to about his two careers-gym leader and police officer-had always been supportive of his choice, and never tried to persuade him to try something different. Perhaps they had thought about the dangers, but didn't want to discourage him. In fact, nobody discouraged him from doing what he wanted. Not only that, she sounded as though she was very concerned for Falkner's well being. She didn't ask about violence or beating someone up-she asked about whether he was scared._

 _Falkner's heart grew soft, melting from the question. With a sad smile, he answered, "Yes. I do get scared. I think about my family and my pokemon every time I'm out on the field. Sometimes I even think about giving up. Sometimes I thought...I might die today. But...I know that if I let my emotions and fears get the better of me, the bad people will get away or do what they want, and people will get hurt or even die if I don't act quickly enough. I choose not to let my fears take control of me for that reason. I have to do what's right by Violet City, even if I'm scared, because it's the right thing to do."_

 _Right as he finished, the bell rang, and all of the kids dashed out of the classroom with squeals and screams, happy to finally be out of that stuffy classroom. The teacher had gone out as well. Falkner was about to leave as well, but a tiny hand pulled on his sleeve. He looked down to find the girl who asked the last question, looking up at his policeman's hat with her green eyes. He kneeled down to her level._

" _That was a nice question you asked just now," Falkner told her kindly. The little girl averted his gaze, not looking him in the eye. He didn't pay it any mind. "Nobody ever asked me that before."_

 _The girl fell quiet._

" _Is something wrong?"_

" _...M-M-My mom and dad said...that if someone's doing...something bad...I have to tell a policeman…"_

" _That's good. Is someone doing something bad?"_

 _He could tell she wanted to tell him something. She kept balling her fists and pressing her lips. "You can tell me."_

" _You won't get mad?"_

" _Now why would I be mad?"_

 _Finally, she said it. "Mrs. Amoretto...she hits me sometimes."_

" _Hits you?"_

 _The girl nodded grimly. "I do everything she says...and follow the rules...but she gets mad and yells and...says I'm a bad kid. I don't get it."_

 _Falkner found himself speechless. He just couldn't imagine a teacher hitting a child. "When I spell something wrong, she tells the whole class and they laugh. She tells me I'm stupid and dumb…when I told her Billy was cheating off of Allison, she got mad and said I was cheating…" She rolled up her sleeve to show him a large bruise. "She...hit me with a ruler...five times."_

 _Five times?! The police officer almost lost his balance. How could a teacher do something like this? Then again, why would someone like that even condone it? He had no idea. "Did you tell your parents?"_

" _I tried, but…" The girl looked down at her feet. "Mrs. Amoretto says I can't. She says...they'll think I'm lying and won't...believe me. I'm scared."_

 _She had every right to be. The bruise was proof enough. Falkner put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me this. I'll see what I can do. Don't worry," Falkner told her reassuringly. "I'll make sure Mrs. Amoretto doesn't hit you or bully you ever again."_

 _The girl's lips curled upward into a bright smile. "Really?"_

 _He nodded. "Really."_

" _Julia!" Speak of the devil, Mrs. Amoretto came stomping back into the classroom. "Recess has already started! Don't be badgering Falkner with your nonsense!" She grabbed the girl by the arm and escorted her out of the classroom. "Now scat!" Julia ran out onto the blacktop._

 _Falkner glared at the woman. She just grabbed the girl and forced her out like she was causing trouble. As far as he knew, it was against the rules to lay a hand on a child like that. "I'm sorry, Falkner. That girl's one of my more troublesome students in my class."_

" _Troublesome?" This was his chance to get information. No way was he going to let it get away._

" _My goodness, she's terrible!" Mrs. Amoretto complained in a scratchy voice. "Her parents go on and on about how she has autism and that she needs certain accommodations, but if you ask me, I think they're just coddling her, spoiling her rotten, and just plain not disciplining her correctly!" She kept on shrugging her shoulders and talked as though she were a teenage girl whose parents wouldn't let her have a car rather than a school teacher._

 _He was no expert on autism, but he knew plenty of people who had autistic kids, and they always told stories about how wonderful they were. Not only that, Julia didn't look or act like the troublemaking type. If she had the courage to tell him about Mrs. Amoretto, then she was anything but naughty. In fact, just listening to this woman made him feel like he was being suffocated._

" _I swear, all that kid does is cause trouble!" Mrs. Amoretto continued on. "She keeps complaining and whining how she doesn't understand stuff. It's her own fault for not paying attention or putting in any effort. In fact, just last week she started screaming out of control, and I had to lock her in the next room for two hours!" Falkner's hand flew to his mouth to keep himself from gasping. In his mind, she was basically confessing to using excessive force on a child._

" _It sounds like you're rather harsh on her," Falkner said, with a twinge of contempt in his voice._

 _Mrs. Amoretto didn't even notice. "Of course! I have to be! Naughty kids like her won't get anywhere in life without strict, proper discipline! That's basically why I became a teacher, because parents these days just let their kids run wild and don't rectify their bad behavior! I won't raise a generation of slackers and potential criminals. You should know. You're a police officer," Falkner cringed upon hearing her say it like that. "Your job is to keep criminals off the street and discipline them."_

'You seriously consider beating a kid with a ruler five times and locking her in a room for an hour discipline?!' _His instincts were screaming at him to strangle this woman. He really didn't appreciate being told what his job was by someone who doesn't know what it's like. He put his hand on the handcuffs dangling from his belt. Before he could say anything else, screams echoed through the halls._

" _Someone get security!"_

" _What's going on?!"_

" _The Pokemon! They're going wild outside!"_

 _Falkner and Mrs. Amoretto raced to the scene. There was an area where they kept pokemon in for the kids to interact with sometimes. Behind there was a storage room where the PokeBalls were kept in. When they got there, the place was surrounded with teachers and local policemen, with some police cars in front. Flashes of fire and lightning appeared in the house. One of the windows suddenly shattered, the glass shards scattering down on the ground. One policeman had a purple haired boy in his hand, clutching him by the arm._

" _There's a kid in there!" One man exclaimed._

 _A kid in there. The pokemon were going out of control. If those pokemon attacked that kid...he had to do something. He pulled two PokeBalls out from his belt. "Togetic! Noctowl! I need your help!" He threw them in the air, releasing the pokemon. Togetic was the white pokemon with red and blue markings on its body. Noctowl was a deep brown owl with a cream unibrow and large eyes._

" _Tooooh!"_

" _Cho-ki-ko!"_

 _With his pokemon by his side, Falkner dashed into the chaotic house. Four large pokemon were battling each other, shooting energy attacks at each other on all sides, taking no notice of anything around them. One attack almost hit Falkner, had Togetic not used Safeguard on him, covering him and Noctowl with a blue dome of light. Sobbing and crying caught his ear, and he turned to his left to find the girl from before cowering in the corner, covering her ears with her hands, crying loudly._

" _Noctowl! Use Hypnosis on Venomoth and Arcanine! Togetic! Use Heal Bell on Slowking and Dewgong!"_

 _Noctowl flew over to two of the pokemon before its round eyes glowed in an eerie purple light. When the venomoth and arcanine made eye contact, their eyesight began to blur. Their bodies lost their energy and they found themselves unable to stay awake. Before they knew it, they all fell to the ground, sleeping. Togetic let out a cry as its body glowed in a soft blue light that radiated all over the place. When the light made contact with slowking and dewgong, the anger in their bodies finally simmered down to nothing, and they found themselves wobbling before finally sitting and calming down._

 _Falkner turned to Julia. "Hey there. Are you okay? Everything's fine now. You're not hurt, are you?" Through her tears, Julia shook her head. Falkner held his hand out. "Come with me. It's okay," Instead of taking his hand, the little girl practically ran over to him and threw herself on him. He picked her up and gently escorted her out of the house. The chaos had calmed, and the girl continued to cry as he put her down._

" _I knew it!" Mrs. Amoretto suddenly stomped toward Falkner with anger in her eyes. "You're behind this, aren't you, Julia?!"_

" _Hey! Back up a little!" Falkner yelled, holding a hand up to make her stay back. "One of your students almost got hurt and that's your first reaction?!" The contempt in her eyes was all too evident. There was no concern, no care, nothing. Even he found this to be unsettling._

" _We found this boy messing around in there, too," A policeman said. The boy in question had purple hair and was struggling to break out of the man's hand. Finally, he pushed on it with both hands before finally freeing himself._

" _I didn't do nuthin'!" The boy complained._

" _Yes you did!" Julia suddenly shouted, her crying having stopped. "I saw you!"_

" _Saw what?" Falkner asked._

" _She's lyin'!"_

" _I saw him go in there!" Julia announced boldly, her eyes red and puffy from crying._

" _Nuh-uh! I saw her go in there!" The boy snapped back. "She freed all the pokemon from the PokeBalls and was tauntin' them all crazy like and throwin' rocks at 'em!" He flailed his arms up and down to empathize his point._

" _No I wadn't! You did that! I saw you!" Julia argued back before turning to Mrs. Amoretto. "I saw him do it! I was just trying to...stop him!"_

" _Nuh-uh! Liar liar pants on fire!"_

" _You're the liar! You always lie!"_

 _All sorts of scenarios were playing through Falkner's head. He could imagine the scene playing out. Julia must have seen the boy release the pokemon from their balls, trying to make them battle. When they didn't cooperate, Julia stepped in to call him on it, and something agitated the pokemon enough to make them all attack each other. Julia's side of the story looked more plausible in his eyes. If she had enough sense to tell a policeman about her teacher beating her, there was absolutely no way she could pull this off on her own. She was just too shy, too timid. He couldn't picture her doing something like this._

 _The horrible sound of a piercing slap pulled him out of his reverie. Julia cried even harder as Mrs. Amoretto loomed over her, clutching a piece of her shirt, attempting to slap her once more. A red mark appeared on the wailing girl's cheek. "You wicked little girl! I'm not surprised you did this! Come here! Stop trying to run away!"_

 _Julia pushed the woman's arm away and tried to run, but Mrs. Amoretto jumped on her like an arcanine, pinning her to the ground. Everyone around them gasped. Some of the other kids burst into tears. Julia tried to get away, but Mrs. Amoretto's arms were pushing on her tiny body, preventing her from escaping. For a moment, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. Even Falkner found himself frozen with horror._

" _You're pathetic! You're a bad little girl! Stop whining! You're selfish! A naughty girl who don't care about anyone but yourself!" Mrs. Amoretto screamed so loud, it didn't sound like her voice belong to her._

 _Falkner finally snapped out of it, running toward the woman and placing both hands on her arms in an attempt to pull her off. It took a while since Mrs. Amoretto's grip on her was so tight. Noctowl and Togetic stepped in to help by using their hands, or in Noctowl's case, talons, to pry her fingers off of her. Falkner wasted no time pulling her to her feet._

" _Stop! Don't restrain her! You're making it worse!" He yelled._

 _Julia ran to another teacher, sobbing and crying uncontrollably. Mrs. Amoretto glared at him before shouting, "She's my responsibility and I have to discipline her! I told you she was a naughty little troublemaker!"_

 _Something inside him snapped. He couldn't believe she was trying to justify her horrific actions. Nobody deserved that. It was clear that Julia wasn't the one at fault, but Mrs. Amoretto was completely convinced that she was in spite of everything. He couldn't help himself. He lost control._

" _If you think hitting her and screaming at her is going to solve anything, then you're not fit to be a teacher!" He wasted no time yanking out the handcuffs and slapping them on the teacher's wrists. "Hester Amoretto, you are under arrest for child abuse, child endangerment, and unlawful use of excessive force!" He signaled to another officer to let him use his car. Said officer opened the back door and Falkner led her to the car. Without mercy or sympathy, he pushed Mrs. Amoretto into the back seat._

" _What are you arresting me for?! I'm doing my job! You should be on my side!" Mrs. Amoretto screeched like a little kid. "That little brat does nothing but make trouble and complain how everything isn't centered around her!"_

" _That describes you more than anything," Falkner sneered without even the tiniest mote of sympathy for this woman. "You basically confessed all of your crimes to me, so I have everything I need to convict you, and if not, I'll do whatever I can to make sure that you never even so much as go near a child ever again!" He shouted before slamming the car door in her face. That was satisfying._

 _With that, the policemen got inside the car and drove away, taking Mrs. Amoretto with them. Falkner hoped that she would be thrown in the slammer forever. Anyone who abuses their power to hurt and endanger others didn't deserve any sympathy in his book. Julia still clung to the other teacher, wailing and sobbing. It was understandable, really. Falkner walked over to the teacher._

" _Thanks...for intervening. But what should we do now?" The teacher asked. "Are you going to report this?"_

" _Of course!" Falkner exclaimed. "That should be your job, too! All you did was stand there as your fellow teacher was beating this kid over something that wasn't her fault!"_

 _The teacher recoiled, squeezing her eyes shut at the yelling. Falkner sighed. "I'll take her," He gently took Julia by the hand and escorted her away from the scene. He whistled for noctowl and togetic to follow him._

 _It was loud out there. Loud with people screaming, pokemon howling, and police sirens blaring. Something inside him told him that Julia needed to go to a quiet place to calm down. He knew exactly what he needed to do: tell the principal about this, report the incident, and call the girl's parents. They had a right to know what happened to their child. He was not going to let Mrs. Amoretto get away with this. Julia cried the whole way to the principal's office. Falkner didn't even knock as he just walked through the door._

 _An old man with a small beard looked up from his desk. "Oh! Falkner! What's-" It didn't take long for him to notice Julia. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you make her stop whin-"_

" _I need to talk to you," He hissed. Something in Falkner's voice told the principal that he meant business, and was in no mood for nonsense. The principal fell silent._

 _Falkner facepalmed. Not even the principal cared to understand what was going on! What was the Pokemon Academy coming to? He kneeled down to Julia's level. "You'll stay here for now. It's nice and quiet. I'll tell the principal everything, and he'll call your parents so they can pick you up. Okay?" He told her in a low, calm, soft voice. Frightening her even more wasn't going to do anyone any good._

 _Julia nodded but continued to cry. Then he had an idea. Falkner pressed his lips into an O shape and whistled. Togetic and noctowl flew right over. As soon as they made sound, Julia's sobbing lowered into low hiccups. Then they stopped altogether when she saw the two pokemon in front of her. Julia smiled when the togetic approached her with its own beaming smile. This told Falkner that pokemon were what she needed to calm down._

" _These are my pokemon. They'll stay with you until your parents come," Falkner said. "Is that okay?"_

" _Will they be my friends?"_

 _Falkner smiled. "Of course."_

" _Yay! Shankuu!" Julia chirruped cheerfully, wasting no time in trapping the togetic in a hug. Noctowl wiped her tears with its large wing gently. Togetic burst into laughter as little Julia nuzzled her happily._

 _He told the principal everything and made him call her parents. He could tell even he seemed indifferent to the whole situation. Seeing the lack of concern made Falkner's heart fall to the pit of his stomach. This was not someone he wanted to trust with Pokemon Academy, even if they were on good terms regarding a lot of things. After that, he had gone back to the gym to face some trainers. Even so, his entire view of teachers had been shaken, and would be for the rest of his life._

(end flashback)

"Falkner?" A hand pressed on his shoulder, shaking him awake.

"Whuh?" His police hat fell off of his head, rolling on his desk. He looked up to find a woman next to him. She was dressed in a blue and red police woman's outfit and had spiky teal hair tied in two low pigtails along with reddish brown eyes.

"Wake up, sleepy head," She said.

"Oh," Falkner rubbed his eyes. "Sorry about that. I think I dozed off there."

"I could hear you snoring all the way from the second floor," The woman said. "You should go home and rest. You have gym battles tomorrow, right?"

The sleepy man stretched his arms out. "Thanks, Officer Jenny," The night was still young, but for him, it was time to hit the hay. His office was not the place to do so.

* * *

People used to say that getting lots of exercise in the wilderness makes it easier to sleep the night afterward. As far as Julia knew, whoever said that was right, because she slept like a log all throughout the night. No nightmares, no tossing around, no waking up at one o'clock in the morning sometimes, nothing of the sort. Once she got herself dressed and ready, she moseyed over to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. She picked out a banana, some yogurt, a bowl of brown rice, and a cinnamon roll. She was happy they sold her favorite vanilla creme flavored yogurt.

As she consumed her breakfast, she watched as trainers scuttled about, whether it was to give their pokemon to Nurse Joy or leaving the Pokemon Center for whatever reason. Maybe they wanted to go the gym and battle Falkner. Perhaps to train at the Sprout Tower. Maybe they were going to their next destination or sticking around to train their pokemon some more. Then it hit her: she needed to call her parents. She didn't finish her breakfast, deciding to save it for her pokemon.

She walked over to a green visual phone on the wall. She let her pokemon out and let them have the rest of her breakfast. Her pokemon happily consumed it as she punched in her phone number. The screen displayed some static for a moment before an image of Kassia appeared. As soon as she saw her daughter, a hand flew to her mouth like she had seen something unusual.

" _Julia! Is that you, dear?"_ Kassia exclaimed, holding a phone to her ear.

"Hi, Mom. It's me. I had intended to call you last night, but I was really tired," Julia told her.

" _It's alright. I'm just so happy to see you and hear your voice. You're looking well,"_ Kassia's eyes were brimming with joy. _"Where are you right now?"_

"Violet City."

" _Wow. That's not too far from here. It's been a while since we've been there. Have you caught any new pokemon?"_

"Just two, a sentret and a pidgey. I named them Neji and Tsubasa."

" _That's lovely, dear. I'd put your father on the phone but he had to go to work early today,"_ Kassia rubbed her hair with one hand, wishing Truman was here right now.

Julia gripped the phone tightly, looking down at her knees. "Mom? Can I ask you something?" Julia asked, her voice quivering somewhat.

Kassia could see the slightly sad expression on her daughter's face. Moms had a way of figuring these things out. _"What is it? You look sad."_

"Do you remember what happened after…" Her throat closed up for a moment. She had the answers she needed, so bringing it up again now wasn't going to do anything. But her memories of that day had become vague. "...the incident at the school? Y'know, with...Amoretto?" She didn't use Mrs. to refer to her. Julia considered that woman not a person worth respecting.

Her mother sighed. _"I was hoping to forget about that blasted woman…"_ She mused out loud. _"Then again, you were pretty young back then. We sued the school for not treating you right and we won. But your father and I...saw the woman at court and we...kind of lost our tempers with her."_

She definitely remembered seeing her parents argue with Mrs. Amoretto at the courthouse. She always hated yelling. It always felt like her ears would be ripped apart whenever someone raised their voice, even if it was for her sake. In her heart, she knew her parents were yelling to defend her and call out the woman for what she had done. She just wished it wasn't so loud back then. She had to hide near a court bench so she could get away from the yelling and Mrs. Amoretto.

" _The principal fired her, but we couldn't bear to take you back there,"_ Kassia continued further _. "We transferred you to the school in Cherrygrove because they had better services for you and teachers who had a better understanding of autism,"_ There was that word again. Autism. All throughout her life, Julia never thought anything of it. She just assumed it was a part of her that made her what she was. She never thought it to be bad. The fact that she was treated badly by a stupid teacher because the teacher thought autism meant the kid did nothing but cause trouble and throw tantrums for no reason...it just put a damper on her mood.

"Did you know that the gym leader of Violet was the one who arrested her?"

" _Falkner? Yes! I know who you're talking about. He's such a nice man."_

"I...I actually met him yesterday," Julia confessed.

" _Really? That's wonderful! How is he?"_

"Good. He's nice. He said he was the one who helped me when Mrs. Amoretto was...y'know."

" _Yes. He told us everything. I don't think anything good would have happened if he hadn't been there."_

"Mom. I...I'm going to Sprout Tower after this."

" _Sprout Tower?"_

"To...To battle."

If Julia had told Kassia that she met the man of her dreams, her mother wouldn't have smiled so brightly. Kassia's eyes widened and she squealed with joy. _"Oh my goodness! That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you!"_ Soon, she found herself confused and tilted her head to one side to prove it. _"But you hate pokemon battles."_

"I know. But he said the sages at the tower have a different view on it. I...I want to see battling from their perspective…"

" _I see. You've been so convinced that pokemon battles were nothing but cruel and barbaric. You even got yourself hurt stopping some of my pokemon from battling,"_ Beeping noises could be heard on Kassia's side of the line. Her eyes widened like someone hopped in out of nowhere and scared her. _"Oh dear! My dumpling recipe is ready! I have to go, sweetie. You stay safe."_

"Yes, Mom."

" _Brush your teeth, take care of yourself, eat lots of healthy foods, and wear your bra when you go out. Okay?"_

Julia's face turned red at that last part. She always hated it when her mother would bring that up. "Yes, Mom. I know."

" _Bye!"_ With that, the screen turned black, and Julia hung the phone up.

A new resolve formed in her heart. Perhaps if she battled the sages there, then her hatred for pokemon battles could go away. After all, pokemon battles today were different from those of long ago. She put her pokemon in her PokeBalls and made her way to Sprout Tower. Since it was at the end of town, it took Julia a while to get there. When she got there, the tower seemed to loom right over her, as its large size made her look like a baby ant in comparison. The tower's walls were a deep shade of chocolate brown, its walls weary from many years of exposure to nature, and its three tiered roofs were a deep violet purple.

Taking in a breath with her nose, Julia opened the doors to the tower and took her first steps inside. The inside of the tower was lit by the natural light of the sun outside. In the very middle of the room was a large wooden pillar swaying from side to side. Standing between her were two bronze statues all carved to resemble bellsprout. Standing next to some stairs was a bald man dressed in navy blue monk robes, with purple prayer beads in his hands.

Julia never liked talking to people, especially not strangers. Family and friends, she was okay with. But she knew that since she was on her journey, she was going to have to talk to people whether she liked it or not. "Umm...excuse me!"

"Yes?"

"Umm...I heard trainers are allowed to battle here on the upper floors?"

"Yes, this is true. Do you wish to engage in battle with the trainers here?"

"Y-Y-Yes…"

"May I see your trainer card?"

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her ID. "Ah, I see. Falkner told us you'd be coming here," The monk-like man escorted her to some stairs. "Right this way, please. I'll escort you to the Elder."

The two of them had to go up three flights of stairs, which weren't too long, but they made it to the highest floor. Six people gathered at the center of the top floor, with one of them being an old man in his seventies or eighties. The old man, unlike the others, was wearing a navy blue and yellow robe and white sandals. He was bald like the younger monks, but he had fluffy white eyebrows and a matching beard that went down to his chest.

The monk that accompanied Julia bowed before the old man. "Elder Li. Julia Parisa has arrived and wishes to battle us," The man said.

Julia's eyes widened in surprise. Once again, someone she didn't know knew her name. The monk did say that Falkner had told them about her. The old man, Li, stretched his arms out and approached them. "Thank you, Nico," He looked at Julia, who averted his gaze. "So you wish to battle us sages. We welcome you to Sprout Tower. Some people also refer to it as Bellsprout Pagoda."

She clutched her bag strap tightly. "Umm...this is my first time battling anyone."

"I see," Elder Li said. "We have encountered many new trainers. You will battle Nico first."

Nico was the monk who escorted Julia up here. "If you can defeat all six of my friends in battle, you can battle me afterward. I want to observe you and watch you learn. Is that alright?" Elder Li explained.

"Y-Yes. That's fine."

Julia and Nico stood at least forty feet away from each other, giving them plenty of room for the pokemon to battle. Elder Li stood on the far side of the battlefield alongside his friends. "Trainers, call forth your pokemon!"

Nico pulled out a PokeBall. "Bellsprout! I choose you!" He threw the PokeBall, and out came a plant pokemon with green leaves for arms, a yellow bell shaped head, two small black eyes shaped like circles, and a pink mouth.

"Bellsprout!"

She already knew which pokemon she wanted to use, but pulled out her PokeDex to get information on her opponent. _"Bellsprout, the flower pokemon. Bellsprout are carnivorous pokemon that trap and eat bugs, and love hot and humid weather. Their thin, skinny bodies are flexible enough to allow it to sway in any direction, and they can secrete a corrosive liquid that can melt iron."_

Julia pulled out Papillon's PokeBall. "Papillon! I choose-" Before she could release Papillon, a white light appeared from another PokeBall. Out came Tsubasa, who let out a harsh battle cry. "Uuugh! Tsubasa!"

"Coo coo coo!"

"You want to battle? Okay then," Now that she thought about it, Tsubasa was a flying type and Bellsprout was both a grass and poison type. Tsubasa had the advantage. If she played her cards right, she could win this battle in a snap. But she didn't want to get cocky. Anything could go wrong, even with a type advantage. Tsubasa fluttered onto the battlefield, laughing at the bellsprout in front of her. Bellsprout didn't even say a word.

"This will be a one-on-one battle! With that...battle begin!"

"Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip!" Nico commanded. Long, green vines shot out from the leaves on the bellsprout's body, flying toward Tsubasa with great speed.

"Tsubasa! Dodge it and use Gust!" On cue, Tsubasa flew past the vines before flapping her wings, creating a harsh gust of wind that could blow anyone away. Oddly enough, the bellsprout's tiny feet were firmly rooted to the ground.

"Use Acid!" Bellsprout's yellow head ballooned into a ball before it let out a harsh puking sound, unleashing a torrent of orange liquid. Tsubasa had stopped flapping her wings and had tried to fly away, but the acid fell on her fur. The acid burned her fur, causing her to cry out. Her wings couldn't support her anymore and she fell to the ground with a small thud.

"No! Tsubasa!" Julia's hands almost flew to her face. Tsubasa struggled to get back on her feet, not intent on giving up just yet. Once she got back on her talons, she spread her wings out far and wide, letting out a battle cry. "Tsubasa! You don't have to do this anymore!"

"Coo coo!" ( _"But I want to!"_ )

"Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip once more!" Once again, long green vines shot out from bellsprout's body, charging right toward Tsubasa.

"Use Wing Attack to push them away!" Julia cried out. The tiny bird's wings glowed in a bright white light, flashing as they collided with the green vines, smacking them away. The vines wound up hitting the bellsprout on its head twice. "Good! Now use Sand At-" She stopped herself as the realization hit her. They were in a building with wooden floors. There was no way Tsubasa could use Sand Attack in this kind of environment.

"Stun Spore!" Bellsprout spat out a yellow cloud of glittering golden dust.

"Use Gust to blow it away!" Tsubasa got the message. The pain in her fur subsided, and she was able to fly upward to evade the golden cloud. Once she was high enough, she flapped her wings up and down with all her might, blowing away the cloud of dust. All of a sudden, bellsprout leaped from the ground, wrapping itself all around Tsubasa to the point where the tiny bird couldn't open her wings. As a result, the two fell to the ground with another thud.

"Tsubasa!"

"Use Wrap!"

Julia was out of ideas. Tsubasa kept pecking at the bellsprout's leaves and feet, but the plant didn't even feel it, or if it did, it didn't notice nor care. What could she do? She was no expert on battling, so strategies were not her strong suit. Tsubasa had used most of her attacks, and Julia was sure that the ones she could use right now would be of no use. Before long, Tsubasa chirruped before finally slumping to the ground. It was at this point that the bellsprout let go.

"Tsubasa…" Julia's eyes blurred.

"Tsubasa the pidgey is unable to battle!" Elder Li extended his hand out toward Nico. "The winner is Nico!"

Her heart sank as she kneeled down to cradle the bird in her arms. Tsubasa let out some coos, claiming she could still fight, but even the little bird knew that her body couldn't take much more. Julia hugged her little friend tightly as the tears flowed. She didn't notice Nico approaching her with his fellow bellsprout on his shoulders.

"You lost because you hesitated, letting your heart be consumed by crippling doubt," Nico told her in a low voice. He had intended for it to be gentle, but that didn't mean his words didn't hurt in some way. Julia knew he was just trying to teach her something, and for what it was worth, she did learn a lot from this battle. "There is nothing wrong with having doubts. That is a normal part of life," He explained further. "However, hesitation and doubt can cloud your judgment, and it can result in both you and your pokemon not being able to cooperate in a way that can strengthen your bond."

At least he wasn't being malicious about it, she told herself. In her heart, she was at least happy that he wasn't personally attacking her for her lack of battling prowess. He did make very valid points. Not only that, this was a one-on-one battle, so she still had plenty of pokemon to use against the sages. Crying wasn't going to solve anything. "Thank you, sir. I apologize for being so weak."

"Coo coo coo!" Tsubasa suddenly yelled.

"She's saying I should consider this loss to be a new chance at getting better," Julia said.

Nico tilted his head to one side. The other sages looked at each other with confused faces. "I was going to say just that. Would you like to battle the rest of us?"

The resolve in her heart hardened like a metapod's skin, becoming stronger. "Yes. I would."

"Alright," Nico stepped away, allowing for another sage to come forth.

"I am Jin. I will be your next opponent," Jin positioned himself at the battle field.

Julia put Tsubasa back in her PokeBall and released Papillon instead. Papillon stood in the battlefield, unmoving, unbothered by anything going on. Like Nico, Jin also had a bellsprout. "Battle begin!"

"Bellsprout!" Jin made the first move. "Use Vine Whip!"

"Harden!"

The metapod's skin glowed in a silver light for a brief moment. Bellsprout's vines slapped Papillon at least four times, but none of them made so much as a dent. After all, the skin of a metapod is as hard as steel. Bellsprout found itself tilting its head to one side. "Bell bell?"

"Papillon! Tackle!" On cue, Papillon charged right at the sentient flower, ramming right into it. Bellsprout was lost in its confusion, leaving it unable to react right away. As a result, the bellsprout found itself being thrown on the battlefield, rolling on the ground.

No more hesitation. "Now use String Shot!" Julia cried out. Papillon bounced on the ground before shooting white webs of silk from the top of its head.

"Use Cut!" Bellsprout sharpened its leaves before slicing the silk web to threads. "Now use Poison Powder!" Like before, the bellsprout's head ballooned into a ball before it shot out a cloud of purple smoke. This time, Papillon wasn't able to avoid it despite being able to move.

"No! Papillon!" Julia cried. She covered her mouth so she herself wouldn't unknowingly breathe in the poison. This was no time to hesitate. "Can you...still fight?"

"Metapod!" Papillon answered with a nod.

"Use Tackle!" Once again, the metapod charged at the bellsprout. This time, it swayed to the left, dodging the attack. "Keep going at it!" Every single time, Papillon threw itself at the bellsprout. Every time, the bellsprout dodged elegantly. At one point, Papillon found itself stopping in her tracks, wincing in pain, probably from the poison. All of a sudden, Papillon glowed in a soft white light. Rolls of skin peeled off of Papillon before disappearing completely.

Julia's fear morphed into relief. She knew what this was. _'Oh! I forgot Papillon had the Shed Skin ability!'_ She thought. Papillon gave her a nod, telling her this was her time to shine. Julia nodded back.

"Use Cut!"

"Harden, then use Tackle!"

Bellsprout tried to cut through Papillon's rock hard shell with its sharpened leaves, but nothing it did left so much as a scratch. When the bellsprout stopped to breathe, Papillon took this chance to tackle it, sending it rolling across the battlefield. Bellsprout didn't even get up. "Bellsprout is unable to battle! Papillon the metapod is the winner!"

Julia thought her ears were playing tricks on her. She actually won a pokemon battle. She couldn't believe it. The confusion suddenly turned to joy, and she couldn't resist the urge to cheer and jump up and down. "Yaaaaay!" Papillon leaped into her arms, allowing Julia to spin around, trapping her in a big hug. "You won, Papillon! You were awesome!"

"Metapod! Metapod!"

Jin pulled his bellsprout back into his PokeBall. "You did well, my friend," Julia stopped cheering when she saw that. She ran over to him and bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry! Bellsprout's not hurt, is it?"

The bald monk smiled. "He'll be fine. He's just too tired to battle anymore. You did well."

Hearing that made the girl's heart go warm. But there were still four more sages to battle. Julia had convinced herself that battling was cruel and violent. Now that she got to experience it herself for the first time, perhaps there was something more to it. Papillon certainly looked a lot stronger and even happier. "Metapod!"

"Do you still want to battle? If you're tired you don't have to keep going."

Papillon nodded. "Metapod!" ( _"I want to keep going!"_ )

"Alright. I won't stop you. But you better eat this first," Despite having no visible mouth, Julia gave her cocoon friend an Oran berry so she could get her energy back. Papillon gobbled it up without another word, and before anyone knew it, she was back on the battlefield.

She battled sages Chow, Neal, Troy, and Edmond right afterward. Papillon battled Chow and Neal's bellsprouts like usual, and despite their using the same pokemon, they used different attacking methods. Chow's bellsprout knew Sleep Powder and Neal's bellsprout knew Razor Leaf. Since Papillon knew Harden, and her ability was Shed Skin, she was able to continuously keep the upper hand in battle, and knocked them out.

When the battle with Neal was over, something amazing happened. Papillon glowed in a brilliant white light. She was shining so brightly, the entire floor was lit up. A set of round wings sprouted out from Papillon's back. Antennae and legs sprouted out from her body as well. Soon, the light dissipated, and out came a purple butterfly pokemon with round, red eyes. One Julia recognized far too well. "Eeeee freee! Eeeee free!"

"Papillon's a butterfree now!" Julia's eyes glowed with joy.

The monks all silently rejoiced in Papillon's evolution. But there were only two more battles to go. Figuring that Papillon needed her rest, Julia switched her with Neji in her battle with Edmond, whose bellsprout knew Flash. The battle was difficult, but Neji managed to defeat Edmond's bellsprout. Neji wound up losing to Troy's bellsprout, as it knew Growth. Thankfully, she had defeated four out of six younger monks. Four wins and two losses. Julia found that to be reasonable. She was just starting out, after all. Last but not least was Elder Li.

"You have made substantial progress, Julia," Elder Li said as he positioned himself on the battlefield. "We sages of Sprout Tower view battling as a way for us trainers to bond with our pokemon. To understand them on a level that we cannot outside of battle. All living beings can coexist through cooperation, and battling is no different. That's why your pokemon managed to win in battle, because they grew to trust you and followed your instructions."

Julia clutched her PokeBall tightly. He was right. Instead of being repulsed by the battles she engaged in, a warm glow enveloped her heart. The joy on her pokemon's faces when they won was all too evident. Perhaps battling wasn't about senseless violence after all. It was a good thing Falkner showed her that book.

"Hoothoot! Go forth!" A brown bird pokemon came out of Li's PokeBall. It had tiny wings and large, red eyes that looked as though they could see into one's soul. It was a lot bigger than Tsubasa, but about Aqua's size. Hikaru hopped onto the battlefield, ready to fight.

"You're not going to use a bellsprout?" Julia asked.

"Not today. My little friend is keeping my wife company at home," Li replied.

Troy took up the referee position. "Once again, this will be a one-on-one battle! Ready? Battle begin!"

This time, Julia made the first move. "Hikaru! Use Tail Whip!"

Hikaru waggled its tiny black tail cutely. "Now use Thunder Wave!" On command, Hikaru shot tiny volts of lightning at hoothoot. Since the bird pokemon could fly, it managed to dodge every single attack by flying everywhere.

"Hoothoot. Use Hypnosis," Elder Li commanded.

"Hoothoot!" Its eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Hikaru managed to squeeze her eyes shut so she wouldn't be put to sleep.

"Hikaru! Don't look it in the eyes! Use Thundershock!" There was no way Hikaru was going to lose this battle. Without warning, Hikaru brought down a jolt of yellow lightning. It came so fast, the hoothoot wasn't able to dodge it this time. Its entire body burned as the electricity surged through its veins. Finally, the shock dissipated, and hoothoot was back in action.

"Use Peck!" Elder Li commanded. Hoothoot flew over to Hikaru and jabbed her beak all over the little mouse's body. Hikaru kept running to try and evade it, but the hoothoot was just as fast as she was.

"Hikaru! Don't give up! Bite on its wing and use Thunder Wave!" Julia shouted. Hikaru did as ordered and clamped her teeth on hoothoot's left wing. Hikaru's cheeks crackled with electricity, and she electrocuted the hoothoot with a smaller jolt this time. When she let go, hoothoot found itself unable to move. Yellow sparks of electricity crackled all around hoothoot.

"My goodness. Very clever," Elder Li brushed his beard with one hand. "Hoothoot. Use Confusion," He told it in a low voice.

"Hoothoot!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in a purple light. A purple aura surrounded Hikaru, and the tiny mouse found herself being pulled into the air like she was floating. She flailed her tiny arms and feet to break free, but nothing she did worked. All of a sudden, she found herself being thrown across the battlefield.

"Hikaru!" Julia wanted so badly to go over there and cradle Hikaru in her arms. She couldn't bear to see her friend getting hurt. But she steeled herself from doing so. If she interfered, the battle would be over, and she kept telling herself that she shouldn't baby her pokemon or treat them like glass. She had to see a pokemon battle from a different perspective. Much to her relief, Hikaru brushed off the pain. "Can you...still battle?"

Hikaru flashed a thumb's up. "Pichu!"

"Okay! Now use...Disarming Voice!" As ordered, Hikaru opened her mouth wide, letting out a shrill cry. Pink circles of light, accompanied by dancing darker pink hearts, suddenly bombarded hoothoot into submission. Hoothoot tried to fly away, but the electricity crippling its body made it go numb. Nothing it tried was able to let it evade the attack. Despite not having visible ears, hoothoot's ear drums rang. "Finish it off with Thundershock!" Once more, a bolt of thunder rained down on the bird pokemon.

The tiny hoothoot fell to the ground, unable to move or battle any further. Troy could see it plain as day, as did the other monks. "Hoothoot is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner, and the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!" He stretched his hand out toward Julia to empathize her victory.

Without a word, Elder Li called his hoothoot back to his PokeBall. "You did well, my friend," He stood up right as Julia walked up to him with an apologetic look on her face. The same one she had when she won against Jin. "Battling you has been a great pleasure. I must say, your battling style is still developing, but it has a kind of elegance to it."

"Elegant?" Julia asked, tilting her head to one side. "I can't see how battles can be elegant."

Elder Li let out a chuckle. "Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and pokemon test their bonds to build a bright future together. I was your final test, and I must say, you have certainly proven that the bonds you have between your pokemon are strong and full of love."

"I love my pokemon," Julia held Hikaru close to her chest. "They're family to me."

"As long as you treat your pokemon well, you will become a great trainer. There was a girl who came just before you did, and although she was a skilled battler, she was far too harsh on her pokemon," Elder Li told her gently.

Strong battler. Too harsh on her pokemon. It came to Julia right away. "Was her name Amara by any chance?"

Elder Li's eyes suddenly widened with surprise. "Yes. That was her. How did you know?"

"She's my big sister, and she's on the National Blacklist, AND she stole a totodile from Professor Elm's lab, AND she's not supposed to have any pokemon let alone battle with them AND she should have been reported AAAAND why didn't you report her?!" Julia suddenly yelled out of nowhere. One of the monks facepalmed, lamenting his error.

The bearded monk closed his eyes, reminiscing on the day Amara had battled him. He remembered watching her harshly scold her totodile for losing a battle with Edmond. When she came back, she managed to beat him despite the type disadvantage. _"You are quite skilled, young lady. However, I feel you treat your pokemon too harshly. Pokemon are not tools of war. They are sentient beings with feelings, and you should treat them with respect."_

He would never forget the defiant glare she gave him. _"Shut up, you old coot! They're my pokemon and I can do whatever the heck I want with them! I don't need stupid old men like you ordering me around! Now go die!"_

Disrespectful. Disgraceful. Intolerable, the way she treated her pokemon and Elder Li. He cleared his throat. "I had no knowledge that she was on the blacklist. Had I known, I would have reported her. I apologize for my error."

"I'm sorry she said all that bad stuff to you," Julia said. She knew her sister never did get along well with authority and always back talked them, she couldn't believe she'd be bold enough to tell an old man to go die. If she ever caught up with Amara, she was going to give her a massive verbal lashing. Nobody deserved to be told to go and die, especially someone as nice as Li. It was bad enough Amara treated Kassia and Truman like garbage any time they so much as said hi to her.

"Tell me...why are you on your journey?"

"I want to track Amara down, give her to the police, and make sure she's held responsible for everything she's done!" She announced without any hesitation.

"Hmmm…" Elder Li crossed his arms, ruminating. "While that is an admirable goal, one should go on a journey for their own sake, not for the sake of someone else. A journey is meant to help you grow, see new things, learn from others, and expose you to new sights, smells, and experiences," He put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I hope you will learn many new things and grow on your journey."

Julia nodded. "Thank you, sir. I...I don't think I hate battling anymore."

Right then, it came to her. She knew what she wanted to do now.

* * *

 **Yeah, this chapter got way too long. I thought about putting in her battle with Falkner and other stuff, but that's gonna have to be saved for the next chapter. I put in the flashback and it got pretty long, so I didn't want to drag it out. Yeah, I know, I suck at writing pokemon battles.**

 **Now I know what you're thinking, "Don't you think you overdid it with the teacher abusing her like that?" I know it comes off as melodramatic and even a little unrealistic, but let's face it. Stuff like this actually does happen in real life. I've seen far too many stories on the news where disabled kids are unfairly mistreated by untrained teachers and other authorities, be it with restraints, hand cuffs, or even straitjackets. Many teachers even go as far as to press themselves on kids, pinning them down to the point of rendering them unable to breathe, or even lock them in isolated rooms for hours without end. One kid died from such use of excessive force, and to this day, incidents like these still happen. Many of the victims are non-verbal and are unable to tell anyone these things unless their parents or other kind samaritans get involved.**

 **We can't deal with disabled kids with brute force, hatred, or discrimination, only understanding, patience, kindness, open-mindedness, and a willingness to cooperate with the parties involved. Using unlawful and unethical methods to treat disabled kids is bad, and it needs to stop. It's no better than bullying.**


	6. Eggs, Kimono Girls, and A New Friend!

**Just so everyone knows, I am perfectly aware that there are autistic people out there who can be cruel and mean. I myself have encountered less than pleasant people on the spectrum online. This story just doesn't focus on that. I'm writing this for my own enjoyment and for that of others, namely those who are sick of seeing autistic people portrayed as savants, non-verbal, or always throwing tantrums.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Eggs, Kimono Girls, and a New Friend, Oh My!

For the longest time, Julia had convinced herself that pokemon battles were nothing but senseless violence that hurt both people and pokemon. If someone told her two years ago that people considered battling as a way to strengthen the bond between people and pokemon, or that battling was more about trust than who was the strongest, she would have strongly disagreed, decreeing that battles were cruel and violent, nothing else. It didn't help that she had seen news reports on TV showing graphic videos of pokemon being forced to kill each other bloodily for sports, money, and even laughs. She couldn't believe some people would be so cruel as to treat pokemon as nothing but tools of war, her own sister being one such person even more so.

Going to Sprout Tower had been the best decision she had ever made, even if it was at Falkner's behest. They showed her that battling wasn't about hurting pokemon or seeing who was the strongest, but rather a different way of showing the trust between a pokemon and its trainer. For a brief moment, she truly did feel as though she had become one with her pokemon during her battle with the sages, especially Li. She loved her pokemon dearly and held her bonds with them in the absolute highest regard. She thought just that would be enough. The battles she had invigorated her, lighted a fire in her that she didn't think she had.

Another thing had come into her mind as well. In the deepest pits of her heart, she somehow knew that if she were to confront Amara, she would have to battle her someday. As much as she wanted to avoid fighting or battling with her, Amara wasn't one to listen to reason. If she couldn't get it in her head with words, Julia figured she might as well get it in her head through battle. After all, if she was going to go on a long journey, she'd have to battle in order to be strong enough to get through certain parts of life that weren't going to be easy. Life wasn't going to just hand everything to her on a silver platter. She learned that the hard way. But a little hard work wasn't all bad.

After her battles at Sprout Tower, she went back to the Pokemon Center to stay for another night and train her pokemon for a while longer. She even read some more books on battling and its rules and ethics. According to the National Pokemon Legal Rights Federation, killing a pokemon is absolutely forbidden in pokemon battles. If a pokemon has fainted, the battle cannot continue, and if someone uses their pokemon to hurt the fainted pokemon further or does it themselves, they either get arrested or fined at least a thousand dollars. Trainers cannot attack another trainer's pokemon, be it with their bare hands or weapons such as knives or guns lest they be sent to jail for eight years. Julia was glad someone had the decency to set those rules up. In her mind, that made battling somewhat more tolerable.

"Marill!" Aqua hopped on Julia's bed right as she was reading the book.

"Can't sleep yet, Aqua?"

Aqua shook her head. Julia smiled and stroke the blue mouse's head gently. "It's okay. I'm not nervous at all about tomorrow."

"Marill mar!" Aqua chirruped as she wiggled underneath the blankets, snuggling right next to Julia. The girl's heart grew warm as she put the book down and wrapped her arm around her friend, pulling her close.

"You're sweet," With that, Julia's eyes closed and she drifted off to dreamland.

No nightmares. No flashbacks of Mrs. Amoretto or that awful day. When was the last time she had slept so peacefully? Morning knocked on the door, and Julia was the first to open it without hesitation. She made sure to give back the book Falkner rented from the library and the other books to the Pokemon Center. She stood before the Violet City gym with Hikaru by her side. She pushed the doors open, and with a drawn out creak, they revealed the inside of the gym.

In the middle of the gym was a large battle field that looked just like the one at the school, with the PokeBall symbol and all. Large lights lit up the room, brightening it right up. Falkner stood at the end of the battlefield. He was no longer in uniform, but instead was wearing a blue kimono. Black and red arm bands covered his arms from his wrists to his elbows, and a sky blue cardigan with white cotton balls on both sides covered his back. A white cloth was wrapped around his waist, and he wore tall white socks along with black sandals.

"Ah! Julia!" Falkner exclaimed. "You actually came! I didn't think you would. I take it you found your answer?"

Julia clutched the strap on her bag tightly. "Umm...I'm not sure. But...I'm hoping to find it here...if that's okay," She murmured in a low voice.

Falkner shrugged. "Good enough. I accept your challenge."

A male referee stood on the left side of the battlefield, holding a yellow flag in his left hand and a white flag on his right. "The battle between Falkner the gym leader and Julia Parisa of New Bark Town is set to begin! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon as per his wishes, whereas the challenger will use all six of his or her pokemon. Only the challenger can switch pokemon during the battle."

"How come?" Julia tilted her head to one side. "Doesn't that seem a little unfair? You have other pokemon, right? Like that skarmory?"

"I have plenty of pokemon," Falkner told her. "But they're too strong. I have pokemon I use for this gym only so I can put myself at the same level as trainers who challenge me. But I'll let you know this! Just because you're a beginner doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, whether you're autistic or not!"

That seemed to explain it. Julia found her heart ablaze with some kind of weird feeling. Was this the feeling trainers got when they battled? "I never said I wanted you go to easy on me!"

The referee held his flags up in the air. "Ready? Battle begin!"

Falkner pulled out a PokeBall. "I'll show you how far we can fly! Pidgey! Let your wings guide you!" A pidgey came flying out of his PokeBall.

Julia looked down at Hikaru. "Do you want to try this out?"

"Pichu!" The tiny mouse scurried onto the battlefield, its round eyes gleaming with courage.

"Pidgey! Use Tackle!"

"Hikaru! Tackle it right back!"

The two pokemon charged at each other, with pidgey descending from the air and Hikaru running right toward it. Their heads collided, and Falkner's pidgey found itself flying in the air again. Hikaru rolled on the battlefield to regain her balance. "Use Thunder Wave!" On command, Hikaru shot jolts of lightning at the bird, hoping to paralyze it. Since pidgey could fly, it was able to evade every single attack.

"Pidgey! Use Gust!" Falkner commanded. Pidgey cooed passionately before flapping its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind that easily blew Hikaru to Julia's part of the battlefield. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to knock her out, and Hikaru wasn't intent on giving up just yet.

Hikaru wiped some sand out of her ears before running toward pidgey once more. Julia commanded that she jump on pidgey and use Sweet Kiss on it. When pidgey attempted a Tackle attack, Hikaru didn't dodge. Instead, she grabbed onto pidgey's wing and kissed it right on its cheek. Before long, pidgey was suddenly kicking sand in its eyes and slapping itself with its wings. Falkner didn't even blink despite the odds not being in his favor. To Julia's dismay, pidgey still managed to kick some sand into Hikaru's eyes.

"You okay, Hikaru?" Julia asked worriedly.

The tiny mouse wiped the sand out of her eyes before giving her trainer a thumb's up. "Pichu!" ( _"I'm just fine!"_ ) Hikaru's eyes gleamed with determination.

Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a smile. "Your battling skills are developing nicely. I can see the sages at Sprout Tower taught you well," He told her. Julia couldn't help but bask in his praise, but knew the battle was still going on. "But we're not finished yet! Use Wing Attack, pidgey!"

Pidgey shook its head vigorously, finally managing to get a grip on itself. The tiny bird ascended into the sky, its wings shining in a harsh white light. Hikaru ran as fast as she could, trying her best to outrun the little bird. Unfortunately, to their dismay, pidgey caught up with Hikaru and its wings made contact, throwing the mouse across the battlefield. With a grunt, Hikaru managed to stumble back on her feet.

"Are you okay?!" Julia yelped, her hands almost covering her eyes.

"Pi...chuuuu…" Hikaru grunted, wiping the sand off of her fur.

"You don't have to battle if you don't want to-"

"Pichu!" ( _"I want to keep going!"_ ) Hikaru snapped.

The girl found herself touched by her partner's insistence on continuing the battle. All this time she wanted to keep her pokemon out of battles out of fear of them getting hurt. The fact that Hikaru still insisted on battling said a lot about her. Elder Li had said it before. Pokemon battles are about trust and believing in her pokemon. She had to believe in Hikaru no matter what. A good trainer always believed in her pokemon.

"You can do this, Hikaru! I know you can!"

"Pichu!"

"Coo coo!" Falkner's pidgey cooed, daring Hikaru to see if she could beat it.

"Let's win this, Hikaru!" Julia exclaimed, her heart ablaze with new resolve.

"Piii!"

"Use Disarming Voice!"

"Piiii!" Hikaru let out a shrill cry, and despite pidgey's attempts at dodging it, one of the hearts managed to hit its wing.

"Cut through it and use Tackle!" Falkner shouted. On command, pidgey flew through the Disarming Voice, hitting Hikaru right in the face with its beak, canceling the attack. Hikaru rolled on the sand. But when pidgey tried to get up, its body suddenly went numb. Sparks of electricity danced across its body.

"Static!" Julia cried, realizing what had happened. Even Falkner's eyes were wide and mouth agape. He had completely forgotten the electric mouse had that ability. This was her chance, and she had to take it right now. "Finish it off with Thundershock!"

Hikaru was already on it. She dropped a jolt of lightning down on the pidgey. The thunder dissipated and pidgey's skin was black from the shock. It was unable to move. The referee got a closer look before holding up the yellow flag. "Pidgey is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner!"

Winner. The joy in her heart suddenly bubbled over, and she couldn't fight the urge to cheer and jump in the air. "Yay! Our first win!" Hikaru leaped into her arms, letting Julia spin her around. They both knew their battle wasn't over, but it didn't hurt to celebrate a little bit. "You did it, Hikaru! You were so great out there!"

"Pichu!"

With a sad smile, Falkner put pidgey back in its PokeBall. "You soared far above the clouds, pidgey. Take a good rest," He put the PokeBall in his pocket and pulled out another one. "Hoothoot! It's your turn to fly now!"

A hoothoot popped out of the PokeBall. "Hoothoot!"

"Want to take a break, Hikaru? That pidgey was strong," Julia asked.

"Pichu!" Hikaru nodded, crawling down to the floor.

Julia kneeled down and stroke Hikaru's head gently. "You deserve to rest a little," She pulled out an Oran berry and handed it to Hikaru, knowing she needed to get some of her energy back. Hikaru swallowed the Oran berry whole without hesitation. Julia pulled out another PokeBall and threw it. "Aqua! You're up!"

"Marill mar!" The water mouse leaped onto the battlefield.

"Battle begin!"

"Aqua! Use Water Gun!" On command, Aqua shot a blast of water at hoothoot, who flew all over the place to dodge it.

"Hypnosis!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Aqua wasn't fast enough to move away, resulting in her unknowingly making eye contact with the round bird. She found that her eyes had become heavy, and couldn't keep them open. Her head became light, and her body wobbled until she fell right asleep.

"Oh no! Aqua!" Julia exclaimed. Aqua laid down on the battlefield, with a snot bubble ballooning in and out, sleeping like it was time for bed.

"Now's our chance!" Falkner balled his hand into a fist and threw it in the air. "Use Peck!"

Hoothoot flew down toward Aqua and pecked her all over her body, driving her beak into her fur. "No! Aqua! Wake up, please!" Julia begged in a loud, pleading voice. "You gotta wake up!"

"Finish it off with Air Slash!" Falkner cried. Hoothoot's wings glowed in a white light. With just one flap of its wings, two sickles of white light suddenly flew right toward the sleeping water mouse. Once they made contact, a dust cloud appeared, almost blowing everyone away. Julia was quick to shield her face with her arms, and Hikaru clung to Julia's leg. When the dust cloud faded, Aqua continued to lay on the ground. This time, the snot bubble was gone.

"Aqua the marill is unable to battle! Hoothoot is the winner!"

Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a proud expression. His hoothoot fluttered back to the ground, hooting and cooing, happy to have achieved such a valiant victory. Julia ran over to Aqua and cradled her in her arms. "You okay, sweetie?"

This time, Aqua woke up. "Marill…"

"It's okay. You did your best," She put Aqua back in her PokeBall. "I'll take you to the Pokemon Center later. You did a great job."

"Losing and failure can pave the way to success if you're willing to learn from it," Falkner said as hoothoot descended onto his arm, begging for pets. The blue haired man stroke his faithful bird gently with his free hand. "In fact, failure can teach you so much more than success ever could."

Although she was happy that he was trying to encourage her, she wasn't sure how failure could be perceived as a good thing. She still had plenty of pokemon left to use, and she didn't want to put Hikaru back out on the field too suddenly. However, she wasn't sure if Neji could handle it, and Papillon is a bug type, making her weak against flying types. She could definitely satisfy a certain someone's thirst for battle. "Tsubasa! Get out there and show me what you're made of!"

Tsubasa flew out of the PokeBall proudly, happy to be able to battle. With this, the battle resumed. "Hoothoot! Tackle!"

"Tsubasa! Tackle it right back!"

Since Tsubasa happened to be smaller and faster than hoothoot, she managed to hit the opponent before hoothoot could hit her. "Keep tackling it!" Tsubasa proceeded to tackle hoothoot in every direction, throwing it around like it was a rag doll. Hoothoot tried to fight back, but Tsubasa kept bombarding it with tackle attacks, not letting up.

"Confusion!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in a purple light. Tsubasa found herself frozen in place. Before long, Tsubasa was suddenly thrown across the battlefield, and she would have hit the ground had she not managed to flap her wings right before landing.

"Good job, Tsubasa!" Julia exclaimed. "Use Wing Attack!" Tsubasa charged right at hoothoot, throwing herself against the fat bird. Her wings collided with the bird, throwing it right on the battlefield.

"You can still fly, Hoothoot!" Falkner cried out. "Soar! Use Peck!"

Unlike before, the two birds were on equal footing. This time, Tsubasa was able to dodge the attacks since she could fly, like hoothoot could. Zipping all around the room like an annoying fly, Tsubasa found herself liking this. She could let off all her steam and beat this fat bird to the ground.

"Air Slash!"

"Dodge it!"

Since Tsubasa was awake, she was able to dodge the Air Slash attack as well. Julia prayed that hoothoot wouldn't use hypnosis. Unfortunately, her prayers weren't answered. "Use hypnosis!" Thankfully for her, hypnosis didn't work, as Tsubasa kept flying, making it impossible for hoothoot to land a hit on her. Julia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, Tsubasa! You can do it! Knock it out with Wing Attack!" Julia cried. Tsubasa nodded in agreement. This was the nudge she needed to beat that hoothoot once and for all. With her wings glowing in a harsh white light, Tsubasa charged at the unsuspecting hoothoot with no mercy. _WHAM!_ Hoothoot was thrown against the wall. Since the gym walls were made of stone, there weren't any dents. At least, not any that a small pokemon would be strong enough to make. Hoothoot's limp body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hoothoot! No!" Falkner ran to his partner, only to find the bird unable to move.

"Hoothoot is unable to battle! Tsubasa the pidgey is the winner!" The referee announced.

Tsubasa flew to the ground and let out a hearty laugh. "Coo coo coo cooooo!"

"Tsubasa! It's not nice to gloat or insult people!" Julia scolded.

The tiny bird wasn't fazed. "Coo coo coo!" ( _"Come on, Jules! I'm awesome and they know it!"_ ) A hand flew to Julia's face. As much as she liked the victory, she wished Tsubasa would be a little more humble about it. Hoothoot was called back to its PokeBall.

"Wow. I'm impressed," Falkner told her, putting a hand on his hip. "You're soaring real high, kid. If you keep that kind of strength up, you can go far."

Julia scratched her brown hair with an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know. My pokemon are the ones doing the work. They deserve the credit. I'm just that annoying whiny kid who can't do much of anything," She sputtered.

"Don't put yourself down like that," Falkner pulled out another PokeBall. "But don't think you've won just yet! The wind is still with us! Go, Pidgeotto!"

A light shot out of the PokeBall, morphing into a large bird pokemon, much larger than Tsubasa. Its fur was a lighter shade of brown than Tsubasa's and its talons were larger than a pidgey's. Pink hair grew from the top of its head, forming a crescent shape if observed from the side, and its tail feathers were both pink and yellow, with the ends having notches on them. Its wings were big and long, and when outstretched, it looked as though it could easily trap Tsubasa in a big hug.

"Pijoooooo!" The large bird pokemon cried.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex to get some information on it. _"Pidgeotto, the bird pokemon, and the evolved form of pidgey._ _It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution, as they are very territorial and show no mercy when attacking their prey."_

To the casual trainer and to small pokemon, a pidgeotto would be something they would stay away from for the time being. However, Tsubasa was not like normal pidgey. As soon as pidgeotto descended to the ground, Tsubasa pointed a wing at it and started cooing like crazy. Julia was quick to translate it, even though she facepalmed. "Ugh! Tsubasa says, _'You're not so tough! I'm gonna beat you bloody! Don't think you're so special just because you're bigger than me!'_ Really, Tsubasa?" She had to wonder if she caught the only pidgey in the world who was this boastful.

Pidgeotto let out some chirps, not looking fazed by Tsubasa's declaration. "Your pidgeotto says, _'I'd like to see you try, shrimp.'_ "

"Battle begin!"

"Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack to knock it out!" Falkner commanded.

"Pijo!" Without hesitation, pidgeotto flew across the battlefield. Tsubasa tried to move away, but pidgeotto managed to catch up. Its large beak slammed right into Tsubasa's wing, sending her rolling across the battlefield.

"Tsubasa! Are you okay?!" Julia cried. Like before, Tsubasa got back on her talons without a hitch. "Use Gust!" The tiny bird flapped its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind.

"Gust right back at it!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings, creating a stronger gust of wind than Tsubasa's. As a result, the tiny bird found itself blown away. She was quick to regain her composure, but not enough to avoid another attack. "Use Quick Attack!" Tsubasa tried to fly away, but pidgeotto was too fast for her. Once again, pidgeotto's beak collided with her, sending her sprawling onto the battlefield. This time, Tsubasa was unable to move at all.

"Tsubasa the pidgey is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner!" The referee announced.

Julia pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. "It's okay. You did great."

"Pichu!"

"You want to go at it again? Okay. Just be careful."

Hikaru scuttled onto the battlefield, her round eyes gleaming with determination. She was going to need it. Julia knew that even if she did have a type disadvantage, size and strength also mattered, and she wasn't sure if Hikaru would be able to beat pidgeotto. But she had to believe in her. Surely, they had a chance. The battle resumed.

"Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack again!"

The bird ascended into the air before dropping downward. "Hikaru! When it gets close, use Thundershock!" Hikaru didn't dodge. She wanted to, but she wanted to trust Julia's instructions. Pidgeotto came closer and closer. Her tiny red cheeks crackled with sparks of electricity just dying to come out. "NOW!"

"Chuuu!" Hikaru didn't hold back, and unleashed an explosion of thunder. Pidgeotto was unable to avoid it, as it had been flying too fast, leaving it unable to dodge right off. As a result, pidgeotto's body was consumed by electricity, its feathers burning from the touch.

Once the shock dissipated, pidgeotto flew down toward Hikaru and knocked her away with one wing. That proved to be a mistake, as pidgeotto's body suddenly turned numb. Its muscles and wings became stiff, and its body didn't move the way it wanted it to. Static had taken affect once more. Julia knew this was her chance to defeat Falkner. She commanded that Hikaru use Thundershock once more, along with Sweet Kiss to make sure pidgeotto was so loopy it would be unable to battle or attack. Hikaru did what she asked, and pidgeotto found itself slapping itself with its wings multiple times. Julia's body blazed with courage and determination. She had never felt this way before. Was this what it was like to be one with her pokemon?

She yelled for Hikaru to finish it off with Thundershock. Pidgeotto was struck once more by a bolt of lightning. Despite it attempting to stand up and continue the battle, both of its talons gave out, and it landed in the middle of the battlefield with a thud. The referee walked over to get a closer look. Pidgeotto was out like a light. "Pidgeotto is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner, which means the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!"

Julia fell to her knees. She had won. It didn't fully sink in. Ever since she was young, she hardly ever won at anything, like contests or games. It didn't help that kids and people like Mrs. Amoretto had convinced Julia that she would never have a chance at being worth something no matter what she did, even if she worked hard. Now...all of those beliefs had been whacked across oblivion by the baseball bat that was Hikaru's victory against pidgeotto. Her green eyes, wide with confusion at first, suddenly glimmered with joy. Her cup of happiness was full before, but Hikaru made it overflow by contributing one more drop to it.

"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru leaped into Julia's arms with a cheer.

"You did it, Hikaru! You did it! We won!" Julia stood back up and spun around, holding Hikaru high in the sky. Falkner pulled pidgeotto back into its PokeBall with a frown on his face.

"For pity's sake...sorry, Dad. I lost," Falkner mumbled to himself, lamenting his loss. If Elder Li were here, he would say that failure could teach one more than success ever could. In his heart, he was proud of Julia for beating him. Well, not for beating him, but for finally taking joy from battles. It was evident from the way Julia and Hikaru cuddled and nuzzled each other that they were truly rejoicing in their victory, brought about by their bond. "Oh well. There's always next time."

"Falkner!" The girl's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Are...your pokemon gonna be okay? We didn't hurt them too bad, did we?"

A smile appeared on his face, replacing the frown. "They'll be fine. You battled awesomely. Here," Falkner dug into his pocket and opened his hand. Julia and Hikaru looked down to see a shiny silver brooch made to resemble a hexagonal set of wings, with a slight opening going down the middle. "In honor of your victory, I present to you the Zephyr Badge."

At first, Julia just stood there. She was happy that she won her battle against Falkner, but she didn't really want anything out of it. All she wanted was to see battling from a new perspective. She had read about gym leaders and the Pokemon League, and didn't find it to be of interest. She had dreams she wanted to fulfill, but the Pokemon League wasn't one of them. Even so, she knew it'd be rude to refuse the badge. Perhaps she might like to try it out if she could. She slowly took the badge from Falkner's hand.

Right then and there, a memory came back to her mind. Her seven-year-old self was sitting in the principal's office crying. Falkner had released two of his pokemon to keep her company and cheer her up. One of them was a white pokemon with red and blue markings on its belly. "Did you...used to have a togetic?"

That was out of the blue. She did say she barely remembered the incident. Maybe seeing the badge triggered something. He flashed a sad smile. "Yes. I used to have a togetic. He was a real trooper, and a good friend."

"What happened to him?"

"He died last month. Old age combined with kidney failure."

Julia's eyebrows furrowed. She had no idea. The sweet white pokemon who made her happy so many years ago is gone now. She looked down at the badge, marveling in how pristine its steel surface looked. "I didn't know."

"It's okay. I'm sure he's flying in Heaven with his wings outstretched," Falkner crossed his arms. "You battled hard. If you keep this up, you and your pokemon will soar as high as you want to."

She closed her hand into a fist with the badge trapped inside. "Thank you, sir. For everything. I...I don't hate battling anymore."

"If you're interested, the next gym is in Azalea Town," Falkner explained. "You have to go through Union Cave to get there, though."

With that, Julia said her goodbyes and prepared for the trip to Union Cave. Now she had another place to go. The contempt she felt for Violet City disappeared, replaced with good memories. Meeting Falkner, battling the sages, the gym battle...she had only been here for a few days but learned so much. She was sure she was going to make good use of it for the future. However, as she left the gym, her PokeGear rang.

"I wonder who that could be?" She pulled it out and flipped it open. "Hello?"

" _Julia! Hello! It's Professor Elm!"_ The nervous professor on the other line exclaimed.

"Hi there. What's up?"

" _Your mother told me you're in Violet City. Umm…"_ He stammered, like he was having trouble putting words together due to being too excited. _"The egg you brought back from Mr. Pokemon. One of my assistants is in the Violet City PokeMart with it. We would...like you to hold onto it!"_

Julia found herself speechless for a moment before answering. "Uhh...sure. I can do that. How come?"

" _I've been doing some research on it,"_ Professor Elm exclaimed, calming down. _"It's a genuine Pokemon egg, and although they can hatch just fine in the wild, according to my findings, pokemon that hatch from eggs that are raised by humans can be stronger than those of wild pokemon. Would you like to raise the egg?"_

"Umm...sure. I'd love to," She answered nonchalantly. It was still sinking in, but she answered so she wouldn't disappoint Professor Elm.

" _Great!"_ He shouted. Julia pulled the phone away from her ear. _"My assistant has spiky black hair and is wearing a white lab coat. He's easy to spot. He has a big mole near his nose, too. Thank you so much! Bye!" Beep beep beep._ With that, he hung up.

The egg...already, the memories of trying to protect it from Amara ran through her mind. This time, it was easy as pie to get it. She and Hikaru went to the PokeMart, met with the assistant, got the egg, and left without a hitch. No interruptions, no interference, nothing. However, when she left, she saw someone that caught her eye. It was a young woman with raven black hair styled in a Mt. Silver style(1), held in place with a gold barrette with a PokeBall dangling from it, wearing a pitch black kimono with yellow PokeBall patterns on it. Wrapped around her waist was a yellow and purple obi, and she donned brown geta sandals and white tabi socks.

Julia found herself stopping in place, frozen by her beauty. The woman's skin was pale like the moon, and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Resting in her hands was a perfectly round, deep violet, oil paper umbrella with white flower designs painted on it, giving her a regal, refined air. Julia clutched the egg tightly like a mother protecting her child. This was no time to be gazing at another woman's kimono, beautiful as it was. She was about to leave until the woman happened to glance at her.

"Is that a pokemon egg?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, noting the woman's plump, rosy cheeks. Julia stared down at the egg in her arms, her cheeks burning from being put on the spot. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes…"

"My," The woman spoke in a soft, clear, pretty voice that matched her elegant, proper appearance. "I've never seen a pokemon egg before. May I take a look at it?"

Something told her that the woman seemed nice and friendly, and there was no need to be so apprehensive around her. However, the nerves in Julia's body were all jumbled up into a mess. She wanted to just run and take the egg with her. She needed to go to Azalea Town quickly. At the same time, she didn't want to be rude. She let out a sigh, conceding defeat. "Okay. But don't touch it, please. It's very fragile," Julia told her firmly, hoping that her tone of voice had an authoritative air about it that would be enough to make her listen.

The woman bent over to gaze at the egg with her gleaming eyes. She tilted her head to one size, examining it closely. "Mr. Pokemon must have found it, didn't he?"

Julia's mouth fell open. "How...did you figure that out?"

The woman stood back up and let out a chuckle. "Mr. Pokemon watches our performances whenever he has time, so he tells us a lot about his discoveries," The woman explained. "I'm a dancer, you see, and my sisters and I reside in Ecruteak City. I'm Zuki, by the way."

"J-J-J-Julia," She stammered. That explained it. "Y-Y-Your...kimono is...really pretty."

"Thank you for the compliment," Zuki replied gratefully, bending down into a graceful bow. "My mother sewed it for me when my pokemon evolved. Oh!" She looked down at her watch. "I must be going. I'm meeting my sister for breakfast at the cafe. It was a pleasure meeting you, dearest Julia. I do hope you will become a great pokemon trainer."

With a soft smile and a wave, Zuki trotted off to a cafe that was close by. Julia waved back with a shy smile. "She seemed nice," She said to herself. Adjusting her bag strap, she walked southbound, down the path that supposedly led to Union Cave.

She expected the trek to be tough, like on Routes 30 and 31. However, it proved to be far tougher than usual, with trainers asking her for battles. She figured her pokemon needed some more battling experience if she was going to challenge the Azalea gym, so she decided to accept their offers. The battles themselves were either really tough or took a long time. At one point, a big red ladybug pokemon had flown right in front of her, sitting on a rock.

"Awww! How cute! A ledyba!" Julia watched the bug pokemon sit on the rock. The pokemon was large with a red upper body, and its stomach and face were a light shade of creamy white. It had big, soulful black eyes, six stubby legs resembling round fists, and big black polka dots dotted its back. Julia held up her PokeDex.

" _Ledyba, the five star pokemon. These naturally gentle bug type pokemon gather in groups during the cold weather to keep warm. They are very timid and don't move a muscle when they're alone. In a group, they're more active and social. They prefer to communicate with others by emitting an aromatic scent,"_ A pink female sign flashed in the corner of the PokeDex, indicating that it was female.

Julia put her PokeDex away and pulled out a PokeBall. "I'm definitely going to catch this little cutie!" Hikaru got the message and decided to help out. She commanded Hikaru to use Thundershock on it. Hikaru scurried over to the giant ladybug before it could react. With a piercing cry, a jolt of lightning dropped down on the pokemon. Ledyba's body became numb as the electricity surged through her body. When the electricity dissipated, the ladybug fell off of the rock, its limp body making contact with the grass with a soft thud. Julia threw the PokeBall without a word. The PokeBall bounced off of the ladybug, and it turned into light before going inside.

The PokeBall wobbled back and forth, the red light in the center flashing. All of a sudden, a light came right out, morphing into the ledyba, who shook its head to shake off the numbness. "Aww! I guess you better weaken it some more," Julia said.

"Pichu!"

The ledyba opened its translucent wings, ready to fly away. "No! Hurry! Use Disarming Voice!" She couldn't let it get away. Hikaru let out another piercing cry. This time, pink circles and hearts poured out of her mouth, ripping apart the poor ladybug's ear drums. The ledyba found itself descending back on the grass with two fists clinging to its two black antennae. Once more, Julia threw a PokeBall at it, and the ledyba was forced back inside. The PokeBall wobbled again. Julia squeezed her eyes shut, praying that the pokemon stay inside this time.

 _Click!_ The flashing red light disappeared. "Yay! I caught a ledyba!" Julia jumped up and down with a cheer. Once she stopped, she kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. However, as soon as she picked it up, it glowed in a white light before disappearing into thin air. The smile on her face immediately morphed into a frown. "Wha?! What...what just happened?!"

"Pichuuuu?" Hikaru was just as confused as she was.

"Oh! Mom might know!" She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her PokeGear. She dialed her house number and waited for an answer.

" _Hello?"_

"Mom? It's me, Julia!"

" _Hi, Julia! How's your-"_

"I caught a pokemon just now but the PokeBall disappeared!" Julia interrupted, her voice almost bordering on hysterical. "I'm worried that it might have-"

" _Don't worry,"_ Kassia told her reassuringly. _"We just received it through the transporter."_

"Huh?"

" _Professor Elm and I talked about this before you went on your journey,"_ Kassia began. _"He programmed your PokeBalls to make sure that if you ever caught more pokemon than you could carry, they would immediately be transported here to the house for safekeeping,"_ The worry and hysteria that had caught Julia in its clutches finally released her. She found herself letting out a sigh of relief.

"Ohhhh. I get it," Julia facepalmed. "I even read about this in my books, too. Sorry."

" _It's okay! I figured you'd wind up worrying about this, so I'm glad you called. Where are you right now?"_

"I'm on a road that's supposed to take me to some cave called Union Cave," Julia told her.

" _Oh dear. You better be careful then,"_ Kassia advised, her tone of voice adopting a slightly more serious tone. _"Union Cave's not an easy cave to get through. There's onix and zubat and sandshrew and everything in there."_

Julia shuddered. She hated zubat with every fiber of her being. Just hearing their names made her freeze in place. _"Don't worry, Jul. Your pokemon will be safe with us. Oh! I better let you go. My soap opera's getting to a really steamy part."_

That made a chuckle come out. Mom and her soap operas. "Okay then. Sorry for worrying you. Bye! Love you!" With that, she hung up her PokeGear and went about her way.

She wasn't sure how long she had been out on the road, but by the time she had reached a pokemon center, the sky was draped in a deep blue curtain embroidered with twinkling stars. It must be confessed that she lost a battle to a particularly strong trainer, and as a result, all of her pokemon were too tired and injured to do anything. For a moment, Julia was worried. An eleven year old girl, all alone in the middle of the woods at night with pokemon that couldn't fight. What if a wild pokemon were to attack? She was sure she would be done for. At the same time, she couldn't just stay here.

Fortunately, she saw a red roof and bright lights just up ahead. Much to her relief, it was a Pokemon Center. Boy, did she need one. Not only were her pokemon in dire need of care, she was hungry, tired, dirty, and needed to go to the bathroom. Her stomach growled with a harsh rumble, begging for food. Her hair was scraggly, covered with dirt or leaves from some confrontations with wild pokemon. Her hoodie and shorts had patches of dirt on them from falling down, whether from tripping on roots or rocks or from pokemon battles. Not only that, she needed to go to the bathroom really bad. If that Pokemon Center hadn't been there, she might have considered doing it outside, and she really didn't want to expose herself. What if there were night prowlers or creepy perverts out there watching? She didn't want to take that risk.

The first thing she did was race to the bathroom. After that, she gave her pokemon to Nurse Joy. Once they were healed, she jumped in the shower to wash off the dirt and grime. Water racing down her body, dampening her hair...it felt great to finally be out of the wilderness. Never before had she appreciated shampoo and soap so much. She had always taken it for granted, especially since she liked being clean and was never a rough and tumble kind of girl who liked to get dirty or climb trees. Once she was clean, she threw her dirty clothes into the washer, then the dryer. After that, she treated herself and her pokemon to a very late dinner, she changed into her pajamas, and went to bed. She figured she'd go into the cave tomorrow.

* * *

Morning came, and when she woke up, she called Kassia again to send Papillon to the ranch in exchange for the ledyba she caught last night. She named her Ladybug. But for now, she needed to get through Union Cave. If she didn't get through it now, she wouldn't get to Azalea Town by nightfall. There was no doubt about it. She had to get through it.

The cave itself wasn't anything special. It was dark, but not so dark that Julia couldn't see where she was going. There were some creeks and ponds around, where some water pokemon played and enjoyed themselves. The ground beneath her feet was quite bumpy. Rocks of all shapes and sizes covered the cave floors, so hardly anyone could walk straight. At one point, Julia slipped on one rock and wound up falling on the ground. Another rock scratched her knee, leaving a small laceration surrounded by dirt. When she sat up, she looked down at her palm. Tiny scratches, dirt, and gravel decorated it.

"Oww…" Julia crawled over to a small pond and stuck her hand in the water. The frigid cold water made a shiver run up her arm, all the way down to her spine. She put her good hand in there and splashed some water on her scraped knee. The skin around her knee was red from the fall, and it felt warm when she touched it.

Hikaru noticed the scrape before hopping up on a rock and licking the blood away with her tongue. "Awww. Thanks, Hikaru," Julia's heart grew warm at the kind gesture. "You're so sweet," As thanks, she scratched Hikaru under her yellow chin. "I wish I brought band-aids with me. There's no PokeMart around."

"Chuu…" Hikaru agreed. All of a sudden, her ears twitched, and the tiny mouse looked up.

"You hear something?"

"Pichu!"

Julia stood up and put her hands behind her ears. At first, she heard nothing. A few seconds later, her ears caught the soft sound of a ringing bell. But there was no way a bell could be in a cave, let alone ringing. The ringing sound grew louder. "Pichu!" Hikaru cried, pointing further down the cave.

The area gradually grew brighter, as yellow light came pouring out. All of a sudden… "Mareeeeep!" A wooly sheep pokemon darted out with a cry. The sheep had a dark blue face, matching legs, cone shaped ears with black and yellow stripes on them, a curly tuft of wooly fur on its head, and a body that was completely covered tail to neck with soft, pale yellow wool. At the end of its black and yellow striped tail was a round, orange sphere that resembled a crystal ball, and it was glowing in a bright light. Wrapped around its neck was a red strap with a silver bell dangling from it. That explained where the ringing came from.

"A mareep! They don't live in caves," Julia told herself as she pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Mareep, the wool pokemon. Mareep store static electricity in their wool, so touching it will shock you. They usually avoid battle and have mild dispositions. The wooly coat around its body stores a lot of air, allowing it to stay cool in summer and warm in winter."_

"Mareeeep!" The mareep darted toward Julia before pulling on her pant leg with its teeth. "Mareeep! Mareeep!"

"What's wrong?" Julia asked. The mareep sounded desperate and kept baaing. She tried to translate its frantic words. "Your trainer's in trouble?" The mareep nodded vigorously. "Do you remember where you trainer is?"

The mareep darted back to where it came from, its silver bell ringing as it moved. "Mareep! Mareep!"

Julia turned to look at Hikaru. "Let's follow him."

Hikaru nodded. The mareep made sure not to move too quickly so as to lose sight of Julia and Hikaru, allowing them to see where they were going. Sometimes it stopped in its tracks, looking back to see if they were behind it. A blue bat pokemon suddenly flew past Julia, flapping its large wings. Letting out a yelp, she slipped on a rock and fell on her rear. "Owww!" She cried before standing back up. The pain from hitting the rock made her rear end throb, but this was no time to worry about that. They continued further.

The tiny mouse's ears twitched, this time to a different sound. Julia heard it, too. A person's voice calling out for help. Closer and closer they walked. The more they walked, the clearer the voice became. "Help! Help! Someone! Is anyone there?!" A girl's voice echoed in the depths of the cave.

Finally, they found the source of the voice: a girl of Julia's age sitting in front of a large pile of rocks. The girl had bright, wavy orange hair that went down to her lower back, tied in the back with a black ribbon. Her blue eyes were red, puffy, and wet from tears. They were hard to make out in the dark, but the light from the mareep's tail shined on her face, and the tears reflected it. She was wearing a white blouse underneath a sleeveless maroon vest, a brown skirt, white stockings, and deep brown shoes. Standing next to her was another pokemon, a small, four legged fox-like creature with six curly orange tails, matching the tuft of hair on its head. The pokemon had darker orange fur, soft grey eyes, a cream colored abdomen, and its paws were a deep shade of orangish brown.

"Mareeeeep!" The mareep suddenly darted over to the girl, pointing to Julia and Hikaru with its paw.

"Is everything okay?" Julia asked in a soft voice.

"Oh! Thanks so much, Chirin!" The girl hugged her mareep friend tearfully, referring to it as Chirin. Julia smiled. So the mareep was her pokemon. "I'm sorry to ask this of you…" The girl began. Julia could tell from the way her voice sounded that she had been crying for a long time. Her voice was hoarse, like she had screamed for a while. "But I need your help! I can't do this on my own!" She grabbed her by the arm, giving her a desperate, pleading look.

"What happened?"

"We were trying to catch an onix," The girl explained. "But it escaped by digging this hole here," She pointed to the rock pile. "One of my pokemon fell in, and I tried to get him back, but the ceiling caved in, plugging it up," Julia's green eyes widened. A pokemon was trapped in there. "I've tried moving a bunch of these rocks but they're too heavy! For all we know he could be dead!" The girl raised her voice, matching her hysterical state.

"Vul! Vulpix!" The fox pokemon cried, tapping the girl's shoe with one of its paws.

Julia could feel courage rising in her heart. There was no way she was going to abandon them, even if she wasn't sure she nor her pokemon had the manpower to help with this situation. She had to do something. "I don't know if this'll work, but we'll help you!" Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. "Everyone! I need your help! Move as many rocks as you can! There's a pokemon trapped underneath here!"

As ordered, her pokemon began moving rocks away from the pile. Some of the smaller pokemon either moved smaller rocks or worked together to carry big rocks in case they were too heavy. Julia helped the girl carry some of the bigger rocks. She was never one to do much grunt work, and at some points she almost dropped big rocks. Physical strength was not something she truly had, but this was no time to complain about her shortcomings. Her pokemon must be scared, hungry, dehydrated or even dying. There wasn't a moment to lose.

"Umm...random question," Julia said as she and the girl carried a big rock on both sides. "Do any of your pokemon know Rock Smash?"

"Yes. My jigglypuff does," The orange haired girl replied, her voice plagued with doubt. "But we tried that already. It just makes things worse."

"I see…"

"Vulpix!" The fox pokemon called out.

"What's up, Kitsune?" The girl ran up to her vulpix friend.

"Is that your vulpix?" Julia asked.

"Yes. I named her Kitsune," She replied before noticing a hole. "Look! A hole, and it's big enough for my pokemon to come through!" She dipped her head into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness. Hikaru and Aqua took the liberty of moving some other rocks to make said hole bigger. "Floriaaaaan! Can you hear meeeee?!" The girl screamed. Julia's hands flew to her ears.

But she heard another voice loud and clear. "Chikoooooo!" A high pitched voice replied back.

The girl stuck her arms down the hole. "Use Vine Whip on my arms! You can pull yourself up, right?!"

"Chiko chiko!" Julia watched as a figure came closer and closer to the surface. Soon, a chikorita came out of the whole, its vines wrapped right around its trainer's arms. The orange haired girl was quick to trap it in a tight hug, her tears falling on the pokemon's leaf. The fear completely disappeared, giving way for unadulterated joy to come bursting right out. The same could be said for the chikorita, who gladly returned the hug.

"Florian! Thank goodness you're okay!" The orange haired girl cried, hugging her pokemon so tight she didn't want to let go. Florian withdrew its vines, letting himself be trapped in the hug, basking in his trainer's love and affection. "I thought I lost you forever!" The orange haired girl stood up, cradling her friend in her arms. "Thank you so much for helping us."

"You're welcome," Julia told her politely. "It's no big deal. I'm just happy you two are okay…" She let the sentence drift away as she got a better look at the girl. The light coming from Chirin's tail made it easier to make out her features. However, the girl looked familiar. Where had she seen her before?

Then it hit her. The girl had a chikorita. "Hey! I remember you!" Although she knew it was rude to do so, she found herself pointing her index finger at the girl in a dramatic manner.

"Huh?" Both the girl and her three pokemon tilted their heads to one side.

"I bumped into you at Professor Elm's lab last week! You're the girl who took the chikorita I was gonna get!" Julia shouted. Had her mother been there, Kassia would have stopped her right away or took her away from the situation at hand.

All the girl did was look down at Florian, then back at Julia. Looking at her made her remember their meeting outside Professor Elm's lab. "Oh. You wanted a chikorita? I'm...sorry."

Julia put her arm down. That was a surprise. Whenever Julia would say something that others would consider weird, they would either get mad or laugh at her. Instead, the orange haired girl just apologized calmly. "Well, it's kinda too late now. Besides, my partner's right here," Hikaru crawled up her shoulder, lowering her head for some free pets.

"A pichu?" The girl asked, putting her chikorita and vulpix in their PokeBalls. "But Professor Elm doesn't give away pichus."

"I know. But I found this one near death and my mom and Professor Elm nursed it back to health. She just sorta got attached to me after that."

The orange haired girl smiled. "I see. Hey! I'm on my way to Azalea Town. Do you want to get out of this cave with me?"

"Sure!"

With that, Julia and the orange haired girl went further into the cave. They were careful not to step on any rocks, or potential pokemon like geodude or onix. They did encounter some problems. At one point, Julia almost fell into a pond, but the orange haired girl was quick to catch her by the wrist before she fell in, saving her from getting soaked. Sometimes the orange haired girl unknowingly stepped on Julia's feet despite Chirin's light brightening the cave. Other times, Julia either almost went in the wrong direction or bumped into some walls.

"Uuugh!" Julia complained. Her legs began to feel heavy from too much walking. "This cave feels like it goes on forever!"

"I know," The orange haired girl said. "Huh?"

Finally, they found some light. The oval shaped light of the exit. It was small, and still a ways off, but it was there. "Look!" The orange haired girl pointed to the light at the end of the tunnel. "There's the exit!"

Without hesitation, Julia and the orange haired girl raced to the exit. The first thing they saw was a magnificent blue sky, with the white sun shining down on them. Since it was so bright, Julia covered her eyes for a moment. The sudden brightness made her eyes hurt, so she closed them for a few seconds before opening them to make them adjust. The light at the end of Chirin's tail faded.

"We're out! Finally!" The orange haired girl stretched her arms upward.

"It's still light out," Julia noticed. She checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 1:30 PM. "Wow. We've been in that cave for hours!"

"I'll bet," The orange haired girl said. Then her eyes suddenly got wide. "Oh lord! I never introduced myself, did I?"

"Me either," Julia opened her eyes, putting a hand over her head to block out the sun. "I'm...Julia. Julia Parisa, from New Bark Town."

"My name's Perrine," The orange haired girl, Perrine, introduced herself. "I'm from Goldenrod City. I'm sure you've already met Chirin here," She stroke Chirin's head gently. "Want to see my other pokemon?"

"Sure! I'd love to show you mine as well!" Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. Tsubasa stretched out her wings. Neji and Aqua simply smiled warmly. Hikaru waved at Perrine. Ladybug simply latched onto Julia's back. "These are Tsubasa, Neji, Aqua, Hikaru, and my most recent pokemon, Ladybug."

"You give them names, too?"

"Yep!"

"I do too! Here are mine!" Perrine threw her PokeBalls in the air, allowing her pokemon to pop right out. First came Florian the chikorita. Second came Kitsune the vulpix. Next were a hoothoot, a jigglypuff, and a small red pokemon with stubby arms and legs, small yellow eyes, and two notched green leaves coming out from its head.

"These are Florian and Kitsune, as you know," Perrine introduced her pokemon one by one. "That's Fukuro the hoothoot," Fukuro cooed in a welcoming manner. "This is Baloo, my jigglypuff," Baloo gave a graceful bow. "And last but not least is my most recent friend, Fuwari the hoppip!"

The pokemon greeted each other warmly. Hikaru even shook Florian's foot with its hands. Aqua and Baloo were already running around playing. Tsubasa ignored Fukuro's attempts to befriend it. Chirin allowed Neji to play with his tail. Kitsune simply stayed by Perrine's side, content to be away from the crowd. "They're all cute!" Julia said with a smile.

"They sure are," Perrine agreed with a nod. "Hey! I think Azalea Town's just down this road!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Julia was already on the path, with her pokemon following close behind. She held the egg in her arms tightly. "Let's go already!"

Perrine simply smiled and followed her.

* * *

Footnotes:

1\. This is a reference to Japanese brides styling their hair in ways that resemble Mt. Fuji. Typically, Shinto-style weddings required brides to wear their hair up with ornamental pins, making their hair resemble Mt. Fuji. Geishas and maiko sometimes wear their hair up in this style as well, but it's different for everyone.

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Sentret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**


	7. Save The Slowpoke

Chapter 7: Save The Slowpoke!

"There it is!" Perrine pointed to some log cabins further down the path. The two girls could make out the distinct red roof of a Pokemon Center. They ran past an old well, and they weren't sure how long they had been running, but after getting through the cave, they had finally reached Azalea Town.

"Finally!" Julia fell to her knees, putting all her pokemon back in their PokeBalls.

Azalea Town was bigger than Violet City, but it had a more outdoorsy feel and look to it. Many of the houses resembled cabins, made out of logs, wood, stone, other things one would find in a forest. Other houses looked like regular houses, some made of brick, some more modern in design with painted walls of varying colors. Some houses had huge piles of wood, logs, or charcoal sitting next to them. Black clouds of smoke billowed out from some chimneys nearby.

"So...do you wanna go in the Pokemon Center?" Julia asked.

"Sure," Perrine replied with a smile. Julia averted her eyes, but she couldn't help but find that Perrine had a great smile, showing her pearly white teeth and everything. "My pokemon definitely need some TLC."

They went in the Pokemon Center together and handed their pokemon to Nurse Joy, who took them in the back room without another word. Perrine and Julia sat at some comfy leather couches nearby, stretching their limbs or just kicking back. Perrine pulled off her shoes, stretching her feet out, even though they were covered by white stockings. Julia could see some faded brown marks at the tip of the stockings where her toes were, probably dirt from being used so much.

"So you said you were from New Bark Town, right?" Perrine asked as she put one of her shoes back on. "It's really nice. Much smaller than Goldenrod."

"It is," Julia replied.

"Have you ever been to Goldenrod City?"

"Only a few times. It's pretty nice, and big, too."

"You should totally come by sometime," Perrine pulled a comb out of her purple backpack and brushed it through her wavy orange hair. "There's a huge department store where you can get just about anything. PokeBalls, dolls, figurines, books, clothes, pokemon food, all that good stuff," Julia smiled. She liked big stores where she could find anything she wanted. She made a mental note to check it out if she ever went to Goldenrod City. "I've seen the gym leader Whitney in there a few times, too. She really likes dolls. I hear her house is just full of pokemon plushies. Oh!" She put her brush away. "Guess what? The Goldenrod Radio Tower is right across from my house!"

"Radio...Tower?" Julia tilted her head to one side. The radio tower was strong in her memory. A large, tall, black tower that stood tall amidst the sea of buildings, reaching toward the sky with that long antenna.

"Yeah!" Perrine pulled out her PokeGear. "Our PokeGears have radio cards in them that allow them to pick up on towers and play whatever's being broadcasted. Music channels, talk shows, radio dramas, weather forecasts, all that stuff!"

"Wow. That sounds pretty cool."

"Do you listen to your radio?"

"No," Julia held her hands up, her palms facing Perrine. "I mostly use my PokeGear for calling my parents. But sometimes whenever my parents and I go on long drives, we turn on the classical music channel. It's very soothing, especially after a bad day," Julia scratched her hair with one hand.

"I love listening to the radio dramas they broadcast on the Variety Channel," Perrine clasped her hands together, staring up at the ceiling, her blue eyes glimmering. "My all-time favorite is _The Bond Between Shooting Stars_! It's based on a novel that came out two years ago, and it's about this group of best friends who are all autistic but love stars, cartoons, books, and lots of other things, and they have to deal with personal problems in their lives such as fitting in, betrayal, family problems, all that stuff!"

Autistic friends. Dealing with problems. A book. Her original disinterest suddenly morphed into full blown blazing curiosity. Already, her mind was racing with questions. Where was this book? Where could she get it? At the PokeMart, maybe? Or at a local book store? There just had to be a copy somewhere she could read. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly blurted out, "I'm autistic, too!"

Perrine stopped talking for a moment, letting the new information sink in. As soon as she realized she said it, Julia's face turned red with embarrassment, and she hid her face in her hands. _'Oh no! I just told someone I don't even know that I'm...what if she hates me or thinks I'm retarded?!'_ Julia thought. All sorts of scenarios were running through her mind, all of them horrible. For all she knew, Perrine might get mad, leave, and say she doesn't want to hang out with someone like her. Maybe she might bully her or trick her into doing something that'll get her in trouble. What if-

"That's fine."

What? Julia found herself pulling her hands back to her sides. She could have sworn her ears were playing tricks on her. Perrine did not just say that was fine. "You're...not mad?"

"No," Perrine tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I be mad?"

"People often tell my parents I'm a bad kid because of it. Or say that I only do stuff like scream a lot or say it's just an excuse to do bad stuff-"

"That's stupid," Perrine smoothed out one of her shirt sleeves. "I may have only known you for a day, but I think you're pretty cool. You did help me and my pokemon back in the cave, after all."

Never before had she heard anything so angelic, so heavenly, so...wonderful. Julia told Perrine she was autistic, and Perrine was okay with it. She didn't get mad, yell, cast her away, abandon her, make up untrue lies about her, tell her she was lying, or anything like that. She just said it was fine and moved on. Her eyesight blurred for a moment, and she could feel something warm trickling down her cheeks.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" Perrine was the first to see the tears. "Did I say something bad? I'm sorry!"

"No! No no no!" Julia was quick to wipe the tears away. "It's just...I haven't had many friends my age...kids used to pick on me...and call me names like weirdo or stupid...teachers were no better."

All Perrine did was cross her arms. "You're not stupid or a weirdo. Everyone has baggage. Even I do," She said cooly, her initial shock vanishing. "Hey. Want to have a practice battle after this? We can do some training before we battle the Azalea gym. How's that?"

Julia nodded. "I'd love to."

Once their pokemon were healed, the two girls marched off to a nearby field and had their pokemon engage in practice battles. Julia mostly used Aqua and Neji since she felt they were in need of some battling experience. Perrine used Baloo and Florian. The two girls weren't sure how long they had been practicing, but by the time they finished, the sky had morphed into a beautiful mixture of orange, blue, and pink hues.

"Neji! Use Fury Swipes!"

"Florian! Block it with Reflect!"

"Chikori!" Florian generated a glass wall in front of him. Neji's long claws collided with the glass wall. Once they made contact, the racoon-like pokemon's claws bounced off, and he used his tail to land on the ground without getting hurt. Neji used one of his big arms to wipe some sweat off of his forehead.

"I think that's enough for today," Julia advised, walking over to Neji. "You okay, Neji?"

Neji flashed a thumb's up. "Sentret!"

Perrine put Florian back in his PokeBall. Her stomach growled with a mighty roar, begging for food. "Sounds like you're pretty hungry," Julia said.

"Want to go grab some dinner?"

"Sure."

Much to Julia's surprise, she was enjoying herself. Perrine turned out to be a fun, talkative, friendly person. As soon as they sat down for dinner, the two of them found themselves talking about many things, such as pokemon, their interests, etc. Julia started by telling Perrine about how she met Hikaru. Perrine kept eating her chicken dumplings, listening to Julia's tale intently.

"Wow. So that's what happened," Perrine said before swallowing a chicken dumpling. She gave a piece to Kitsune so she could have something to eat herself. "You must have been really scared."

"I sure was!" Julia scrunched up her arms, shivering at the memory of those killer beedrill. "Especially since I'm scared of poison type pokemon!" She thanked her lucky stars that her mother had come in the nick of time, otherwise she and Hikaru would have died from being stung by their drills.

"It's funny you say Hikaru's your starter pokemon," Perrine stroke Kitsune's tuft of hair with one hand. The vulpix smiled, basking in her trainer's affection. "Even though Florian's considered my starter pokemon, Kitsune here is the first pokemon I became friends with."

"Really? How did you two meet?"

Perrine's eyes narrowed, staring down at Kitsune. "I...I had an argument with my dad and I ran away. Farther than I wanted to," An image of herself curled in a ball crying flashed through her mind. She looked as though she were hiding among wooden boxes. "I was upset but...then she just sorta came up to me and snuggled with me."

"Vuuul!" Kitsune barked, empathizing Perrine's statement.

"We became inseparable after that. But I had to keep her a secret from Mom and Dad."

"Your parents don't like pokemon?" Julia asked before taking a bite of spaghetti. Hikaru helped herself to some breadsticks, taking care to rip them into bite sized pieces so she doesn't choke.

The orange haired girl ate a gob of brown rice before continuing. "My dad doesn't want me becoming a Pokemon trainer," She told her with a grunt. "He wants me to be a _'proper lady,'_ as he says. Piano lessons, dance lessons, flower arranging, sewing, putting on makeup, those boring tea ceremonies…" She took a sip of some water. "I'm just not good at any of that!"

In a way, Julia could tell she seemed like the freedom loving type. She had never seen a proper lady wear a vest over a white blouse or a long brown skirt that exposed her ankles. She wasn't wearing high heels, nor did she have her nails done either. Julia could relate. She was sure she herself wouldn't be good at any of those things either. There was one time when she caked on her mother's lipstick and eyeshadow while she was at work one day, but immediately after she put it on, she tried to wipe it off. The lipstick felt like bitter bubblegum sticking to her lips, making them feel sticky, like she could barely open her mouth. The heavy eyeshadow was exactly that: heavy. Her eyes felt as though they were going to be permanently closed, and seeing herself in the mirror, for a moment she had thought she had become an ugly horror movie monster.

Perrine balled one of her hands into a fist. "Becoming a pokemon trainer has been my dream! But I plan on going farther! I'm gonna win all the badges, get into the Pokemon League, and become the new champion of Johto!"

"Champion…?" Julia took one of the bread stick pieces and threw it in her mouth.

"Of course!" Perrine exclaimed. Kitsune used her teeth to pull a piece of salad out of a bowl. "The champion is the strongest trainer in all the land! The current champion is Lance Cipris. He specializes in dragon types," Perrine's blue eyes glimmered. "He's super cool!"

"I'll bet."

"So why are you on your journey?"

"Hm?" Julia's mouth was full, so she made sure to chew and swallow before talking, as she knew talking with your mouth full was rude. With that, she told Perrine about Amara, the things she did, and the events that led to Julia starting on her travels.

"No way!" Perrine's blue eyes slammed wide open, and her mouth fell agape. "Your sister's the one who stole a pokemon from Elm's lab?"

Julia looked down at her food and nodded grimly. "Sadly, yes. I'm on a mission to find her and bring her to justice."

The orange haired girl tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "That's it? The police can easily do that. Don't you wanna get into the Pokemon League?" She asked. Kitsune sniffed Perrine's sleeve, her nose crinkling up and down with every sniff.

"I have no interest in battling," Julia answered, finishing the rest of her dinner. "I don't want to be a battler, or even the best trainer in the world. All I want to do is meet lots of pokemon and make friends, and find Amara, too. I love her, really. I just don't like what she's doing or what she's become."

The two girls were silent for a while. Hikaru and Kitsune hopped off the chairs and sat on the floor, happily chatting amongst themselves. Perrine smiled. "Alright then. We all have different reasons for being away from home. Nothing wrong with that. I'm gonna take a shower."

"I'll be in our room."

The two girls took their showers before getting ready for bed. When it came time for them to sleep, Perrine couldn't help but notice that all of Julia's pokemon were out of their PokeBalls, ready for sleeping. Perrine had put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls. There was nothing wrong with keeping them out, but she couldn't resist the urge to ask. "How come you don't keep your pokemon in their PokeBalls a lot of the time?"

Julia turned off the lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. "I like spending time with them. I mean, sure, PokeBalls allow for easy traveling and are more convenient, but I like to see their faces, play with them, help them out, and let them do their own thing," Julia explained. Neji snuggled right up to Julia's cheek, rubbing himself against her face with a smile full of contentment. The girl stroke Neji's fur gently, returning the affectionate gesture. "I'll bet it must stink to be all cooped up in a ball all the time. They deserve some fresh air and wide open space, right? Plus, I just love being with them!"

"Sentret!" Neji chirped, agreeing with her.

Perrine smiled. That explained it. She pulled her pink night gown sleeve forward to straighten it out a bit. "That's nice. Just be careful when you're going into places like hotels, restaurants, real posh places, that kinda stuff. Okay?"

"Okay!" Julia had to admit, she wondered if traveling with Perrine would make the experience better. As much as she liked having pokemon for companions, she had been dying to make real human friends for a long time. Perrine was nice and friendly enough, and didn't make a big deal about her autism, nor did she hate her right off. That was the one thing she kept expecting from people all the time. Where had Perrine been all her life? Before long, her eyes felt heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Milky morning light illuminated the room, pulling Perrine out of her beauty sleep. Her orange hair came out scraggly, with some of her bangs curling upward to a point where they were facing the ceiling. When she turned around to face Julia's bed, Julia herself was gone. The bed was neat and readily made, and the pillows didn't have any wrinkles on them. She stretched her arms out, getting the kinks out of her arms and legs. She changed out of her pink nightgown and into some new clothes this time. Today, she decided to wear a sleeveless brown shirt, a long black skirt that went past her knees, grey stockings, her brown shoes, and the black ribbon she put on the back of her head.

Once she splashed her face with water, she heard the sound of two pokemon battling outside her window. She looked outside to find Aqua and Neji engaging in a training battle amongst each other, with Hikaru, Ladybug, and Tsubasa watching as Julia gave them commands. The white egg sat right next to Hikaru, sitting in the glass container, untouched and dormant. Julia was already dressed. Perrine looked at the clock on the wall. It read 6:17 AM. She couldn't believe how early it was, but more than that, Julia must have gotten up a lot earlier. She got her stuff together and headed out to the battlefield in the back. Aqua fired a barrage of bubbles at Neji, who used his long, glowing claws to slice them all into nothing.

"Good job, you two!" Julia said, clapping her hands twice. Neji and Aqua ran over to their trainer, nuzzling against her legs as she stroke their heads gently. "You're getting better every day," The proud look on Julia's face was unmistakable.

"Pichu!" Hikaru raised her little hand upward. Julia turned to find Perrine on the battlefield.

"Oh! Morning, Perrine. Sorry! Did I wake you?"

"No. I got up on my own," Perrine walked over to them and glanced at the pokemon. "Are you doing some training?"

"Yeah," Julia scratched her head with one hand, giving her an embarrassed chuckle. "I know I said I'm not interested in the Pokemon League, but...I am going to battle the gym leaders."

"How come?" Perrine asked. This was the first time she had ever met a trainer who was battling the gyms, but said she wasn't interested in battling or the Pokemon League.

"Well...I used to really really hate pokemon battles," Julia began. "But the Violet City gym leader and the sages at Sprout Tower taught me that battling isn't about hurting pokemon. I want to see how others see battling and experience them for myself so...I can be a better trainer."

Perrine twirled a lock of her orange hair around one finger as she listened, bobbing her head approvingly. "I see. You do look like a pretty gentle and kind person. You should do whatever you want to do. There's nothing wrong with that," She told her in a kind voice. Then an idea hatched in her head. "Hey! Here's an idea! Do you want to have a battle with me?"

The brown haired girl opened her mouth to answer, but Tsubasa fluttered in front of the girl with a big smile, flapping her wings vigorously as she cooed. "Coo coo coo coo!"

"Hey, Tsubasa! It's rude to interrupt someone's conversation!" Julia scolded, grabbing the pidgey with two hands. She pulled her head back up to face Perrine. "Sorry! Tsubasa loves to battle, but she can be a handful."

"Coo coo coooo!" Tsubasa chirped, giving Julia an angry glare.

"Anyway...sure! I'd love to-WAAAHH!" Before she could answer, she felt something slide up her foot. Something slimy and wet. She didn't look down to find out what it was, she just shook it off her leg and hid behind Perrine. "What the heck was that?!" She cried, shivering like she had been exposed to the cold.

Perrine looked down to find a pokemon staring at them. It was a large, pink creature with curly ears, a cream colored mouth, and wide eyes that looked completely vacant. The creature had four legs, all ending with single white claws, and a long, tapering tail, with the tip being a creamy white color. It didn't look dangerous at all. "Sloooooow…"

"It's a slowpoke," Perrine told her.

"Huh?" Julia stopped shivering and opened her eyes to look upon the creature. She was right. It was a slowpoke. Hikaru and Neji had already approached it with their arms out, all smiles, hoping to befriend it. But the slowpoke didn't say a word. Hikaru's ears drooped downward sadly. Neji just scratched his head. She pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Slowpoke, the dopey pokemon._ _Slowpoke uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river, and said tail lets out a sweet, sappy substance that easily lures pokemon to its tail. However, this Pokémon often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge,"_ A blue male sign appeared on the PokeDex after it finished reciting slowpoke's information.

"Ohhhh. So that's what clung to my leg!" Julia popped out from behind Perrine and kneeled before the slowpoke. "Sorry I got scared! You surprised me there."

"Slooooow…" The slowpoke said in a deep, low pitched voice.

Perrine put a hand underneath her chin, lost in thought. "I know Azalea Town really likes slowpoke, but I haven't seen any when we first came."

All of a sudden, Julia stood up. "Perrine! This slowpoke says it needs our help!" She scooped the slowpoke into her arms. "Tell us everything!"

"Wait wait wait. Back up," Perrine said. "What do you mean it says it needs our help?"

"Slooooow…" Her friend didn't answer right away, but she kept nodding in response to the slowpoke.

"Got it!"

The orange haired girl found herself stumped. _'What the heck is going on?'_ She thought. None of Julia's other pokemon seemed to notice, and if they did, they weren't caring.

"Perrine! This slowpoke says Team Rocket's here! They've been stealing its friends!" Julia shouted.

"How do you know that?"

"He just told me!"

"But you can't understand pokemon speech!"

A light bulb went off in Julia's head. She never told Perrine about that. Now wasn't the time for hesitating. "I can understand what they're saying!" Perrine could hear the desperation in her voice. But everything she said didn't make any sense.

"Come on! You're pulling my leg, right?" The orange haired girl crossed her arms. None of this made any sense to her. Julia looked down at the slowpoke in her arms. In a way, she had expected this kind of response. It was inevitable, as Julia knew full well that there was no human being in the world who could understand pokemon speech. Of course Perrine would think she was pulling her leg. Everyone else thought that as well. She was used to it.

It didn't make it hurt any less. Just hearing it so often made her feel as though she were an alien that had been thrown on Earth from another planet to fend for herself, with no one she could relate to. A freak of nature, even. Her cheeks burned as she silently chastised herself for expecting Perrine to believe her right off. All the time, she tried to push away the doubt, but it was too strong, and it never budged an inch.

A high pitched scream pulled everyone out of their thoughts. The girls whipped their heads up to find a man in black holding two slowpoke underneath his arms, sprinting as though the cops were chasing him. A little black haired girl of about six or seven was sitting on the ground, crying.

"Noooo! Slowpoooooke!"

"Come back here, you thief!" An old man managed to lunge at the man in black, pushing him right to the ground with a thud. As soon as he fell right on his face, the two slowpoke underneath his arms crawled out at their own pace.

Perrine's eyes slammed open. Julia was right. Team Rocket was stealing the Slowpoke. They hadn't talked to anyone else since they got to Azalea Town, so there was no possible way they could have heard about Team Rocket's machinations unless they heard others talking about it. But the only thing they heard about them from was a slowpoke, and Julia claimed it said that Team Rocket was stealing them. Was Julia telling the truth about being able to understand pokemon speech?

"Get back!" The man in black pulled out a silver gun. The old man grabbed the slowpoke and dashed away, with a little girl following him from behind. _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Bullets flew all over the place. Some of them almost hit the pair's feet, had they not managed to evade them. Julia's hands flew to her ears, and she found herself falling to her knees. The loud bang of the gunshots tore at her eardrums, like someone was setting a bomb off in them.

"Kitsune, go!" Perrine threw a PokeBall, and Kitsune came flying right out. "Use Extrasensory!"

"Vuuuul!" The vulpix's eyes glowed in a purple light. As the Team Rocket grunt tried to shoot once more, the trigger refused to budge. The entire gun was surrounded by purple light, and it levitated out of the man's hand. The man let out a scream before landing on his rear, scrambling on the dirt. _CRASH!_ The gun shattered into pieces, with the fragments falling to the ground, bullet casings included. The man found himself shivering in horror, his precious gun crushed to pieces.

The orange haired girl stared down at him with an austere expression, her arms crossed like she meant business. "Next time we won't be as merciful," She hissed. The man found himself scrambling to his feet, running away from the scene in a frenzy, wailing at the top of his lungs. After that, Perrine let out a sigh of relief, right as Kitsune walked over to her leg and rubbed herself against it with a content smile. Perrine kneeled down to stroke her beloved vulpix's head. "Good job, Kitsune."

"Vul vul!"

Julia kneeled before the two slowpoke, examining their bodies for any injuries. There were no visible bumps, bruises, scratches, or lacerations on their pink skin, so it was safe to say that they were just fine. The little girl ran over to Julia with a wide smile. Julia noted that she was wearing a tiny orange dress with tall white socks, red shoes, and pink ribbons held up her black pigtails.

"Wow! You two were awesome!" The little girl chirruped as she picked up one of the slowpoke. The pink creature was just as big as she was, so Julia couldn't help but wonder if she would topple over from picking it up or whether it was heavy. The little girl didn't seem to mind. "Your pokemon were cool, too! Thanks for saving our slowpoke!"

"You're...welcome…" Julia stammered.

It was here that the girls got a better look at the old man, who kneeled down to pick up the other slowpoke. The man had moderately long, grey hair reaching down to his chin, with his bangs pushed back, mingling with the rest of it. Wrinkles marked his face like a map, with thick, black eyebrows hovering over his stern, grey eyes. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a teal kimono, matching pants, a white belt wrapped around his waist, and grey sandals.

"That sure was dangerous, girls," The old man told them, holding the slowpoke in his arms like it was a newborn baby. The slowpoke didn't mind at all, and rested in his arms with a content expression. "You could have gotten hurt or killed. But I will admit, you did save the slowpoke, so we owe you one."

"It was nothing! Really!" Perrine exclaimed, waving her hand back and forth modestly. Julia took the opportunity to hide behind her. "We're just glad we got to help, that's all," Despite attempting to look calm and modest, Perrine's insides were doing backflips, not just from almost getting shot, but the fact that Julia was right when she said that Team Rocket was stealing the slowpoke. Her mind was in disarray, scrambling to keep everything together.

"You're so cool!" The little girl jumped up once, her pigtails bouncing up and down with each movement. "I'm Maisy! That's my grandpa!" She chirruped in a sweet voice.

"The name's Kurt."

"Kurt?" Julia murmured. "Are you the famous PokeBall maker? I've seen you on TV."

Kurt nodded. "Yes I am. But I'm not making PokeBalls at the moment, so if you want some made, you're gonna have to wait."

"It's because of Team Rocket, right?" Julia piped in. "What are they doing here?"

Little Maisy held her head down, staring at her red shoes. Kitsune walked up to her with a smile, putting a paw on her foot. Maisy kneeled down and stroke the fox's tuft of fur. Kurt clutched the slowpoke in his arms. "Those scoundrels. Slowpoke are the pride and joy of Azalea Town," He began. "That's why that well out there is called the Slowpoke Well. They live there, and that's where we get our water."

The girls remembered passing by an old, circular brick well with a ladder right before they came to Azalea Town. It was the only well they saw, so they assumed that was what he was talking about. Kurt balled one of his hands into a fist. "But we heard reports saying that were kidnappin' slowpoke, cuttin' off their tails, and sellin' 'em for easy cash!"

Julia's eyes widened with horror. "People do that?!" Already, the image of a bad person cutting off a crying slowpoke's tail with a cleaver entered her mind, blood and all. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head left and right, hoping to force that horrible image out of her mind. It didn't work. "I had no idea people would do such a thing!"

"I didn't want to believe it at first either, but I saw them doin' their thing just yesterday," Kurt said. Right then and there, some police cars raced by, their sirens wailing and flashing for all to see and hear.

Perrine kicked a nearby pebble and watched as it bounced off of some rocks. "Why would they do that? That's so cruel."

"'Cause they think they can make easy cash off 'em, that's all there is to it," Kurt repeated. "I'm goin' to the well."

"What?!" Everyone whipped their heads up with wide eyes, even Maisy. "Grandpa! You can't! It's dangerous!" She ran to his pant leg and held onto a chunk of it with one hand.

"I'm not gonna sit here and let those idiots sully our city!" Kurt pushed up one of his sleeves with one hand.

The girls weren't sure about this. Although they were happy that he cares so much about the slowpoke, they were dubious about whether he could handle it. He looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies at the very least, and his skinny legs and arms didn't exactly exude strength. Not only that, Team Rocket had guns or pokemon that might know lethal attacks. Should Kurt get hurt or killed, Maisy will lose a beloved grandfather.

In their minds, no child deserved that. Perrine balled her fist. "Can I come with you, sir?"

Julia's mouth fell agape. "Huh?"

"Vul?"

"You sure, miss?" Kurt asked, scratching his head doubtfully.

"I'm sure. For all we know they could be dangerous," Perrine told him. Julia fell silent. She seemed to exude a courageous, almost authoritative air about her when she made that statement. Somehow, it felt reassuring to her. "I can help you out if you want."

Kurt flashed a smile. "I appreciate it, miss. You can come with me."

"I don't want you to go!" Maisy cried, clutching her grandfather's pant leg once more.

"Ummm…" Julia shyly put her hand out. "If you want, I can stay with Maisy so she...doesn't get lonely."

"Awww. You dun need to do that…" Kurt's face turned red from the kind, generous offer. But she did make a good point. Maisy deserved someone to keep her safe, and a pokemon trainer seemed like the best bet.

"You don't want to come?" Perrine asked.

"Nah. I'll sit this one out. Just be careful. Okay?"

Perrine nodded. With that, the two ran off to the Slowpoke Well, leaving Julia alone with Maisy and her slowpoke. Maisy gently wrapped her hand around Julia's, gripping it like she didn't want to let go. Her tiny, cold hand made a shiver run up Julia's spine. She never did like other people's hands touching her own unless she wanted it, but she endured it for Maisy's sake. The slowpoke and Julia's pokemon followed from behind as they walked to a log house that was just six blocks away.

The house was a log cabin like all the others, with a mahogany door and square windows made of glass. Piles of firewood wrapped with white ropes were scattered around the property, probably for later use. A stone chimney stood up from the ugly yellow roof, and no smoke was coming out of it. Julia opened the door and Maisy rushed right in. "Are you really a pokemon trainer?"

"Yes," Julia closed the door behind her right as the pokemon came inside. "I just started last week."

Picture frames and custom PokeBalls decorated the rooms, giving it a warm, homely atmosphere perfect for a family. On the far right of the room was a big, dark, wooden desk with lots of carving tools on it, most of which were sharp, with the silver worn from use. Some tools had pieces of silver chipped off, leaving only brown spots and rust, accompanying what appeared to be large, colored acorns the size of Julia's whole fist. Some were pink, green, yellow, and blue. One was opened in half, with the insides having been yanked out, leaving it empty. Hikaru and Neji hopped on the desk to sniff the acorn-like items.

"Those are called apricorns," Maisy piped in. "Be careful. That's where Grandpa makes the PokeBalls," She advised. Julia gently put Hikaru and Neji down on the floor so they wouldn't knock anything over.

Julia also noticed a picture frame on Kurt's desk. A dark frame enclosed a picture of Kurt, Maisy, and a young couple, both of whom had Maisy's hair color, only the woman's hair was long and curly, trailing down to her lower back, whereas the younger man's hair was cropped and pushed back. The younger man had a small beard, and the two were dressed in casual summer clothes. "Are these your parents, Maisy?"

"Yep!" She chimed in.

"Where are they now? Do they not live with you?" Julia asked innocently.

Little Maisy's smile morphed into a frown. "No. They're in Ecruteak. They're always yelling at each other and being angry," She stroke a slowpoke's head gently with her tiny hand. "I like slowpoke. They just sit around and be happy with anything and everything," She said in a low, forlorn voice.

Images flashed through Maisy's mind. Two blurry silhouettes of grown adults waving their arms around, bending over, wagging their fingers at each other, screaming with contorted faces. Little Maisy hiding in another room, curled up in the fetal position, with her fists covering her eyes. "Sloooooow…" The slowpoke let out a long, drawn out yawn.

"Your slowpoke says he doesn't like it when you're sad," Julia chimed in. "Pichu!" "Sen sentret!" Hikaru and Neji agreed.

"Huh?"

The older trainer sat down next to Maisy, with Hikaru and Neji following suit, all smiles. "You say they just sit around and be happy about everything, but your slowpoke says that's not true," She pointed to the slowpoke resting in Maisy's tiny arms. "He says it hurts really bad when people cut off their tails, and that he hates seeing you cry."

"How do you know?" Maisy tilted her head to one side, lifting an eyebrow, confused.

Julia looked down at the slowpoke. This was the second time someone asked about her ability to understand pokemon. She didn't like telling people about it. Every time she did, people would always either get confused, not believe her, or think she was lying, like Perrine did just earlier. People just didn't understand. She wanted so badly for someone to believe her and to not think she was a little liar. But alas, none of those prayers were ever answered. Every time someone told her she was a liar was like a knife was being jabbed into her heart, and then twisted so the blood would pour out of her arteries faster. She squeezed her green eyes shut, agonizing over telling the little girl about it.

Oddly enough, harsh knocks on the door spared her the chance to do so. However, Julia found herself wrapping her arms around both Maisy and the slowpoke. "Open up!" A man's voice howled from the other side. Julia held Maisy close, almost squeezing the poor, hapless slowpoke. "You better open up or else we'll break this door down!"

She turned to her right. One of the windows was open. "Neji," She whispered. Neji's sensitive ears caught Julia's low voice and he ran up to her. "Listen. Go outside that window and see who's out there. Don't make any noise. If it's Team Rocket, those guys dressed in black clothes with red R's on them, come back inside as fast as you can. If they're dressed in blue, its the police. Got it?"

Neji nodded silently before darting out the window. Since they were on the first floor, Neji had no problem sneaking out the window and crawling down to the ground. Very slowly. the little sentret crawled to the front of the house, taking care to make sure his feet and tail made no sound as he walked. The hair on his body stood up, and his ears curled upward, awaiting any kind of noise or danger. He managed to reach the front of the house, but hid behind the other side to watch from a distance. Standing before the door were two men dressed in black Team Rocket uniforms, complete with red R's emblazoned on their chests.

Behind one TR man was a large, purple cobra that stood taller than the two men. Its sharp eyes stared at the door with predatorial lust, complete with its thin, pink tongue wiggling about. Its long tail curled at the bottom, supporting it as it stood up, and on its body were black markings, along with two red and orange teardrop shaped marks covering sixty percent of its chest. If one were especially curious, it almost resembled a face if viewed from a distance. Neji found himself shivering at the sight of the ferocious looking snake and made a quick dash back inside the house.

"Sentret!" He rolled on the wooden floor, losing his balance right as he came back inside, right before telling them what he saw.

"Team Rocket. I knew it," Julia's grip on Maisy tightened. "Be on your guard, you two."

Purple spikes suddenly shot through the door, leaving a large hole behind. Hikaru was quick to unleash some thundershocks to electrocute them. Neji, despite his fear, was quick to use his long claws to slice the purple spikes into fragments. The two men burst through the door, with the giant cobra right in front of them. A shiver ran right up Julia's spine. Her green eyes grew so wide they looked like tiny saucers, and she clung to little Maisy like she was a security blanket, unable to stop herself from trembling. Hikaru and Neji stood before the two girls, adopting courageous expressions and battle stances.

"Pichu!"

"Sentret!"

The purple cobra opened its large maw and howled at them. "Chaaaa-baka!"

"Hmph! Just a bunch of kids!" A red haired man exclaimed, crossing his arms.

"And a bunch of useless pokemon, too," A blue haired man agreed, until he got a closer look at Hikaru. "Whoa! This pichu's a shiny pokemon!"

Shiny? The red haired man leaned closer. Hikaru was quick to let off some electricity, making them scramble a few feet back. "Hey! This one's a keeper! Let's take the slowpoke and this thing, too! We can make millions!"

Julia's fear suddenly morphed into rage. They wanted to take Hikaru and sell her for easy cash? All because of her unusual fur color? Kurt was right. Team Rocket was definitely bad. She was not going to let them take her friend away. Not if she had anything to say about it. She stood up faster than Maisy could get down. It must be confessed that her legs trembled at the sight of the large cobra, but she couldn't let fear consume her. Maisy was counting on her. If she saw that Julia was scared, she would get scared, too.

"Hikaru! Use Thundershock, and Neji, use Fury Swipes!"

"Arbok! Use Poison Sting!" The red haired man yelled.

"Chaaaak!" Purple spikes shot out of the arbok's mouth. With new zeal in his heart, Neji's short claws grew in length, growing in a white light as he slashed the spikes into pieces. A bolt of thunder shot right out of Hikaru, hitting the arbok. But it wasn't enough to defeat it.

"You puny trainers are no match for us!" The blue haired man hissed, twisting his hat. "Now hand over your pokemon, the slowpoke included!"

Julia stood before Maisy, with one arm out. "Over my dead body! Neji! Use Quick Attack!"

"Tret!" Neji raced toward the arbok, shining in a white light before ramming into its body head first. This time, the blow was strong enough to send the arbok out the door. All of a sudden, the slowpoke Maisy held onto wiggled out of her grasp and walked over to the arbok.

"No! Slowpoke! Get back!" Maisy tried to grab the slowpoke and take him back inside, but the pink pokemon wasn't having any of it.

"Sloooooow…" Its eyes glowed in a blue light. Before long, the arbok's body was completely trapped in a blue light. No matter what it did, it couldn't break free. But this didn't stop it from firing another Poison Sting attack.

The spikes flew right at a frozen Julia, who clutched Maisy for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting her eventual end. "Piiiii!" A shrill cry made her eyes slam wide open. There was Hikaru, lying on the ground, with a spike right next to her. The little mouse's face was blue and contorted.

"Oh no! Hikaru!"

That did it for Neji and the slowpoke. The light surrounding the arbok faded, slamming right on the ground. What the arbok didn't know was that it was dropped right on top of the two Team Rocket goons. Not only that, Neji swiped his claws all over the arbok's face, leaving red marks on it. Julia ran over to Hikaru and pulled out a pecha berry. She was glad Mr. Pokemon gave her those berries back at his house. She held the berry up to Hikaru's nose so she could smell it. The little mouse's nose crinkled twice before noting the berry's sweet scent. She grabbed the berry and scarfed it down whole. Within seconds, the burning sensation in her tiny body disappeared.

Two police cars rolled onto the scene, and police officers stormed around the Team Rocket goons, slamming handcuffs on them faster than they could react. "You're under arrest!" The policewomen exclaimed, shoving the Team Rocket gang into the police car.

"Sentret!" "Pichuuuu!" Neji and Hikaru cheered and squealed with their arms outstretched, happy that they saved Julia and Maisy. The little girl let go of Julia and looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

"Your pokemon are so great! Thanks for staying with me!" Maisy chirruped.

"No...problem…" Julia was still shivering, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to calm herself down for her sake.

All of a sudden, Neji's body became enveloped in a white light. Julia, Maisy, Hikaru, and the slowpoke watched as Neji grew bigger, longer, and changed shape. Within a few seconds, the light dissipated, and out came a different creature. Neji was now a fluffy, cream and brown colored creature with a very long, straight body, with the lower half of it covered with brown stripes. His arms were small, with his hands being the same color as the stripes on his tail, but his feet were the same cream color. Small blue eyes exuded curiosity, and two brown stripes went across both cheeks, resembling whiskers. The tips of his sharp ears were cream colored, contrasting with the brown markings on his head.

"Fuuuuurret!" Neji purred.

"Wow! Your sentret evolved!" Maisy exclaimed.

"I know! This is great!" Julia pulled out her PokeDex as Neji scratched his head. Hikaru couldn't resist jumping on Neji's back and riding on him, delighted by the massive size difference.

"Furret, the long body pokemon. Furret has a very slim build. When under attack, it can slickly squirm through narrow spaces and get away. In spite of its short limbs, this Pokémon is very nimble and fleet."

"Fuuuur!" Neji crawled over to Julia to allow her to wrap her arms around him. His brown and cream fur was warm and soft, like Julia's hair. "Neji! You evolved! You were awesome out there!" Hikaru nuzzled Julia's cheek as well. "You too, Hikaru!"

* * *

Not even Perrine and Kurt were safe from Team Rocket as they descended down the Slowpoke Well ladder. They were ambushed by Team Rocket grunts from all sides. Perrine called forth Kitsune, Florian, and Chirin to hold off their pokemon, whereas Kurt managed to give them some punches and kicks, saving slowpoke left and right, carrying them up and down the ladder. It helped that he would also bring some goons up the well for the police to arrest.

Finally, after barreling through hordes of Team Rocket grunts, they made it to the end of the well. A silhouette appeared from the darkness. It was a Team Rocket member, but he didn't look like any of the others. He had teal green hair hidden underneath a black hat, matching eyes, and his Team Rocket uniform had some yellow streaks on his pants pockets and the collar on his shirt. He was also wearing grey gloves and boots like the others, but his had single red stripes circling around them. Kitsune growled at him.

"So you're the one behind this whole fiasco!" Kurt roared, balling a fist.

The green haired man turned around, glancing at them with evil in his eyes. "Hmph. I suppose it was inevitable that I have been found out," The man mused out loud in a deep voice.

"You stop sellin' our slowpoke right this instant!"

A chuckle escaped the man's mouth. "That's no way to talk to Proton, a Team Rocket executive," He waved his index finger back and forth. Before Kurt could do anything, a fist suddenly pushed into his abdomen, rendering him unable to breathe. Kurt fell to his knees.

"Kurt!" Perrine was quick to grab onto him. Florian and Chirin let out battle cries. "How could you?! You're terrible!"

All Proton did was shrug and smirk. "I am the cruelest guy in TR as they say, so all you're doing is adding to my reputation," He pulled out two PokeBalls and threw them out. Out from the PokeBalls came a purple ball of gas and a blue bat with no eyes. "Koffing! Zubat! Do away with this pathetic girl!"

"Koffiiiiing!"

"Zu zu zu!"

"Thundershock, Chirin!" Electricity shot out from Chirin's wool, hitting zubat and koffing head on. Florian used Razor Leaf to distract them so Kitsune could use Extrasensory to do some damage. But koffing and zubat were persistent and kept on tackling her pokemon. At one point, the koffing let out some noxious purple gas. Florian wound up inhaling some, and the poison rendered him too weak to battle. As a result, he was called back to his PokeBall. Perrine silently chastised herself for putting him up against poison types, one of a grass type's many weaknesses.

"Give it up, girlie," Proton hissed, putting his hands in his pocket, the smile on his face unchanging. "I suggest you leave Team Rocket alone and go play with your dolls."

"Why? So you can hurt pokemon and people?!" Perrine wiped some dirt out of her hair. "Fat chance! Kitsune, use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire poured out from Kitsune's mouth, the red flames giving off intense heat. Zubat and koffing dodged it since they could float in the air.

"A stupid girl like you can't understand our ambitions," Proton mused. "Oh well. There's always going to be people who don't agree with us."

Before long, both sides were unable to battle. Without a word, Proton called zubat and koffing back to their PokeBalls. "You lost! Now leave the slowpoke alone!" Kurt roared, having regained his strength.

"Fine. I already have what I needed," Proton passed right by them before giving Perrine a deathly glare. "A small obstacle like you won't be much of a problem for our mission. I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business," With one index finger, he traced it across his neck, like a knife slitting one's throat horizontally. Perrine had seen enough crime procedurals to know what that gesture symbolized.

He meant business, and if she crossed him, she would pay dearly for it.

* * *

 **Yeah...I had more planned, but I'm moving it to another chapter, which will be called chapter 7.5 instead of eight, since they're both connected to Azalea Town. I don't want to drag it out. I swear, this'll be the last time this happens, I promise!**

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**


	8. Battling Bugsy

Chapter 7.5: Battling Bugsy, The Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia!

The first things Julia and Maisy saw when approaching the Slowpoke Well were the myriad of police cars surrounding the area. It didn't help that there were many armored police officers aiming their guns and rifles at the well. Their bullet shields made it nigh impossible for the two girls to get through whatsoever. But they were able to see police officers coming up the well, taking with them handcuffed Team Rocket goons. Others had slowpokes underneath their arms. Some had their tails cut off. Others' had their tails in tact.

"Wow. Its so crowded," Maisy said, her tiny hand gripping Julia's tightly. "I hope Grandpa's okay."

"I'm sure he is," Julia told her reassuringly. To be honest, Julia wanted to go in there and confirm it for herself before telling Maisy a white lie. She hated giving reassurance over things she didn't know. But she knew she could afford to let little Maisy be sad. In her heart, she worried about Perrine and whether she was okay, too. Then again, she had more experience as a trainer than Julia did, so for all she knew, she handled herself just fine.

Their worries were assuaged when the policemen scattered, allowing them to see the well. Perrine and Kurt came right out of the well. Perrine's orange hair was even more scraggly than usual, with her black ribbon practically untied, hanging by one lock of hair by a thread. Her shoes and stockings were wet from the water, making them darker than usual, and some dirt spots dotted her white stockings and white blouse.

"Perrine!" Julia pushed through the dispersing crowd, leaving Hikaru to tend to Maisy. Perrine turned her head to the side upon hearing her friend's voice. Julia flung her arms around the frazzled, orange haired girl, her soul drowning in relief. "You're okay! Thank goodness!" Soon, Julia let go, and just put both hands on both of Perrine's shoulders. "What the heck happened in there? You're all dirty."

"Team Rocket gave me and Kurt a hard time," Perrine began, brushing some dirt out of her hair. "There were so many of them, it's a wonder Kitsune and the others managed to hold them off," After that, she kneeled down to pull off one of her shoes, shaking them up and down to push some pebbles out. Pebbles dug into her stockings, rubbing against her skin, and she hated that feeling. "But we managed to save the slowpoke."

A warm smile tickled Julia's face. "That's good. I was worried for a second there."

"Grandpa!" Her eyes swelling with tears, little Maisy lunged at her grandfather, wrapping her tiny arms right around his kimono.

Kurt let out a hearty laugh. "Maisy, dear! You're safe. Were you nice to Julia?"

"Yes I was! Are you hurt?"

The old man shook his head. "I'm just fine. Don't worry about a thing," He took a hand and rubbed Maisy's black hair with it, almost messing up one of her pigtails.

Hikaru crawled up Julia's shoulder and pointed to Perrine's dirty clothes. "Pichu chuuu!"

"Hikaru! Don't point that stuff out!" Julia scolded.

"What's up?"

"Hikaru says you're really dirty and should take a shower," Julia told her ruefully. The doubt in her heart from when Perrine accused her of lying rose back up, adding to the fact that Hikaru did something that everyone else perceived as rude. Whenever Julia would point something out, like if someone had a stain on their shirt, a big injury, or a mark on their skin, people would either scold her about it or her parents would take her to the side and tell her it's rude to say stuff to people like that. She couldn't help but wonder if Perrine was thinking Julia was being rude.

Oddly enough, Perrine let out a chuckle and pulled her black ribbon out of her hair. "Well, she's right. I do need a shower. Want to go back to the Pokemon Center? We can battle Bugsy later," Perrine told her. Julia's eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. Perrine was back to her old self.

"Bugsy's in Ilex Forest right now," Kurt suddenly interrupted.

"Ilex Forest?" Perrine asked.

"Yes. He's real big on bug pokemon, and there's loads of them in the forest, so when he's not battling trainers, he's in there," Kurt explained, pointing to the far end of town. The two girls could barely make out a huge blanket of dark green trees in the distance. "Last I heard he was going there to study the flight patterns of butterfree."

"I know!" Julia exclaimed, slamming a fist into her hand. "Maybe we can go in there and find him ourselves! We can ask him if he can battle with us!" Perrine and Kurt looked at each other with confused faces before turning back to face her.

"I don't know. Wouldn't he be busy?" Perrine asked.

"That, and the forest's real dense and thick. It's not hard to get through, but there's lots of pokemon in there, and there's lots of bushes, trees, and plants in there. It's practically a jungle," Kurt explained.

"Oh," Julia frowned. Good points.

Perrine forced a smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay! We don't have to rush it!" She told her reassuringly. "Besides, we can always try and see him tomorrow. How about this? After I take a shower, how about we train some more? It'll be good for when we do get to battle him."

"Pichu!" Hikaru agreed. The brown haired girl looked back up, taking notice of Perrine's wildly orange hair. "Sure. That'll be fine."

Neither girl minded spending the day together. After all, they had just become friends, so it didn't hurt to get to know each other better. Team Rocket's machinations did leave them a little rattled, so being able to relax with their pokemon would be perfect. Like Perrine said, there was no rush. This time, Julia took the time to go to the PokeMart and buy some more things such as bowls and a bag of pokemon food. She made sure to keep the egg with her so nothing bad would happen to it. As much as she liked Perrine, she wasn't sure if she could afford to leave the egg alone with her. Not only that, there was something else she wanted to find.

"Do you have any books on shiny pokemon and the book called _The Bond Between Shooting Stars_?" She asked matter-of-factly. That one Team Rocket grunt had said that Hikaru was a shiny pokemon. It had been on Julia's mind since the attack on Kurt's house. Perhaps that was why Hikaru's fur color was darker than normal.

"I'm afraid we sold our last copies of the last book," The male store clerk explained, pointing to the bookshelves. "But we did receive some books on shiny pokemon. Wait here," He ran to the books and pulled two out. One of them had a butterfree on the cover, but its eyes were green, its hands and legs were a reddish pink, and its wings were a very pale pink shade. The other book had pokemon on it such as diglett, meowth, and pikachu, all of them different colors.

Julia paid for them diligently, like any good customer would. "Thank you, sir!" Mission accomplished. With her cargo and egg in hand, she returned to the Pokemon Center. She fed her pokemon, rubbed the egg gently, and immediately opened the book on shiny pokemon. The egg rested on her lap as her green eyes absorbed everything the books on shiny pokemon had to offer.

Like with the one Falkner lent her, Julia found herself unable to look away from the book and its pages. It talked about how shiny pokemon had been around since ancient times, only being referred to as shiny because whenever they would pop out of PokeBalls, the air around them would sparkle like glitter as though they were shining. Some pokemon such as pichu could have colorations a few shades darker or lighter than normal. Others could have vastly different colorations. For example, the pokemon charizard is normally orange with blue wings, but shiny charizard are black with red wings. To this day, no one knows why shiny pokemon exist. Some scientists attributed it to changes in the environment or genetic mutations. Neither theory has been explicitly confirmed.

"Whew! All nice and squeaky clean!" Perrine came out of the bathroom wearing different clothes this time. She put on a short sleeved pale green shirt, a long, white, lace skirt, her brown shoes, and black socks. Her hair was tied back into a scraggly ponytail, warm from intense blow-drying. The first thing she saw was Julia reading the book, her expression unchanging. "You must really love reading."

"I do. Books are great brain food."

Perrine chuckled as she sat down on the bed. "I'll bet. But I'm more into fantasy stuff and fiction."

"Hey! Me too! I tried looking for _The Bond Between Shooting Stars_ but the PokeMart didn't have it."

"It is pretty popular."

"Get this! Hikaru's what they call a shiny pokemon! This book says so!"

"Hey, umm…"

"Hm?"

The orange haired girl looked down at her feet, her hands brushing against the comforter underneath. "Listen...I'm...sorry for calling you a liar earlier," She replied in a low, rueful voice.

Julia glanced at Perrine's pretty lace skirt. Perrine didn't call her a liar, she just asked if she was pulling her leg, which meant the same thing. Julia just shrugged and returned to her book. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

"No. It's not okay. I mean…" Perrine's nose crinkled as she closed her eyes. Julia sat up, putting her book down. "Friends should love everything about each other and understand each other, good or bad. I should never have doubted you, especially since you've been nothing but nice to me since we met," Her voice caught in her throat as she clutched a piece of the comforter in her fist.

"Chuuu?" Hikaru tilted her head to one side, wondering why Perrine looked so sad. This time, Julia tried to look at Perrine's face. She noticed her fluffy bangs parted down the middle, revealing her long forehead. Her nose was longer, more triangular than Julia's, and her round eyes were a darker shade of blue than Amara's. A twinge of despair peppered her pretty voice, indicating her regret. Subtle as it was, Julia could hear the rue in her voice, and to her, that was enough.

"You're right, but I'm not mad," She told her kindly. Perrine looked up, facing Julia, who briefly looked away. "Nobody in the whole world knows how to talk to pokemon and understand them, and people always thought I was just playing pretend," Hikaru hopped onto Julia's lap and hugged the egg, looking up at her with a look that begged for free pets. Julia stroke Hikaru's head gently, pulling her hand back and forth. "...I'm not lying when I say I can do it, but nobody else can do it, so...I'm not surprised you thought I was pulling your leg."

"Can you...really understand them? I mean...what's it like?"

"Well…" Julia lost herself in thought. "To me, pokemon talk like people, full sentences and all. Everyone else says they say nothing but their names. I never noticed the difference."

"Ohhh," The frown curled back into a smile, the doubt in her heart finally fading away. "Well, regardless, I believe you. Team Rocket appeared like the slowpoke said. We're still friends, right?"

"Of course!"

After that, the girls spent the day either relaxing with their pokemon or training for their upcoming gym battle. Perrine was surprised when Julia revealed that Neji evolved into a furret. It must be confessed that Perrine snuggled Neji like a little kid, hugging her and nuzzling her like he was a big teddy bear. Neji didn't mind at all, as he liked being hugged and cuddled. Of course, that didn't interfere with their training, as they had to get strong or else they might not stand a chance against Bugsy.

When night fell, Julia found herself unable to sleep. Although she kept herself calm, her insides were doing backflips, and she wanted to cry out of sheer joy. Perrine accepted her. Perrine didn't shun her for being able to understand pokemon. Perrine believed her. Where had Perrine been all her life? Her cup of happiness was full already, but Perrine's apology was the final drop that made it completely overflow. Her dream of having human friends had finally come true. Perhaps the angels decided to smile down upon her for once.

* * *

"So...according to Kurt, Bugsy usually frequents the Ilex Forest," Perrine noted as she and Julia got dressed. The milky morning light illuminated the room, giving it a warm, cozy atmosphere. Since the walls were a beige color, the room seemed to light up like a lantern. "Let's take a stroll in there and see if we can find him."

"Let's do it!" Julia exclaimed cheerfully. When they left for the forest, Perrine noticed that the girl was smiling real big. Her cheeks were rosy, and she was walking far ahead of Perrine.

"Julia! You're walking too fast!"

"Oh! Am I?" Julia stopped and walked back to Perrine, backwards. "Sorry! Force of habit."

"It's okay. Let's be careful. Kurt said the forest is dense, so let's stay close."

"Okay! This'll be fun!" Julia chirruped, her face radiating delight. Even Hikaru couldn't help but look upon her with a confused expression.

"You're...cheerful this morning," Perrine mused. "We're just going to Ilex Forest."

Julia jumped up once. "That's exactly it! I never told you, but I actually really love Ilex Forest!" She exclaimed right as they approached the entrance. "My parents and I have been through here lots of times, and...I can't really explain it, but being in there just makes me all happy, like I belong there."

' _Belong there?'_ Perrine almost dropped her PokeGear, the answer was so sudden and out there. But she didn't want to put a damper on Julia's happy mood. Besides, forests usually mean pokemon, and they could catch some while they were in there, so she figured she better make the best of it.

The day immediately turned to night the minute they entered the forests. Sunbeams could still be seen peeking through some trees, with sunspots dancing on the grass, but the green trees were all so closely packed together that the sun seemed to be entirely blocked off. Overgrown bushes and thistles lined the path through the forest and areas off the path. Sometimes they passed by large rocks, some of which had horizontal claw marks on them. To the normal person, this forest would definitely not be a place for anyone to go into without any kind of supervision or safety supplies, as anything could happen.

Perrine looked up at the trees, noting their thick leaves blocking the sun. But as soon as she turned around, she found Julia marveling at almost everything she saw. A hoothoot flying across the path. A group of metapod clinging to a nearby tree awaiting evolution. A little pond where a rattata was seen drinking out of. The myriad of flowers and plants lining the bushes. Her smile was so wide, it was almost radiant, and her green eyes twinkled like the sunspots dancing on the grass beneath them.

Tiny, sunny yellow buttercups sprung up from the ground, begging for sun, their round foliage open wide for sunlight to enter. Fluffy purple clovers and yellow ox-eye daisies stood guard before one large bush dotted with cotton candy pink roses. Snow white water lilies floated aimlessly on little ponds they walked past, with butterfree dancing on the water, sucking the nectar right out of them.

"Wow! Look at all the pretty flowers!" Julia squealed, kneeling down before some purple campanulas.

"There's lots of them here," Perrine mused, adjusting the strap on her bag. "Ilex Forest is known for having lots of flowers that grow in and out of season," She plucked off one white flower and stuck it behind her ear. The stem tickled the back of her ear, but she didn't mind.

"Look! There's the shrine!" Julia shouted before running off toward a tiny wooden shrine no bigger than she was.

"Julia! Wait up!"

What the girls saw looked more like a tiny wooden temple sculpture than a shrine. Said tiny temple stood tall, being held up by four wooden sticks. A horizontal perch going across the roof, running parallel to it, stood on top of it as though it were made for bird pokemon to perch on. A hoothoot was sitting on it before Julia's presence made it fly away. "Hey, Perrine! Have you ever seen this before?"

Perrine stopped in her tracks. "Yeah, I know what that is. Isn't that the little shrine?"

"Yep!" Julia pulled out an Oran berry and put it on top of the perch. "You know of the legend, right? About how the supposed guardian of the forest lives here?" Her arms stretched out far and wide, like she wanted to hug the sky. "It may not look like much, but it's very important! In fact, this and Ilex Forest are my favorite places of all time!"

"Uhh…" Perrine raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Hmm...I can't explain it, really. But both this shrine and the forest are brimming with life! There's pokemon everywhere! Nobody's touched this place in years, if what Mom and Dad said about it is true. It's practically a pokemon paradise!" Julia explained cheerfully, her voice going up an octave the minute she went on her cheerful palavering.

"That's fine and all, but we're here to find Bugsy, not go sight seeing."

"Hm? Who's that over there?" Julia pointed to a tree nearby.

Sitting on a big branch at least seven feet up was what appeared to be a young boy in his preteens or maybe a little older. He had dark mauve hair going down to his chin, arranged in a neat, tidy style, matching his eyes. He was wearing a green uniform that consisted of a short sleeved shirt, very short shorts, a yellow tie around his collar, white socks with a green stripe going across them, and big brown shoes. Dangling from his belt was a brown leather case, and in his hands was a small notebook. He looked up at a butterfree perched on another tree, vigorously writing something down with a black pen.

"That's him!" Perrine exclaimed. "That's Bugsy, the Azalea gym leader!"

Julia cupped her hands around her mouth before shouting, "Hello up theeeeere!"

No response. She tried again. "We're trainers! Can we battle with yooooou?"

Once again, no response. Julia turned to Perrine. "He does hear us, right?"

"I read that when he studies bug pokemon, everything around him is just white noise to him."

"Excuse me?"

"It means he focuses so much on his studies that he unknowingly ignores everything else around him."

"Ohhhh! I get it!"

All of a sudden, a white light shot out from one of Julia's pokeballs. The light morphed into Tsubasa, who cooed proudly, happy to be out of the pokeball. "Tsubasa?! What the heck?!" Tsubasa suddenly flew up toward Bugsy, who didn't even notice the pidgey flying right up to him.

Julia gasped. She was sure Tsubasa was going to do something that might end up getting Bugsy hurt. What if he fell off the branch? Sure, the tree wasn't too high, but it was certainly high enough that if someone fell, they could get hurt, or at the very most get falling related injuries. Was Tsubasa going to make him fall? "Tsubasa! You come back down here right now, young lady!"

"What's she doing?"

The brown haired girl's hands flew to both sides of her head, not covering her ears. The cheer in her eyes immediately morphed into worry and fear. "I don't know, but I know it can't be good!"

Tsubasa flew right up to Bugsy and swiped the notebook from his hands. "Hey! That's mine!" The mauve haired boy cried, swiping at the naughty pidgey to get his notebook back. Too bad the pidgey descended back to Julia, laughing with the notebook in her beak. Julia grabbed Tsubasa and yanked the notebook out of her beak.

"Tsubasa! We do not steal stuff from other people!" Julia scolded like a stern parent. "That's bad!"

"Coo coo coo coo!" Tsubasa argued like a defiant child, right as Bugsy hopped down from the tree.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Here's your notebook back!" Julia handed the notebook back to him, and he took it without a word.

"That's okay. Is this your pidgey?" Bugsy asked.

Julia facepalmed. "Yeah. Sorry about that. She's a mischievous little one," Already, she was mentally preparing herself to be berated, just like with that girl she ran into on Route 31. Tsubasa just looked away, not caring about the situation at all. Oddly enough, he just smiled and put his pen and notebook in the case on his belt.

"Don't worry about it. I've dealt with some mischievous pokemon, so I know how you feel," Bugsy explained kindly. Julia let out a sigh of relief before putting Tsubasa back in her pokeball. Something told her that this little pidgey wasn't going to stay in there for long. "Are you two pokemon trainers?"

Perrine took the initiative. "Yes, we are. I'm Perrine, and this is Julia," The latter shyly waved to him with one hand. "We were hoping if we could ask to battle with you in the Azalea gym, if that's okay with you."

"Sure!" Bugsy rubbed his mauve hair with one hand. "I haven't battled in a long time, so this'll be fun!"

"Wait a minute!" Julia suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere. "You're a gym leader? You don't look much older than us!"

As rude as she knew this sounded, she couldn't resist bringing this up. As far as she knew, Falkner looked to be in his late twenties. Bugsy here looked no older than them, so how a young kid like him could be a gym leader was beyond her. She was sure gyms had a lot of baggage for gym leaders to deal with. Money had to be one of them. She was no expert on paying for houses, nor did she know anything about mortgage, but she was sure gym leaders had to use their money to keep their gyms afloat, especially adult gym leaders. Bugsy was a kid.

"Yep!" Bugsy pointed to himself. "I'm thirteen! Azalea gym used to be my mom's, but she left it to me while she's out in the Kanto region. Plus, I passed the gym leader exam!"

Perrine clasped her hands together when they started walking out of the forest. "That's so cool! I hear you're really smart."

"But isn't it hard to take care of a gym?" Julia asked.

"My mom pays for everything. She's more business savvy than I am," Bugsy replied, his face turning red like a tomato.

"How come people call you Bugsy?" Julia asked again. "That doesn't sound like a real name."

A hoothoot fluttered across their path, cooing as it perched onto a tree. A caterpie crawled up a tree in search of a big flower that blossomed on a branch. "My real name's Tsukushi, but since everybody knew I loved bug pokemon, they just started calling me Bugsy. That nickname's stuck with me since kindergarten. I like it, though. It sounds much cooler than my real name," He definitely sounded thirteen, as his high pitched, boyish voice hadn't cracked yet.

Perrine couldn't help but think that Julia seemed a bit too curious. There was nothing wrong with that, but the questions seemed a bit personal, such as his age and his nickname. In her heart, she knew she wasn't asking out of malice or out of intent to pry, just genuine curiosity. If Perrine met someone with a weird name, she was sure she would have asked about it, too. Bugsy didn't seem to mind. In fact, he looked happy to talk about some parts of his life, so Perrine decided to keep quiet. She didn't want Julia to feel bad about wanting to ask questions.

It took a while, but they made it back to Azalea Town. It helped that they weren't very far from the entrance, so it was easy getting back to town. The minute Bugsy stepped onto Azalea soil, he suddenly turned around and exclaimed, "I just had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!"

Julia tilted her head to one side. "Like what?"

"We should have a double battle!"

The two girls looked at each other. "Double battle?"

"Yeah! You both want to challenge me, so why not do it at the same time?" Bugsy suggested.

Double battles...they had heard of them before. Perrine remembered seeing them on TV when the Johto League was on. There were many different battling styles. Triple battles, rotation battles, inverse battles, there were lots of them. Bugsy did make a good point, and if they both won against him, they would both win badges without having to stay longer. But she knew they hadn't actually practiced having double battles.

"That sounds like a great idea," Julia answered.

"I do have some stuff to do, so any time after five o'clock this evening would be fine. Is that okay?" Bugsy said.

"Sure!" Perrine interrupted. "That'd be great! We can practice double battles during that time!"

With that, the kids ran to the stadium behind the Pokemon Center to practice double battles. It turned out to be a little harder than they thought, as they have to command two pokemon on both sides, and have others defend each other from incoming attacks.

* * *

Finally, five o'clock arrived, and true to his word, Bugsy was at the gym. Julia and Perrine walked right inside, finding that the gym looked to be a self-contained jungle. Thick trees and bushes circled the stadium, with pokemon such as caterpie and metapod scuttling about. "Hi, girls! Welcome to the Azalea Gym!" Bugsy leaped off a tree and onto the battlefield gracefully, like he had done it for years.

"Wow! There's so many pokemon in here!" Julia exclaimed. She saw some butterfree and beedrill flying about, silently praying that the beedrill not attack her. Other pokemon popped up from the grass as well, such as a pale green, bipedal praying mantis with long, scythe shaped sickles, a big brown pokemon with two grey crescent shaped horns that had smaller horns dotting them, a big blue beetle, and hairy orange bugs with horns on their heads and oval shaped pink mouths.

Bugsy glanced over to a butterfree and the praying mantis pokemon. "Scyther! Butterfree! Want to battle?"

"Eeee free!"

"Scy-ther!" Both pokemon hopped onto the battlefield.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex to check out scyther's information. _"Scyther, the mantis pokemon, and the pre-evolved form of Scizor._ _Scyther is blindingly fast. Its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective, they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke."_

"Kitsune! You're up!" Perrine wasted no time getting Kitsune out of her pokeball. The tiny fox let out a battle cry upon being released.

"Alright…" Julia pulled out a pokeball, losing herself in thought. _'Hikaru and Tsubasa are strong against bug types, so I could use them. But Aqua hasn't had much battling experience lately. I think maybe this would be a good time to let her let off some steam,'_ She thought to herself. With that, she threw her pokeball, and Aqua came right out.

There was no referee, so the battle began right on the spot. "Scyther, use Quick Attack!" Bugsy cried.

"Scytheeeeer!" The green mantis's large wings fluttered so fast, they almost seemed to be completely invisible. The giant bug itself was quite agile, as neither trainer could call an attack before the mantis lunged at poor Aqua, sending her rolling on the ground.

"Kitsune! Use Flamethrower!"

"Vuuuuul!" A stream of fire poured out from Kitsune's mouth.

"Butterfree! Use Whirlwind to blow it away!"

"Freeeeeee!" Bugsy's butterfree flapped its large wings, blowing the flames into nothing. This gave Aqua the chance to get back up.

"Aqua! Use Water Gun on butterfree!" Julia commanded.

"Marill!" Aqua took in a huge breath before shooting a huge water geyser at butterfree, sending the big butterfly rolling in the air. With a flap of its wings, butterfree regained its balance.

"Confuse Ray!"

"Stun Spore!"

Kitsune tried to confuse butterfree, but the big butterfly called forth a big golden cloud of glittering dust. Aqua was quick to use water gun on the cloud so nobody could get paralyzed. But scyther cut through the dust and sliced Kitsune with a fury cutter attack. The attack wound up making Kitsune fall right on top of Aqua, making them lose momentum. But the two pokemon got back up and were ready for more battling. This time, Aqua cutely wagged her tail to distract the two, giving Kitsune a chance to use flamethrower on the two of them.

It was super effective, as they came out of the flames with their skin covered in black burns. But the flames weren't enough to completely knock them out. Butterfree managed to use Stun Spore on Aqua, leaving her paralyzed. "Aqua, no!" Aqua's body became almost completely numb, and her muscles tightened up if she so much as tried to stand up. Her stubby arms and legs felt heavy, like someone had put rocks in them.

"Bug types are good with moves that hinder their opponents," Bugsy said, crossing his arms. "You girls are pretty good if you managed to get this far," He flashed an unflinching smile. "But don't think I'll go easy on you!"

"We never asked you to!" Perrine shouted.

"Aqua! Use Tackle!"

Aqua tried to tackle the scyther, but she tripped on the way down. Bugsy wasted no time commanding scyther to use Fury Cutter on her. Before long, Aqua was completely unable to move, which meant she was out of commission. Julia ran over to Aqua and handed her a Cheri berry to eat. "Sorry about that, Aqua. Are you okay?"

"Marill…" The blue mouse croaked weakly.

Julia put Aqua back in her pokeball. "It's okay. You did great," Right then and there, Tsubasa came out of her pokeball again. Oddly enough, Julia didn't find herself exasperated this time. "Do you want to battle?"

"Coo coo!" Tsubasa flapped her wings vigorously. Julia could see the determination in her eyes.

With that, the battle resumed. "Tsubasa! Use Wing Attack on scyther!"

"Quick Attack!"

Tsubasa's small wings glowed in a harsh white light as scyther lunged at the tiny bird. This time, the two pokemon collided. Tsubasa's wing managed to scrape one of scyther's wings, leaving it sitting on its knees. Perrine made Kitsune use extrasensory on butterfree. This time, butterfree couldn't escape being caught in a purple light and thrown to the battlefield at least three times. The butterfly tried to get back up, but its tiny body was too battered from the battle. With that, it laid on the ground.

Bugsy put butterfree back in it's pokeball. "I'm impressed with you girls. You only just started learning about double battles, but you managed to beat one of my pokemon. You two exhibit great teamwork."

Although she liked the compliment, Julia looked down at her feet with a hand on her arm. They had only just met, so she was sure it was only dumb luck that they were winning. That, or Perrine had more experience with battles than she did since she dreams of winning the Pokemon League. But he did have a point. They had beaten one of his pokemon, so they had to be getting somewhere.

Perrine spoke first. "It's not over yet! Kitsune, use Confuse Ray!"

Two balls of glowing yellow light appeared from Kitsune's eyes, floating over to scyther. They would have confused it, had Bugsy not told scyther to fly away from it as fast as it could. Even though the green mantis was large in size, it flew faster than either smaller pokemon could see. Its wings made a distinct buzzing sound when it flew.

"Swords Dance, Scyther!" Scyther spun around in a circle, moving so fast it resembled a tornado.

Tornado...a light bulb lit up in Julia's head. She whispered it into Perrine's ear. The orange haired girl listened and nodded. Before long, the two girls adopted battle stances. "Kitsune! Use Flamethrower as its spinning!"

"Vuuuul!" Before scyther could stop spinning, Kitsune spat forth a torrent of blazing red flames that consumed scyther from the bottom up. Soon, scyther was trapped in a fiery twister. Even Bugsy couldn't prevent the ungraceful dropping of his jaw, his eyes wide with shock. The heat was intense, and Bugsy had to back away two steps.

"Scyther! Get out of there!" Bugsy yelled, praying that his scyther was alright. After a while, the flaming tornado dissipated, and scyther came out, but its entire body was covered with black burns, wings and sickles included. With heavy pants and gasps, it tried to walk over to Kitsune and Tsubasa, holding its sickles up. But one of its legs gave out.

"Tsubasa! Finish it off with Wing Attack!"

"Ram into it, Kitsune!"

Both Tsubasa and Kitsune rammed their bodies against scyther, finally knocking it out. There was an eerie silence. Scyther didn't stand back up at all. With a frown, Bugsy called scyther back into its PokeBall. "I guess I lost. Durn."

"WE WON!" Julia found a huge mass glomping her to the point of almost knocking her off her feet. It was a jovial Perrine, who wrapped her arms around Julia and was hugging her tightly. Her warm cheek nuzzled right up against Julia's peach fuzz and all. Normally, Julia would recoil at someone she didn't know touching or hugging her. She wanted to get to know them before letting them touch her, but she knew Perrine long enough to let her hug her. Perrine was nice, and this was a reason to celebrate.

"We...we really did it!" Julia cheered, wrapping her own arms around her friend. The two girls jumped up and down like fangirls at a concert. Even Tsubasa and Kitsune got in on it. Tsubasa was cooing like crazy, dancing and flapping her wings, whereas Kitsune just jumped up and down, her curly orange tails bobbing right along with her.

The mauve haired boy scratched his hair, giving them a congratulatory grin, even though his eyebrows were furrowed, making him give off a somewhat sad expression. _'They must be real good friends,'_ He thought to himself. The radiant joy on their faces was unmistakable. Oh well. A loss is a loss, after all. He put his hand in one pocket and walked over to the girls, who, at this point, finally calmed down.

"That was a great battle," Bugsy told them kindly. "You were amazing."

"We're sorry we hurt your pokemon!" Julia bowed before him apologetically. Perrine found herself aghast. Julia was apologizing after a battle? This was the first time she had ever seen someone do that. Then again, Perrine was a girl who didn't hate pokemon battles, finding them to be commonplace, like any other trainer. This showed her that Julia was far kinder and empathic than she assumed. No, Julia had always been kind and empathic, toward people and pokemon. The kindness she showed her during their encounter in Union Cave only solidified that.

"Jule! You don't need to apologize!" Perrine exclaimed.

"She's right. You two won fair and square. Your strength and the faith you had in your pokemon helped you win," Bugsy said. He pulled his fist out, opening his hand up. In his hand were two red and black badges, with the red part covered with some black dots, making them resemble ladybugs. "Henceforth, here are your Hive Badges."

Perrine wasted no time taking hers, whereas Julia just gently took it after a few seconds. "Thanks so much, Bugsy!" Perrine exclaimed.

"Yeah. Thanks. Will your pokemon be okay?" Julia said, putting her badge away.

"It's nothing a trip to the Pokemon Center won't fix," Bugsy replied. "I'm glad we got to battle. I guess this means I still have a lot to learn."

"Do people still call you the Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia?" Perrine asked.

Bugsy burst into laughter. "Yep! They still do!"

"Huuuuh?" Julia gave them both a quizzical look. "People call you that?"

* * *

The two girls spent one last night at the Pokemon Center before leaving. It was late, and their pokemon were tired, so they figured it'd be best to get a good night's sleep before heading into the forest. When morning came, the girls headed straight into Ilex Forest. Despite the morning light passing through the trees and the milky sunspots dancing on the grass, the trees were still very thick. It was a wonder any sunlight even managed to come through.

"I wonder why this is called Ilex Forest?" Julia asked herself. Hikaru sat on her shoulder, her body glowing in a soft light so as to light the way. "Why didn't they just call it Azalea Forest? I mean, there's so many flowers here, azaleas included."

"Pichuuu…"

The soft cooing of a hoothoot echoed in the distance. "I read about that!" Perrine began, holding up one index finger. "Ilex is actually the genus name for holly. During the summer, there's lots of holly plants. I hear that people thought about naming it Holly Forest, but decided Ilex Forest had a better ring to it."

"Ohhhh. So that's why!" A grin curled onto Julia's face. To Julia, new knowledge was always good.

It was here that an orange bug pokemon came scuttling across their path. Said pokemon was slightly bigger than Hikaru, with large claws longer than its face digging into the grass. Round eyes scoured the dirt beneath it, and two red mushrooms with yellow dots on them grew from its back. Perrine's blue eyes glimmered at the sight of the orange pokemon.

"A Paras!" She cried sweetly. "How cute!"

Julia pulled out her PokeDex and pointed it at the orange bug. _"Paras, the mushroom pokemon. Paras has parasitic mushrooms growing on its back called tochukaso. They grow large by drawing nutrients from this their hosts. They are highly valued as a medicine for extending life."_ A blue male sign appeared at the corner of the PokeDex.

"They're cute, but not my favorite," Julia mused to herself.

"Pichu…"

"Well, I'm catching it!" Perrine pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "Fukuro! Go and use Peck on Paras!"

"Hoothoot!" Once Fukuro materialized, he flitted over to the unsuspecting paras and pecked on its claws repeatedly. The paras tried to run away, with its buggy legs carrying its weight, but the bird pokemon wasn't going to relent. It slashed its claws back and forth in an attempt to scratch Fukuro, but the hoothoot dodged every attack by flying upward. With a final peck, it knocked paras to the grass.

"Pokeball, go!" Perrine swung her arm out, with the pokeball escaping her grasp. Fukuro hopped out of the way, allowing the pokeball to hit the paras. Once paras went inside, the pokeball wobbled left and right, with the center blinking in a red light. Perrine crossed her fingers, keeping her eyes on the pokeball. Finally, after what seemed to be an agonizing few seconds, the pokeball stopped moving.

"Yay! I caught a paras!" She picked the pokeball up and spun around. "I'm gonna call it Mushi!"

"That one's a boy, just so you know," Julia added.

Since Perrine already had six pokemon, Mushi's pokeball disappeared to lord knows where. Oddly enough, Perrine didn't seem worried about it. Julia assumed she knew where her pokeball disappeared to. With that, the two girls continued onward. Although the forest seemed like a straight road, everything about it would seem creepy to the normal person. Rows of seemingly endless trees lined the path, their thick leaves blocking out almost all sunlight. Pokemon scuttled about. Some beedrill flew right by, and Julia screamed a little before hiding behind Perrine, right as they appeared.

"Yeek!"

The girls weren't sure how long they walked. Julia's feet began to hurt. Her shoes felt rather snug, like they had suddenly become tight around her feet. Her legs burned, and she could feel the weight shifting to the back of her legs with every step she walked. She didn't dare complain, as she didn't want to annoy Perrine. Sometimes, Hikaru would hop off of Julia's shoulder and walk alongside her. Finally, they saw some big rocks and sat down.

"Whew! My feet are starting to hurt," Julia pulled out some pokemon food and poured it all into two big bowls. She let her pokemon out and they happily munched it all down. Julia clutched the egg in her hands, making sure it didn't fall out of the container.

Perrine had pulled out a granola bar and ate off a piece, noting that Julia didn't have any food for herself. "Aren't you gonna eat?" She asked.

"No. I'm good," Julia waved one of her hands back and forth, brushing off her concerns. "It's okay! My pokemon are probably hungrier than I am. Besides, I can deal with-"

Her stomach begged to differ with a thunder-like rumble. Perrine managed to stop herself from laughing by holding a hand to her mouth. "Well, your stomach is saying otherwise. Here," Perrine rummaged through her bag and pulled out two bananas. "I overheard you say you like bananas, so I brought some with me just in case."

"Is...that okay?"

"Sure!"

"Wow. Thanks," Julia took them both and scarfed them down. She wished there was a trash can nearby so she could throw away the peels. It'd be wrong to just leave them here.

"It's good that you love your pokemon, but it's just as important to take care of yourself," Perrine explained.

No trash cans were present, so Julia had no choice but to leave the banana peels at the rocks. Julia hated littering, even if she did occasionally leave little bits of trash around the house sometimes. Thankfully, some caterpie appeared and ate the banana peels happily, so that helped alleviate her anxiety about littering. Without complaint, the girls continued their trek through the forest. Soon, there were no sunspots dancing on the grass anymore. It had become completely dark. Julia clutched her bag strap tightly.

"Whelp. It looks like we're gonna have to sleep outside tonight," Perrine sat down and pulled out a large, orange sleeping bag that was big enough to hold two people at most.

Julia froze. "S-S-S-Sleep outside?" Shivering, she found herself lost in her thoughts. As much as she liked Ilex Forest, she was fully aware of the dangers of sleeping outside in the open. She had seen enough shows on TV to know that sleeping in a forest wasn't like sleeping at home.

"Yeah. It's too dark to go on," Perrine told her as she rolled out her sleeping bag. "It's ten thirty already. We'll get lost if we grope around in the dark."

"I...I...I don't know…"

"Do you have a sleeping bag with you?"

The frightened girl shook her head vigorously. Perrine silently facepalmed. She couldn't believe it. Julia didn't buy or bring a sleeping bag with her. "I take it you've never slept outside before, have you?"

"No…" Julia groaned. She chastised herself for not buying a sleeping bag beforehand, and for making Perrine deal with her apprehensiveness. "I...I'm scared to sleep outside."

Perrine held her exasperation inside, knowing complaining wouldn't do any good. "How come?"

"Because what if some vicious pokemon pop up and try to kill us?!" Julia yelped.

Perrine rummaged through her bag once more, pulling out a grey spray can. She sprayed the area around the sleeping bag in a circle. "That's why I bought repels, so no wild pokemon can attack us."

"What if night prowlers or creepy guys come and kidnap us?!"

"You can have your pokemon sleep right beside you," Perrine told her matter-of-factly. "Pokemon have better hearing than we do, so if there's trouble, they're the first to let us know beforehand."

Some of her anxiety left, but some still remained. Julia still didn't want to sleep outside. It seemed too risky. But most of all, she preferred the safety of a solid building, the warmth of soft, fluffy comforters, tucked away in a bedroom with doors and windows sealed shut. Sleeping in a forest meant exposing herself to danger and the wilderness. She hated feeling so rigid, so inflexible. She knew she was going to have to deal with this sometime, but didn't want to think about it. But Perrine did make good points. Perrine pulled out an electric lantern and turned it on.

"This is nice and bright," She set it down right above the sleeping bag, just a foot away from their heads. "It'll keep pokemon and people away. If you want, you can sleep in here with me if you want."

"Is...is that okay? I mean…" Julia stammered shyly. "I've never slept with anyone before…"

"That's fine," Perrine gently put a hand on Julia's shoulder. "Sorry about this. You're probably used to sleeping in a bed. I get that, and that's okay. This is your first time doing this, so I'm not mad. When I first slept outside, I was scared and didn't even have a sleeping bag or any of this stuff."

Julia looked up, her green eyes wide. "Really?"

"Yep. But Kitsune was with me, and I managed to survive. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but sometimes we may have to do things we don't want to in order to get what we want," Perrine answered calmly.

She was right. Julia kept telling herself that this journey would be hard. There had to be things she didn't want to do but had to endure in order to move forward. This was one of them. With a solemn nod, she let all of her pokemon out. She changed into her pajamas behind a tree, as she didn't want Perrine looking. She hated undressing in front of others. Ladybug slept on top of their sleeping bag, and the two girls found themselves stuffed inside. They were so close together that their skin almost touched. Neji curled right around the girls' heads, putting himself between them and the brightly lit lantern.

Already, Julia felt trapped. Her body felt trapped inside an alien container, begging for air. She kept tossing and turning. Sometimes she would unknowingly kick Perrine's legs, or put her hands on her face. It didn't help that she would shiver upon hearing the wings of beedrill echoing in the air, or hoothoot crying in the trees.

"Ow! Julia, you just kicked me!"

"Sorry!"

"Your hand's on my face."

"Oww! You just rolled on my arm!"

"Sorry. This sleeping bag is not big enough for two people, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk in your sleep."

"You scratched my ear!"

Yellow sun spots danced along their faces, waking them from their sleep. Once they had Perrine's premade breakfast, which was mostly cold leftovers from last night's dinner, they went back to walking forward. But purple bags tugged at the bottom of their eyes, making them feel heavy. Their bodies felt sore, like someone had stuffed piles of rocks in them.

"We are never sleeping together in the same sleeping bag ever again," Perrine groaned.

"I knew this would happen...sorry…" Julia groaned.

Right then and there, a small pokemon leaped out of the grass. It was a small, round, blue pokemon with five big green leaves swaying back and forth on its head. The only body features it had were a mouth, small red eyes, and two small feet. Seeing this cute, tiny pokemon made Julia become alert and wide awake with delight. "Awwww! An oddish! How cute!" She pulled out her PokeDex and aimed it right at the oddish.

"Oddish, the weed pokemon. Oddish often plants its root feet in the ground during the day and sows seeds as it walks about at night, although they can be active during the day if they want to. Its scientific name is "Oddium Wanderus." At night, it is said to walk nearly 1,000 feet on its two roots," A female sign appeared. Julia pulled out her pokeball.

"Odd odd oddish…" The little oddish walked around aimlessly, watching everything around it.

"I am SO going to catch it!"

Perrine raised an eyebrow. "But oddish is part poison type. Aren't you afraid of poison types?"

"I liked oddish before I became afraid of poison types, plus they're nice, so I'm not scared of oddish," Right as she said that, Tsubasa popped right out of her pokeball, slamming the poor, hapless oddish into a nearby tree with a Wing Attack.

"Odd!" The little oddish cried as it fell to the ground.

Tsubasa put her wings on her hips and laughed loudly. "Coo coo coooo!"

Julia facepalmed. "Tsubasa! Would it kill you to wait so I could give you a command?!"

"Is...your pidgey always like this?"

"Yes."

Tsubasa turned to face Julia and yelled, "Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"You want to catch this oddish, right?!"_ )

"You have a point. Okay then," Julia threw her pokeball at the oddish. As usual, the pokeball wobbled around and the red light blinked, then the light disappeared. Fastest capture ever. Julia picked the pokeball up and nuzzled it with a warm smile. "Yay! I caught an oddish! I'm gonna name her Blossom!"

The sound of clapping hands pulled the girls out of their victory. They looked up to find themselves speechless. A woman in a purple kimono stood before them, clapping her hands with a soft smile on her face. She looked a lot like Zuki, only her kimono was a light lilac color with reddish purple pokeball patterns on her sleeves, with a darker purple and red obi wrapped around her waist. She had everything else that Zuki had: black hair tied in Mt. Silver style with gold barrettes, geta sandals, and pasty skin.

"You trainers are quite skilled at catching pokemon," The lady in the purple kimono told them in a low but kind voice. Julia could tell it didn't sound much like Zuki's at all. It sounded lower pitched, almost husky, even.

Julia waved her hand back and forth modestly. "No no. It was my pidgey here that did the work, so you're better off giving her the credit," Tsubasa folded her wings and stuck out her chest, begging for somebody to praise her.

"Wow! Oh my gosh!" Perrine suddenly ran up to the woman and shook her hand. "You're Naoko, one of the Ecruteak Kimono Girls! I'm a huge fan! It's suuuuuch an honor to meet you!" Naoko's eyes widened upon seeing this girl shake her hand so roughly, but a smile spread across her face.

"I'm flattered by your kindness, young lady," Naoko told them.

"I watch tapes of your performances all the time! A couple times Mom even took me to your shows! You're amazing!" Perrine shouted.

"You...know this woman?" Julia asked.

Perrine gasped, like she heard Julia say that she murdered someone. "You don't know about the Kimono Girls?!" She shouted loud enough for Julia to cover her ears. Tsubasa simply fluttered onto the girl's shoulder. "They're, like, the most well known female dance group in all of the Johto region! The world, even! They dance and perform plays and even sing a little! There's even an urban legend that they're supposedly descended from the God of all pokemon, Arceus!"

Everything else sounded plausible to her except the last part. Julia gave the excited Perrine a quizzical look. "That last one cannot be true and you know it."

Naoko found herself giggling. "Yes. I'm afraid that last part is just a rumor, nothing more."

"So...exactly what are you doing here?" Perrine asked once she calmed down.

"I actually came here to catch some pokemon," Naoko explained. "But it seems I wandered in too far, and now I'm lost."

Julia pulled out her PokeGear, scrolling through the map feature. Ilex Forest showed up on the app, and she zoomed in. A flashing green light showed that she was just a ways away from what appeared to be a black line. "Hey! It says here that we're almost at the end of the forest!"

"Ohhh! Thank Arceus!" Perrine stretched her arms out before turning to Naoko. "Hey! Here's an idea! Since we're almost out, want to travel along with us?"

The woman smiled gratefully, bowing in gratitude. "I would be honored to accompany you."


	9. The Egg Hatches At Daycare!

Chapter 8: The Egg Finally Hatches At The Daycare!

"Yay! We're finally out!" Julia was the first to race past the final row of trees, greeted by warm, bright sunshine, and a blue sky with fat white clouds aimlessly floating about. Perrine held a hand over her head to block out the sun, and Naoko simply smiled, following the two girls out. "Woohoo!"

"Coo coo!" Tsubasa chirruped, agreeing with Julia's sentiment.

"I wonder what time it is right now…" Perrine rummaged through her bag to pull out her PokeGear. She checked the time, which read 10:27 AM. "Wow. We spent about a day in that forest."

The beautiful kimono clad girl next to them raised an eyebrow. "Did you, really? My, that must have been tough."

"It sure was!" Julia spun around like a top, with Tsubasa flying around with her, taking in the sun's warm rays. Perrine simply smiled and stretched her arms out, happy to finally get out of that forest.

"Thank you girls for accompanying me out. I must be going now," Naoko said. "There's a pokemon day care up ahead. The old couple that runs it are very good people, and they can help you out," She added.

"Really? Thanks so much!" Perrine bowed politely.

With a warm smile, Naoko waved to them and walked in another direction. Perrine could see tall skyscrapers from miles away. Tall buildings reached for the sky, as if to say they were closer to heaven than everyone else in the world. One would consider them to be a marvelous sight, but all they did for Perrine was make a creepy monster eat at the skin of her heart, tugging at her. Perrine clutched her chest tightly and looked down. She wished those skyscrapers weren't so close. It could only mean that she was close to home. Close to the place she didn't want to return to.

Already, the familiar, hoarse voice of an old man thundered in her ears. _"Perrine Sophronia Innocenti!"_ The middle aged voice roared like thunder. _"I will not allow you to jeopardize any chance of a future you have, young lady! You will not become a pokemon trainer and that is final!"_ Hearing that voice made her physically sick to her stomach, and a contorted, disgusted expression pushed away her sweet smile.

Embarrass the family. What a huge load of crock. She knew it all too well. She wasn't an embarrassment. She just wasn't the daughter he wanted.

"Perrine!" Julia's sweet voice pulled her back to reality.

"Yeah?" Just now, she noticed that Julia had all of her pokemon out. Hikaru, Aqua, Tsubasa, Neji, and Ladybug. The white egg was carefully tucked in Julia's skinny arms.

"Come on! The daycare's gotta be up a ways!" She pointed northbound and raced on ahead, with her pokemon happily giving chase.

Without another word, Perrine caught up with Julia, letting all of her pokemon out as well. She figured this would be the perfect time to let them run around and play. They came across a bench that was perfect for sitting, and they plopped their rears down on it, happy to finally be off their feet. Perrine's shoes began to feel rather snug, and being on her feet so long made her back hurt. The two girls watched their pokemon play happily, sometimes breaking into laughter at their antics.

Chirin let Hikaru sit on his wool, giving him a ride by slowly walking like a mareep would. Aqua and Florian rode on Neji's back, and he made sure to walk slowly so as to make sure they didn't fall off. Tsubasa used her beak to pull on one of Kitsune's tail, and she was quick to bat her on the head with her paw to put the little bird in her place. Fukuro simply sat on a nearby tree, eating some green berries with green leaves on them. Baloo and Fuwari simply ran around in circles, chasing each other happily. Ladybug was content to sit right next to Julia.

Perrine looked down at the egg. "Where'd you get that egg?"

"Oh. This?" Julia stroke the egg gently. "Professor Elm gave it to me. Well, his assistant did. I got it in Violet City. They wanted me to raise it. I wonder if it'll hatch."

"It will in due time," Perrine told her reassuringly. "How long have you had it?"

"The day before I met you."

"So...about a week or so, huh? I hope it hatches."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru called out. Julia and Perrine looked up to find Hikaru sitting on Neji's head. Baloo, Fuwari, Florian, Tsubasa, and Aqua laughed upon seeing the two together. Julia and Perrine simply waved back.

"Ledy…" Ladybug nuzzled up against Julia's shirt contentedly. Her trainer stroke the ladybug pokemon's back with one hand, up and down.

"Do you want to go over and play with them, Ladybug?" Julia asked.

Ladybug shook her head no. "Ledyba…" ( _"No. I don't want to."_ )

"Okay. That's fine. But they're nice pokemon, so there's no need to be scared. Well...Tsubasa can be rather pushy…"

The tiny pidgey gave Julia a shiny-eyed glare that seemed to say, "I heard that!" Florian simply sighed, wondering just what the big deal was. "Chikori…"

It was here that Baloo saw something that caught her eye. She carried her stubby legs up and down as she walked toward the thing that piqued her curiosity. Hikaru saw her leave. Once the pink balloon pokemon was out of sight, Hikaru tapped Julia's leg with her paw. "Pichu pichu!"

"What's wrong, Hikaru?" The tiny mouse waved her arms around, explaining what went on. "Huh? Baloo wandered off?"

Perrine's eyes grew large. She stood up and looked around the area. All of her pokemon were present...except Baloo. A twinge of worry nagged at her heart, but Baloo couldn't have gone far. "She's right! Baloo's gone!"

"Want to go find her?"

"Yes!"

Julia turned to the pokemon. "Everyone! Spread out and find Baloo!"

The pokemon all nodded and scattered. Julia and Perrine kept Hikaru, Ladybug, and Florian by their sides in case wild pokemon popped out. Thankfully, the search didn't take very long. "Hoppip! Hoppip!" Fuwari called out to them, waving her stubby arm.

"What is it, Fuwari?" The pokemon regrouped, and the two girls caught up to her.

Perrine let out a sigh of relief. An old woman had kneeled down to Baloo's level, stroking the curly tuft of fur on her head with a warm smile. Baloo was contentedly basking in her affection. The old woman had short but neatly arranged grey hair that cascaded down to her chin, covered by a purple hat. Her kind face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, and she was wearing a purple cardigan over a white T-shirt, long blue jeans, and dirty sneakers. "Jigglypuff!"

"My, aren't you an adorable pokemon…" The old woman cooed in a scratchy voice.

"Baloo! There you are!" Perrine caught up to Baloo and picked her up. "Why'd you wander off like that?"

"Is this your jigglypuff, Miss?" The old woman asked, standing up.

"Yes. Sorry about that."

"Jiggly jigglypuff!"

"Baloo says she dropped her hat and was just giving it back to her," Julia explained.

The old woman chuckled. "Your darling pokemon has such good manners," She took a glimpse at all of their other pokemon as well. "Actually, all of your pokemon look very lively and well."

"Thanks, Miss...uh…" Perrine told her gratefully, but realized they didn't catch her name.

"I'm Eleanor," The old woman introduced herself. "I run a pokemon daycare up ahead. My, forgive my rudeness, but you girls look like you hadn't slept or bathed in a while."

Julia scratched her hair with one hand. It felt stringy and limp, not soft and bouncy like usual. "We just got out of Ilex Forest."

"I see. If you want, you can come with me to my daycare," Eleanor told them. "I'm sure the pokemon there would be very happy to have playmates."

"Wow! Thanks so much!" Julia gave a grateful bow.

With that, the girls and their pokemon followed Eleanor to the daycare. The good thing about this was that it was only a couple blocks away. A large, sunny yellow building came within their vicinity. The pink tile roof gave it a warm, welcoming air. Some small pokemon were playing right outside, with the white fence locked tight so nobody could get out. Eleanor unlocked it and the girls and their pokemon went inside. Some toys such as blocks scattered around the area. Three pokemon happily went down an orange slide before running to play on it again.

The inside of the building looked a little more organized. The orange walls, when the sun came through the windows, made the room really bright, giving it a warm atmosphere. Some small tables and chairs stood neatly in other areas. In other rooms there were shelves full of nothing but eggs. Pokemon eggs. Red eggs, yellow eggs, green eggs, pink eggs, multicolored eggs, eggs with markings on them, it was all eggs. An old man sat on a chair, gently rubbing a green and yellow egg with a dry wash cloth. He had a thick white beard cascading down his chest, but the rest of his grey hair was in tact. He had soft, kind brown eyes, and was wearing a maroon sweater, beige khaki pants, and dirty white sneakers.

"Silas, we have guests," Eleanor announced.

Silas looked up, his hand stopping on top of the egg. "Ah! Ellie, you're back early. Now, who are these young ladies?" He smiled and put the egg back on the shelf.

Julia shyly hid behind Perrine. "I'm Perrine, and this is Julia," Perrine took the initiative and introduced themselves. Julia simply waved at them without a word.

"Pichu!" Hikaru suddenly ran up to the pokemon eggs, sniffing them. "Pichu!"

"Ah! Hikaru!" Julia scrambled over to Hikaru and scooped her right up. "Those are their eggs."

"My, what a jolly pichu you have there," Silas said, looking closely at the happy pichu. Hikaru waved at him sweetly. "Hmm? Your pichu has darker fur than usual."

"She's a shiny pokemon."

"Wow. Really?" Silas looked closer. "This is the first time I've ever seen such a pokemon. I've heard the stories, but to think they're real…"

"Girls," Eleanor interjected. "Feel free to use the shower to wash yourselves off. You must be dirty from walking around in the forest, and your pokemon can play with the others."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Perrine couldn't help but fling her arms right around Eleanor, trapping her in a hug. Julia thanked her as well.

The two girls wasted no time using their bathroom. Julia went first, and Perrine went afterward. However, they brought clean clothes with them, so they didn't need to borrow Eleanor or Silas's clothes. They were careful not to make big messes, such as splashing water around or scatter their towels. In fact, Julia thought it'd be rude to show up with wet hair and all, so she spent about twenty minutes drying her hair out with the hair dryer, much to Perrine's subtle chagrin. Once Perrine went inside, Julia found it safe to go out.

As soon as she left the bathroom, something nuzzled up to her leg, and she could tell it wasn't Hikaru. She looked down to find a small, peachy pink pokemon flashing a bright, friendly smile. Its pointed ears were a dark, chocolate brown color, and its small eyes were brimming with curiosity. Its stubby legs and arms carried its weight, and a rolled up tuft of hair rested on its head, like a jigglypuff.

"Cleffa! Cleffa!" The baby pokemon chirped.

"Awww! Hello there!" Julia kneeled down to pick the pokemon up, cradling it in her arms like a baby. "You're so cute!"

"Cleffa!" Cleffa nuzzled against Julia's chin, forcing a laugh to come out.

"Why thank you! I love you too!" She pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Cleffa, the star shape pokemon._ _Cleffa is the pre-evolved form of_ _Clefairy_ _. Their star shape has led some to believe that they reach the Earth riding on shooting stars. Strangely, many Cleffa are often found on nights of meteor showers. When numerous meteors illuminate the night sky, Cleffa can be seen dancing in a ring. They dance through the night and stop only at the break of day, when these Pokémon quench their thirst with the morning dew."_

"That little one just hatched a few days ago," Eleanor said, gently taking the happy cleffa out of Julia's arms.

"She's a cutie," She said, her cheeks turning pink with delight.

"Your pokemon are this way, dearie."

"Thanks."

Eleanor escorted Julia to the play area. Her pokemon and Perrine's were happily playing with the pokemon in the front yard. She noticed her egg sitting on a nearby table and cradled it in her arms, sitting down on a bench. "Oh! You have so many cute pokemon here! There's a teddiursa, and an igglybuff, and an elekid, and oddish and aipom and pichu and...oh! Oh! You even have chikorita and cyndaquil!" Her eyes sparkled upon seeing the happy pokemon play. Hikaru was riding on Florian's back, with them playing pretend rodeo as the other pokemon watched.

"You're quite knowledgeable about pokemon, aren't you?"

The brown haired girl looked down at the egg. "I...I just really really love pokemon. I always have."

"Your pokemon seem to be having fun."

"They are."

"That egg in your arms...Mr. Pokemon gave it to you, didn't he?"

Julia looked up. "How do you know?" Immediately, the realization that Mr. Pokemon got it from a daycare came back to her. This might be the daycare he was talking about. "Oh. Right. He got it from here, didn't he?"

The old woman replied with a nod. "He was so enthusiastic about it, so we gave it to him. I'm surprised it came back here, though. It must be fate."

"I doubt it."

"Chikori!" Florian yelped. Julia looked up to find Tsubasa pecking a poor, crying oddish with her beak, and Florian kept trying to push her away by waving his big leaf around.

"Hey, Tsubasa!" She ran over to the bird and picked her up. As usual, Tsubasa flailed her talons back and forth, cawing like a crow. "That's not nice! Say you're sorry right now! We don't peck other pokemon!" Florian gently consoled the sad oddish by wrapping a vine around him, pulling him close.

"Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"I need to train so I can get stronger! Stay out of my way!"_ )

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Julia apologized, putting Tsubasa back in her pokeball. "My pidgey thinks she can do whatever the heck she wants."

Despite her efforts not to laugh, Eleanor couldn't help herself. "It's alright. We've dealt with some naughty pokemon of our own, too."

All of a sudden, many small pokemon began crawling up Julia's leg, none of them her own pokemon. "Whoa! Whoa whoa whooooa!" She found herself falling on the ground, being playfully assaulted by tiny baby pokemon, nuzzling her, jumping on her, giving her pokemon kisses, all of that stuff. Julia couldn't hold back her merry laughter. Some of her pokemon burst into laughter upon seeing the cute scene.

"Help! I'm being attacked by cute pokemon!" Julia cried jokingly. Truth be told, she was enjoying this. To her, being with pokemon was like being in Heaven.

The only one of her pokemon not laughing was Ladybug. The red ladybug pokemon happened to glance at the egg right next to her. All of a sudden, the egg flashed for just a brief moment. It was faint, but the egg glowed in a soft white light for just a second. Eleanor saw it, too. Perhaps the egg's time to hatch is coming near. Julia was blissfully oblivious to it, as she was too busy playing with the pokemon.

Once Perrine was out of the shower, the girls decided to repay the old couple by helping out around the daycare. As much as she liked playing with the pokemon, taking care of the many pokemon eggs proved to be easier. All she had to do was take a dry washcloth and rub the eggs gently from side to side. Hikaru, Baloo, Florian, and Aqua helped out as well. Even they were enjoying it, sometimes singing little made up songs to themselves as they worked.

Taking care of a huge group of pokemon, fun as it was, was no easy task. Sometimes, Perrine had to break up some fights. At one point, some bird pokemon almost pecked at her, had Baloo not intervened by singing them to sleep. Julia refused to go anywhere near the poison type pokemon except oddish. Understandable, since she was afraid of poison types. Eleanor and Silas understood, and didn't push the issue. Sometimes, Julia took a break to tend to her own egg, rubbing it with the washcloth.

"Would you girls like to have dinner with us?" Silas offered. "You must be hungry."

"Sure! Thanks!"

The sky above was orange, streaked with familiar but still stunning shades of rose pink, lavender purple, and deep blue. Eleanor and Silas were so kind to them, Julia couldn't help but think that nothing she did would ever repay them. She was sure that if Amara were here, she'd yell and scream stuff about Julia being nothing but inconsiderate to them, being an inconvenience to them by taking advantage of their kindness. How could she take advantage of it when they were the ones offering? But she still kept an eye on her egg, wondering when it'll hatch.

"So, are you two going to the Pokemon League?" Silas asked, taking a bite of some steak.

"I am," Perrine answered. "Julia's not into that stuff."

"It's true," Julia added, taking a bite out of some broccoli. All of their pokemon sat on the floor, happily eating bowls of fresh pokemon food. Some soft, soothing classical music played loftily on an old radio that was on a shelf. Julia took a bite out of a crescent roll before giving a piece of it to Hikaru. The tiny mouse shared her piece with everyone, making sure Tsubasa didn't eat the whole thing.

"You kids are heading for Goldenrod, right?" Eleanor asked.

Perrine stopped eating. She stared down at her steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes with a doubtful look on her face. Goldenrod City...she wished it wasn't so close by. "Yeah, we are," Julia answered. "It's pretty much the only city that's nearby."

"But it's so late now. It'll be too dark when you get there, and wild pokemon can be dangerous, especially during the night," Silas explained.

They made good points. "You can spend the night here for tonight."

"Thanks," Julia said, finishing her broccoli. "You're so nice. You don't have to do all this for us."

The old couple shook their heads. "It's no trouble at all. Our daycare is always open to weary travelers."

Whoever raised this old couple deserved a medal. That was what Julia thought, anyway. They were never angry, suspicious, or judgmental. They just helped them out without hesitation, and had been nothing but kind to them. Julia regretted being so shy toward them earlier in the day. She wished she could stay here forever. But she knew she couldn't do that. She took them up on their offer, and slept in the other room with Perrine and her pokemon. She kept the egg in her arms in case anything happened.

* * *

"Julia!"

Shades of green and white dotted the darkness. A faint voice cried out in the distance.

"Julia! Wake up!"

"Pichu!"

"Wha...huh?" The first thing she saw was a flash of white light. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, wondering if it was the morning sun coming through the windows. But she looked down to find that it came from the egg. Perrine and all of the pokemon surrounded Julia's bed with curious, awestruck expressions.

The egg was glowing. It was about to hatch!

"No way!" Julia scrambled out of bed, holding the egg in her hands. The light felt warm, and it didn't burn like she expected it to.

The top of the white egg suddenly had a small crack. Said crack grew bigger and bigger. _Crack!_ Went the top of the shell, and the light vanished. Five light yellow spikes popped out of the top of the egg, revealing a mouth and two small, oval shaped black eyes. Two stubby arms protruded from the sides of the egg, and two feet popped out, with two toes on each foot. The rest of the shell stayed in tact, red and blue markings included.

The tiny pokemon let out a high pitched yawn. "Chokiiiii…" As soon as it opened its eyes, the first thing it saw was Julia. The girl's beaming face brought forth a smile, and the pokemon cheered happily. "Choki choki kriiii!"

"Awww! How cute!" Julia couldn't resist the urge to hug her new friend. Perrine pulled out her PokeDex and pointed it at the egg pokemon.

" _Togepi, the spike ball pokemon. Togepi is filled with an energy that makes people happy. When treated well, Togepi shares this energy with others, but when it comes near a human with an impure heart this energy quickly disappears, leaving Togepi exhausted. An ancient proverb claims that happiness will come to anyone who can make a sleeping Togepi stand up,"_ A pink female sign appeared on the corner of Perrine's PokeDex.

"It's a girl?" Perrine asked herself. "But Togepi are usually boys."

One look at Julia and the togepi told Perrine that she didn't care. The brown haired girl was just too happy with her new friend to mind. Julia held togepi close to her heart, and the egg pokemon returned the affection by happily cooing and waving its tiny arms. Hikaru hopped onto Julia's lap and held out a hand. "Pichu pichu!"

Without even the tiniest hint of hesitation, the togepi leaped out of Julia's arms and shook Hikaru's arm before glomping her. Soon, togepi was running around the room, chasing Hikaru, Kitsune, and Fuwari around. "Choki choki chokiiiiiii!"

"She is sooooo adorable!" Julia cooed, watching her new friend play. Perrine could swear she saw hearts fluttering around her. "And I know exactly what to name her!"

"And...what's that?"

"Tokiko!"

"Toki...ko?"

"Yep! It sounds like she says tokiko when she talks!"

Right then and there, Tokiko waddled up to Julia, stretched her arms out, and cooed, "Choki!" Just hearing that tiny voice coo made Julia's heart completely melt. "Oh my gosh! She called me Mommy! I'm not kidding you! She thinks I'm her mom! What do I dooooo?!" Tokiko leaped on Julia's lap and hugged her...or at least, her abdomen, showering her in affection. Julia did the same.

"What are her attacks?" Perrine asked.

"Oh! Right! I'll check!" She pulled out her PokeDex and searched through Tokiko's attacks, but she found herself completely flabbergasted. "Whoa."

"What's up?" Perrine took a look.

Tokiko's attacks were the following: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss. "What?! No way!" Perrine exclaimed, at first thinking the PokeDex was playing tricks on her, or was malfunctioning. Technology didn't lie. "Togepi shouldn't be able to know those kinds of moves until it's evolved! Or at the very least until it's older!"

Breakfast could wait, as the first thing Julia did upon changing her clothes and arriving at the dining room was show Eleanor and Silas her new friend. To say they were stunned would be exaggerating, but their eyes were wide and their mouths agape at the sight of the pokemon. "How adorable! What a cutie pie," Eleanor couldn't resist stroking Tokiko with her finger. Tokiko returned the gesture by shaking her finger up and down with both arms.

Tokiko proved to be quite a special little togepi. When wondering what to feed her, since she was still a baby, Tokiko helped herself to some of Julia's yogurt and crescent rolls. Everyone was shocked, thinking she could only drink liquids for the time being. Not only that, when Tokiko wandered to the slide, wanting to play with some pokemon, she managed to climb the steps and reach the top all by herself without fear, sliding down with Hikaru and Aqua. She even managed to keep up with the other pokemon.

What really cemented Tokiko as a special pokemon was when she saw Tsubasa picking on the poor oddish again. Without a word, she simply walked over to Tsubasa, and...rammed her head into the poor, hapless pidgey, sending her flying across the front yard. Florian managed to catch her by using his vines, preventing any potential injuries."Whoa! Did...did Tokiko just use...Headbutt?!" Everyone was aghast, Julia especially.

Enraged, Tsubasa flew right to Tokiko and began a tirade of bird cooing. "Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"You dare to attack me, you little runt?!"_ )

Keeping her sweet smile, Tokiko simply said, "Choki choki kriiii!" ( _"You were being mean, so I had to teach you a lesson."_ )

"Wow...Tokiko's...awesome…" Julia mused to herself.

"Yeah. Really," Perrine agreed.

Eleanor smiled. "Isn't she so lively?"

"Indeed," Silas added with a nod.

It helped that Tokiko was quite the social butterfree, too. She already got along well with all of the pokemon. Even Ladybug warmed up to her, and the two found themselves playing in the dirt and rolling around. Julia joined in as well, as she loved playing with her pokemon. Eleanor and Silas simply watched as the pokemon frolicked and played to their heart's content. Perrine knew that they couldn't stay here forever, as much as she wanted to keep away from Goldenrod City. They had to get going. When noon came around, the kids prepared to leave.

"Thanks so much for having us, Eleanor and Silas. We really appreciate your kindness," Julia told them gratefully.

"It was a pleasure having you here, kids," Silas told them with a hearty laugh. "You girls be careful out there, and have a safe journey."

With that, the girls left the daycare, happy to be out on the road. Hikaru and Tokiko were outside of their pokeballs, chasing each other happily, basking in the warm sunshine. A gentle spring breeze made everyone's hair float in the wind. However, none of this was enough to dispel the anxiety nagging at Perrine's heart. It ate at her chest like a hungry totodile, ripping away at her deepest, darkest secrets. With every step she took, she felt that she was going back to the trap. The gilded cage the man set up just to keep her locked away.

It didn't matter what he did. None of what he did would dissuade Perrine from her dream. She didn't want to go back to that gilded cage, adorned with jewels, beautiful clothes, warm food, and things she just couldn't do no matter what. All those rules, all those lessons, all the yelling, all the disapproval...she thought she had escaped all of that. He never gave her what she wanted. He decorated the cage more and more every day, giving her new trinkets and baubles. All failed to impress her. Gold. Silver. Diamonds.

No, she did not want those, beautiful as they were. She wanted to run about in grass thickets, through deep forests, trek through harsh mountains, surrounded by pokemon.

"Perrine?"

"What?!"

Julia stopped in her tracks, turning around to face her friend. "Is something wrong?" She tilted her head to one side out of concern. "You look sad."

Concern. That was what she had always wanted. Someone who cared. Someone who cared enough to listen. Why had she hidden it all this time? Perrine balled her fists. "Sorry, Jules. The truth is...I don't really want to go back to Goldenrod," She confessed in a low voice. Hikaru and Tokiko stopped playing, realizing that the girls stopped on the road.

"Why not?"

"I ran away," Perrine began. "I had to apply to be a trainer in secret. My parents...I told you about how they don't want me becoming a trainer, right? No matter how I explained it to them, they were set on keeping me at home," She balled her fists once more. "I...I'm not the child they want. They want a kid who plays piano and dresses in flashy gowns and wears makeup and is perfect in every way. A little socialite, if you will. I can't be that kind of kid. I saw missing person posters when I left. If I'm spotted in Goldenrod, Mom and Dad are sure to find out...and they'll be mad, too."

The orange haired girl expected her friend to dismiss her concerns. Oddly enough, she didn't. She just kept quiet and listened intently. Even Hikaru and Tokiko stopped to listen. When she finished, Julia simply said. "I know how you feel. Y'know, before I met you, I was afraid of going to Violet City."

"Really? How come?"

Julia told Perrine about her experiences in the Pokemon Academy during the second grade, especially about Mrs. Amoretto's machinations. Perrine found herself aghast. "No way! A _teacher_ did that to you?! My God!"

"I know, right?" Julia agreed. "She got arrested, but ever since then, I hated pokemon battles with all of my being. But I had to go back there recently, and I had no choice. I had to go through it in order to move forward. I didn't want to go back to that place," A smile curled up on her face. "But when I did go back, I learned so much! I went to Sprout Tower, learned that Falkner was the one who arrested her, and got to see that battling isn't about senseless violence, but a way that pokemon express themselves and the bond between them and their trainers."

"Wow...I had no idea…"

Julia put a hand on her shoulder. "If you're scared to go back to Goldenrod, that's okay. You don't have to go if you don't want to. But you do have to admit, it's the only city we can go through in order to move forward. There aren't any other towns on the map," She explained.

Perrine sighed. A very good point. There was just no avoiding it. But the doubt in her heart slowly began to dissipate. Julia told her about the worst experience of her life. That had to take courage and a truck load of strength. But upon going back, she made new, much better memories. She had overcome her fear. Perrine balled her fists. If Julia could do it, perhaps...Perrine could settle things with her parents once and for all. It wouldn't hurt to try, right?

"No. I'll go," Perrine announced, her eyes blazing with determination. "A good pokemon trainer doesn't let fear get the best of them."

Julia flashed a thumb's up. "That's the spirit!"

Hikaru imitated her. "Pichu!" Tokiko did the same. "Choki!"

"You'll be there, so maybe it won't be so scary…" Perrine confessed.

"That's one way to put it. Hey! You said the department store is really cool, right? Maybe they'll have The Bond Between Shooting Stars There!" Julia exclaimed, running ahead of the girl at full speed. Hikaru and Tokiko gave chase.

"Hey! Wait for me! Jeez!" Perrine laughed as she chased after her friend. She was ready to face her family.

What the girls didn't know was that a boy happened to overhear their conversation from about ten feet away. The boy had curly, bushy brown hair framing a set of green eyes like Julia's but were a darker shade. He was wearing a pale green short sleeved shirt over a long sleeved white one, with black and white wings parallel to a black and white circle. It wasn't a yin-yang symbol, as the line separating the two colors was perfectly straight, not in a wavy motion. He was also wearing beige khaki pants with large pockets on them, and solid grey shoes. A brown pokemon with a large skull on its head stood next to him, holding a bone in its left hand.

"So that orange haired girl has parent problems too, huh?"

"Cubone!"

"Hey, Mallow. She seems pretty cool. Want to try and make a new friend?"

"Bone bone cubone!"

* * *

 **For those of you wondering, don't worry. Tokiko will definitely not be useless and do nothing but sit around in Julia's arms.**

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain).**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**

 **Pokemon At Professor Elm's Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)**


	10. Sister Wars At The Golden Metropolis

Chapter 9: Sister Wars At The Golden Metropolis!

Goldenrod City was a bona fide metropolis in every sense of the word. The whole city seemed to shine with golden light. It didn't help that since it was sunny out, the light would reflect off of glass windows, blinding the girls every now and again. People of all ages bustled about, running to and fro. Parents with kids, business people, police officers, young couples, school children, all kinds of people went about their day, going wherever they were going.

Skyscrapers lined most of the city. Seeing them from the ground made Julia feel like a baby ant, they were so tall. Most of them had rows of glass windows in neat, straight patterns, going across them both vertically and horizontally. Train tracks went horizontally across the center of the city. A large, black radio tower loomed over the entire city, boasting its grand height and large scale. As much as the girls wanted to go sightseeing, they needed to check into the Pokemon Center and get their pokemon healed.

Julia, on the other hand, was all too excited to call her parents and let them know how she was doing. The first thing she did upon entering the center was pick up the video phone and call her parents. Neji and Tokiko watched curiously as the static appeared on the screen. Perrine hid her bundle of hair underneath a large beige hat and put on a pair of sunglasses. Finally, the screen flickered before Kassia's face appeared.

"Hi, Mom!" Julia exclaimed.

A beaming smile appeared on Kassia's face. _"Hi, Julia! It's been a while, hasn't it? How's your journey been going?"_

"Hehe. It's been a little rough, but it's been fun, too!" She replied. "Hey! You know that egg Mr. Pokemon gave me to give to Professor Elm? Guess what? It hatched! Look!"

Julia picked Tokiko up with one hand, holding her close to the screen so Kassia could get a good look. Tokiko chirruped cutely and waved her little arms up and down to greet her. _"Awww. Is that a togepi? It's adorable!"_

"I know, right? She's a keeper!"

"Choki choki!" ( _"I'm a keeper!"_ )

"I named her Tokiko!"

" _Are you going to show Professor Elm? I think he'll be happy to see her."_

"I will right after this. I wanted to show you first."

"Fuuur?" Neji peered over Julia's shoulder to look into the screen.

" _Is that a furret? He's cute!"_

"Yep! This is Neji! He used to be a sentret but he evolved when we were in Azalea Town. He's a sweetie pie," She stroke Neji's head gently, and the ferret pokemon basked in her affection. "Oh! By the way, would it be okay if you transferred the oddish I caught over to me?"

" _Of course, dear. Not a problem,"_ Kassia said. Papillon fluttered onto Kassia's head. _"Freeee!"_

"Hi, Papillon! Have you been a good girl?"

" _Eeee freeee!"_ Kassia stroke Papillon's head gently. _"Your butterfree is a doll. She helps me out with my cooking and keeps me company when I'm home alone. Anyway, which pokemon do you plan on sending over?"_

Julia turned to Neji. "Hey, Neji. Want to hang out with Papillon and meet my parents and their friends?"

"Fur!" Neji nodded.

"I'll send Neji over, if that's okay. He's nice to hug and cuddle," She put Neji in his pokeball and placed it in a silver transporter. A white light consumed the pokeball, and it disappeared. Another one appeared, bringing with it a pokeball that didn't have a sticker on it. "Got her!"

" _That's good dear,"_ Papillon flew away, and as soon as she left, a frown turned Kassia's smile upside down. _"By the way…"_

"Hm?"

" _Have you...run into Amara?"_

Julia's smile faded, and she looked down at Tokiko. "No, I haven't. We just got to Goldenrod, so for all I know she could be anywhere."

" _Same here. The police are searching everywhere, and your father's been asking her friends if they've seen her,"_ Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh. _"I'm sorry, Julia. This is all my fault…"_

"How so? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Choki!" Tokiko tried to butt into the conversation, but nobody heard her.

" _It's just…"_ Kassia stammered. _"I don't know...how all of this happened. First it was Chanel's death, then everything that happened with her other friends, then being put on the blacklist...I feel like I missed a chance to make things better, and now she's on the run because of me. She's my daughter! I should be helping her! I wish...I wish I could figure out why she's doing this."_

Julia fell silent. She knew how her mother felt. The change in Amara's entire personality and demeanor felt like a switch was flicked on. Overnight, Amara had gone from cheerful and amiable to bitter, defiant, and rebellious. She remembered the days when Kassia would help Amara with her homework, or bake cookies for them whenever her friends would come over to play or hang out. Amara even stood up to bullies who were picking on Julia, and even played with her most of the time. But there were times when Amara just wasn't herself. Julia remembered seeing Amara in her room, screaming and crying for an entire day, not leaving her room even once. She had gone over to hug her, but she continued to cry and howl.

Perhaps Amara acting out wasn't just about Julia after all. "Is that your mom?" Perrine thankfully broke the silence by peering into the screen.

" _Oh? Who's that, dear?"_

"Oh! Mom, this is my friend Perrine. I met her in Union Cave. Perrine, this is my mom, Kassia Parisa," Julia introduced the two of them.

Kassia's beaming smile came right back, brighter than ever. _"Oh my gosh! You made a new friend?! That's so wonderful, Julia! It's nice to meet you, Perrine!"_ The sadness in her voice was completely gone, like it had never been there.

"Same here," Perrine gave a simple wave.

" _Julia?"_

"Hm?"

 _"I know this sounds strange, but would it be okay if I talked to Perrine in private for a moment?"_ Kassia asked.

Talk about out of the blue. Kassia had only just met Perrine and already she wants to talk to her on the phone. Perrine removed her sunglasses so Kassia could get a better look at her. Julia figured Kassia wanted to talk to her about some things. As sudden as it was, she didn't see anything wrong with it. Plus, it'd give her more time to play with Tokiko, and a chance to put a sticker on her oddish's pokeball. "Sure, I guess," She handed the phone to Perrine.

With that, Julia couldn't hear anything from Kassia's side at all. She didn't mind, and played patty cake with Tokiko. After that, she pulled out a flower sticker, stuck it on the oddish's pokeball, and wrote Blossom on it. Blossom was the oddish's new nickname. A new friend...Julia held the pokeball close and nuzzled it with her cheek. "Come on out!" She opened the pokeball, and the little oddish came right out.

"Oddish?" Blossom looked around curiously at its new surroundings. Julia smiled and kneeled down to her level.

"Hi there! Would you like to be my friend?"

The plant pokemon smiled. "Odd!"

"Choki!" Tokiko waddled over to Blossom and greeted her with a warm hug. Blossom cooed contentedly, basking in the egg pokemon's unbridled affection. Soon, the two of them were playing and rolling on the floor.

"Jule? Your mom wants to talk to you again," Perrine called out.

"Oh! Thanks!" She left Blossom and Tokiko to play by themselves. Perrine smiled and walked over to them to make sure they didn't wander off.

Julia said goodbye to Kassia before signing off. But there was one more person she needed to talk to. She dialed another number. The screen flickered for a bit before materializing, and it showed Professor Elm. _"Hello? Is that you, Julia?"_ He asked, adjusting his thick glasses, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Hi, Professor Elm!"

" _Ah, it is you! How's your journey going?"_

"Great! Hey, you know that egg you had your assistant give me? Guess what? It hatched!"

" _Wah!"_ Professor Elm practically fell off of his chair. He climbed back on his seat and gave Julia a wide eyed expression of surprise. _"It...it...it really hatched?!"_

"Yep!" She turned to face Perrine, Blossom, and Tokiko. "Tokiko! Can you come here, please?" Tokiko waddled over to Julia without hesitation. The girl picked Tokiko up and held her to the screen for the bespectacled professor to see. "Here she is! She's a togepi, and I named her Tokiko! Say hi, Tokiko!"

"Choki choki kriiii!"

" _Wow! So it's that pokemon!"_ Professor Elm exclaimed, scratching his hair to keep it together. _"So it's true! Some pokemon are born from eggs!"_ He adjusted his glasses once more. _"There's a lot of research to be done. Thanks so much, Julia! I was right to give the egg to you! You're helping unravel pokemon mysteries for us!"_

Julia let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I don't think I'm doing all that much…" Tokiko didn't seem to mind. She just trotted back off to play with Perrine and Blossom. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know this, so I'll let you go, okay? Bye!" With that, she hung up the phone.

The orange haired girl put her hat and sunglasses back on. The chances of someone finding her were too high, and she couldn't risk being found. "Want to go to the department store? There's lots of good stuff in there."

"Sure!"

The Goldenrod Department Store's selection was as big and varied as the building it lived in. The first floor contained mostly trainer essentials, such as potions, full heals, pokeballs, etc. Julia only bought a few potions and full heals in case anything happened. The second floor contained items more in the entertainment caliber, like books, board games, videos, video games, etc. Julia knew exactly what she wanted, and much to her surprise, a book caught her eye. It had a dark blue cover on it, with shining white stars on it. Six black silhouettes gazed upon them longingly.

"The Bond Between Shooting Stars!" She wasted no time grabbing it. "I finally found it!" It was only eight dollars, so she was easily able to pay for it. Whether it would fit in her bag was another story entirely. Something caught Perrine's eye as well, but it wasn't a book, video, or any merchandise.

A missing person's poster latched onto the blue walls. It had a picture of Perrine on it. **Have You Seen This Girl?** The poster read in big, bold, black letters. It had most of her personal details on it: her full name, Perrine Innocenti, wavy orange hair, blue eyes, wearing a maroon vest, a white blouse, a long brown skirt, white stockings, and brown shoes. Eleven years old, height 4'11, weight 76 pounds. Phone numbers lined the bottom of the poster, along with a reward of a whopping one million dollars to whoever finds her.

Those numbers were all too familiar to her. They were her parents' house and cell phone numbers. With a grunt, she turned away from the poster. She caught Julia buying some more stickers and some accessories for her pokemon. Perrine smiled. How could Julia be so absorbed in everything she did and not care about the world around her? She wished she could be that oblivious when she wanted to. Oh well. This was time to have fun, so she figured she might as well make the best of it.

"Look, Perrine!" Julia showed her faithful friend some cute, sparkly accessories. "I found some cute accessories my pokemon can wear! I'm definitely putting this flower barrette on Blossom, this light blue bubble ribbon on Aqua, and I think this pink hat would look absolutely adorable on Tokiko!"

The third floor was mostly clothes. The girls figured they could use some new clothes, but nothing too fancy. Pokemon journeys often resulted in people getting dirty. But it didn't hurt to try something nice on. Julia wasn't one for fashion, as she just bought whatever felt comfy and gave her body some breathing room. Perrine was more into pretty dresses, but nothing too flashy or proper. At one point, Perrine came out of the fitting room wearing a pale green dress that went just above her ankles, with short, white lacey sleeves. "Wow! You're really pretty!" Julia exclaimed.

"Thanks," Perrine pushed some hair behind her ear. "My mom says I look great in green."

Unfortunately, as much as Perrine wanted to, she didn't buy it. This was a pokemon journey, not a party for noble aristocrats, she reasoned. "Can I ask you a weird question, Julia?"

"Sure. What is it?" Julia gently placed a red flower barrette on Blossom's weed. Blossom smiled the whole time Julia put it on her weed, kicking her tiny legs up and down.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but I've never seen you wear a dress or a skirt," Perrine said. "Why is that?"

"I hate dresses and skirts," Julia answered matter-of-factly.

"How come?"

"No real reason. I just don't," Blossom nuzzled Julia's arm happily, thanking her for putting the barrette on. "I like looking at pretty ones, yes, but that's it. Skirts and dresses make me feel...exposed. Pants and shorts are the way to go for me. Besides, what if creepy perverts see my underwear and make fun of me about it for the rest of my life?!" Her hands flew to her cheeks as she imagined the awful scenarios that could play out. Boys laughing at her, pointing at her, calling her names related to her underwear… "I don't want that happening to meeeeeeee!" She cried.

Perrine facepalmed. This was the first time she had ever met someone like Julia. Still, everyone had things they liked and didn't like, and Julia was no different. "It's okay. I feel the same way about high heels."

Julia's hands descended back to her sides. "You hate high heels, too?"

"Yeah! I can't walk in them for the life of me!" Perrine exclaimed. "But my dad did make me take classes on how to walk in them."

All she got in response was a quizzical look from Julia. "There are classes on wearing high heels?"

"Yep. My dad even made me take what they call etiquette classes. Basically I have to learn how to eat, drink, walk, dress, and talk like a rich lady."

"Those exist?!" Julia had no idea there were such things as etiquette classes. Life as a rich girl didn't sound easy at all.

"Yes they do."

The girls decided they had enough of the department store for today, so they went down the escalators and left. However, they did stop to buy some food for both themselves and their pokemon in case they got hungry, such as bread rolls. Outside was as lively and bustling as ever. Perrine kept her sunglasses and hat on, hoping nobody she knew would see her.

"Quil…"

A high pitched voice from below caught their attention. Julia looked to her left to find a small pokemon wandering about. A light yellow ant eater-esque pokemon about Florian's size walked around on its large legs, with its stubby arms carrying its weight. It's back was a navy blue color, with orange spots on its back. Wrapped around its neck was a red choker with an orange, flame shaped jewel dangling from it. "Quil!"

"Awww! A cyndaquil!" Julia exclaimed. Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine it.

" _Cyndaquil, the fire mouse pokemon._ _It's a timid creature that often curls up into a ball. When threatened, it flares up the flames on its back to scare off enemies. When it's angry, it can produce powerful flames, but when it's tired, it has trouble producing fire and suffers from incomplete combustion."_

"Quil?" The cyndaquil looked up to find Julia kneeling down to its level.

"Hello there. Are you lost, little one?" Julia asked in a low, soft voice so as to not frighten it. The cyndaquil looked at her with a quizzical expression at first before sniffing her with its long nose.

"Quil…"

"Oh, so you wandered away from your trainer and got lost," Julia said. Perrine loomed over Julia's back to get a closer look. "Don't worry! We can help you find your trainer."

"Quil? Cynda!" The cyndaquil's voice was quite high pitched. It cheered once but it didn't jump.

"So what's your trainer like?"

"Quil cyndaquil...quil quil…"

"So his name's Caiseal Brownstone, has yellow hair and is wearing a green shirt and beige pants?" The cyndaquil walked into Julia's arms, giving her permission to pick it up. Warm to the touch, Julia basked in the fire pokemon's soft fur. The fire mouse nuzzled its nose against Julia's chin, briefly tickling it, forcing a giggle out of her. "We'll find him for you!"

"Cyndaquil!" The little fire mouse squeaked with a smile. Perrine loomed over to stroke its nose and said, "I figured it'd be lost. You don't normally see cyndaquil out in the wild, and it has a choker on its neck."

"This cyndaquil's a boy," Julia clarified.

"Well, how about we take him to the Pokemon Center down the street?" Perrine suggested. "They're pretty good about helping trainers reunite with their pokemon."

"Good idea."

Goldenrod City was huge. Gigantic, even. It could be very easy for a trainer and a pokemon to be lost here if they were separated. Perrine made a good point. Even though the cyndaquil gave them a good description of his trainer and a name, they couldn't just wander around the city. It would take far too long. It didn't help that people and pokemon were bustling to and fro, so nobody would really notice a lone cyndaquil on the streets. The Pokemon Center was the only option.

It didn't help that the Pokemon Center was about twenty minutes away on foot. The girls knew they had to deal with it or else the cyndaquil and its trainer wouldn't get reunited. The sun beat down on the city, and Julia put her hand over her eyes to block it out, not that it did very much. Her legs began to hurt from all the walking. Finally, the Pokemon Center was within their vicinity. However, they didn't even get to go inside.

"Apollo!" The hysterical voice of a young boy pulled them out of their minds. The cyndaquil in Julia's arms perked up upon hearing the voice.

"Quiiiiil!" It let out a shrill cry. Julia wished she could cover her ears, but she was too afraid to let go of the cyndaquil. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and deal with it. Thankfully, the cyndaquil leaped out of Julia's arms.

"Apollo! You're okay!" The cyndaquil ran right up to a young boy of about the same age as the girls. He had a thick head of bushy, curly dark blonde hair the color of gold, just like the city. The worry in his blue eyes completely vanished once Apollo hopped into his arms. He was wearing a light green shirt over a long sleeved white one, beige khaki pants, and solid grey shoes. Apollo nuzzled the boy's apricot colored cheek with a cry, and the boy laughed happily.

' _So that's his trainer, huh…'_ Julia thought to herself. Was this Caiseal Brownstone? Apollo was happy to see him, and he responded to his nickname, so it had to be him. Her heart grew warm upon seeing the happy reunion. However, the happiness was short lived when she could feel the blonde haired boy glaring at her.

"I can't believe you!" He suddenly shouted.

"Huh?"

"You stole my cyndaquil!" He marched right up to Julia and peered right into her face. He was so close to her that their noses almost touched.

Stole his cyndaquil? Julia found herself flabbergasted. Where in the world did he get that idea? She found the fear in her heart morphing right into anger. "No, we didn't!" She shouted loud enough to make him back off. "We found him in front of the department store! We were just trying to give him back to you!"

"Cynda cyndaquil!" Apollo squeaked as if to convince his trainer that Julia was telling the truth. The boy looked at the two girls with a surprised expression, which soon softened into a remorseful one.

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry," The boy replied in a lower, softer voice. "I was a little on edge, that's all. Team Rocket's been lurking around."

"We get it," Perrine said. "So this is your cyndaquil, right?"

The blonde boy nodded. "Yep. His name's Apollo. You're pokemon trainers, right?"

Perrine nodded. "I'm Perrine, and that's Julia," Julia waved at him shyly from behind her friend.

"I'm Caiseal," (Pronounced Cash'l) The boy replied. "Hey! Do you want to battle with me? I'm itching to get some training in before I battle the gym leader here."

How could Perrine refuse that offer. She gave Caiseal a look full of determination. "I accept your challenge. Don't think you'll win, buddy."

* * *

Before they knew it, they were at the Pokemon Center. Behind it, to be more precise. A sandy battlefield stretched about fifty feet long, with Caiseal on one side, and Perrine on the other. Julia sat on a bench away from the battlefield, with all of her pokemon watching, Tokiko included. Caiseal was the first to pull out a pokeball. "I'll go first! Hey, Geo! Batter up!"

A light popped out of his pokeball, and out came a bumpy, brownish grey rock pokemon with large eyes, a mouth, and two muscular arms protruding from its sides. "Geodude!"

"A geodude…" Julia pulled out her PokeDex to check it out.

" _Geodude, the rock pokemon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks. They are often found on mountain roads with half of its body buried in the ground so it can observe mountain travelers. Proud of their sturdy bodies, they bash against each other in a contest to prove whose is harder."_

"I don't even need to think about this one! Go, Florian!" Perrine threw a pokeball out, and Florian came bounding right out.

"Chiko!"

"Geo! Use Rock Throw!"

"Florian! Dodge and use Vine Whip!"

"Geoduuuude!" Rocks materialized from thin air, and Geo used his muscular arms to throw them at Florian. Since Florian was smaller and more agile, he was able to swiftly dodge the rocks. Once he saw an opening, he shot two vines from two of the dots around his neck right at Geo. He wrapped them around Geo's arms.

"Twirl'em and whirl'em!" Perrine shouted. Florian spun around twice before throwing Geo across the battle field.

"You can do it, Geo! Use Rock Polish!" Geo rubbed itself against the sand.

"Razor Leaf!"

"Chiiiiko!" Florian swung the leaf on his head twice before sending a barrage of sharp green leaves right at Geo.

"Tackle it!" Unfortunately, Geo managed to evade the attack. Having become more agile, Geo charged at Florian and rammed his body against him, sending Florian bouncing on the battlefield.

"Chiko!"

"Florian! You okay?" Perrine cried. The tiny leaf pokemon stood back on his feet, giving his worried trainer a nod. "Alright! Use Razor Leaf again!"

"Rock Throw!"

Both pokemon threw their attacks at each other. This time, the leaves not only managed to cut through the rocks, but leave some dents on Geo's body, sending him rolling on the dirt. "Chiko!" Florian cheered, finally landing a hit on that pesky sentient rock. Geodude managed to brush off the injury, floating right back in the air as soon as he was knocked away.

"We can do this, Geo! Use Tackle again!"

"Use Vine Whip to block it!"

As soon as Geo came close, Florian slapped the sentient rock across the face with his vines. Despite Geo putting his arms up to defend himself, the force of the vines was strong enough to send him rolling right toward Caiseal. He wasn't injured, but Caiseal could tell Geo was struggling to get back up. Caiseal kneeled down to Geo's level and put a hand up. "That's enough! You win!"

"Oh…" Perrine and Florian found themselves dumbfounded. Did Caiseal just finish their battle early? Caiseal put Geo back in his pokeball and walked over to Perrine. "You're a great battler, Perrine. You really got me there."

"Same to you," Perrine told him. "I think that's enough for now."

Caiseal turned to face Julia. "Hey! You wanna battle, too?"

"No thanks!" Julia called back. "I'll train a little later. I'm in no rush!"

"Well, I want to battle Whitney already," Caiseal mused to himself, kicking a stone into the sand.

Julia tilted her head to one side. "Whitney?"

"She's the Goldenrod gym leader," Perrine explained as Julia came over to them. "We don't have to battle her today. We can just watch Caiseal battle her and see what her battling style is like," She suggested. Julia couldn't help but notice that Caiseal was eyeing her. She couldn't tell if it was curiosity, contempt, or genuine interest.

"Sure. That's fine."

"Pichuuu!" Hikaru squeaked.

"Marill!"

"Coo coo!"

"Ledy…"

"Chokiko!"

"Odd odd!"

"See? Everyone's game," Julia said.

After that, they were out on the road. Julia's pokemon all stayed together so they wouldn't get lost. Hikaru sat on Julia's shoulder, and Tokiko in her arms. Tsubasa and Ladybug flew right behind her, whereas Aqua and Blossom just walked beside Perrine. Caiseal kept staring at the happy pokemon with an odd look, like he had never seen them outside before. But they weren't hurting anybody, so he decided not to make a big deal out of it.

"So...what's this Whitney person like?" Julia asked.

"I hear she became a gym leader just recently, like Bugsy," Perrine explained calmly. "She's only seventeen, but she's really strong. She's often called the Beautiful Dynamite."

Caiseal folded his arms behind his head. "I hear she's a massive crybaby, and a colossal ditz, too."

The gym came within their vicinity. It was shorter than all of the other buildings surrounding it, but it had a distinct glamor to it that the kids couldn't quite describe. It actually looked rather simple, with plain white walls, a sunny yellow roof, and some pink, yellow, purple, and orange flowers planted in front of it. "Well, here we are!" Perrine exclaimed. She pushed the heavy doors right open…

Only to come face to face with a pink haired girl and a cow pokemon falling right in front of them with a massive thud. The kids were quick to back away so they wouldn't get hurt. The woman in question had rosy pink hair tied in two spiky pigtails with yellow hair accessories, matching her eyes. She was wearing a short sleeved white shirt with red sleeves and yellow buttons, a red bracelet on her right wrist, blue shorts that went down to her knees, black socks with teal stripes on them that went up to her knees, and red and white shoes. The pokemon that fell next to her was a large, pink cow with a round body, and its head looked to be covered by a black hood, but it was actually its fur. Two small white horns protruded from its head, it had a round white belly with pink utters dangling from it, and it had black feet. Its thin tail was yellow, with a black ball right at the end of it.

"Stop! Please, stop!" A man's voice cried. "You already won!"

"Owww…" The woman grunted as pain shot through her arm.

"Are you okay?" Julia was quick to help the woman up, careful not to exacerbate any pain the woman might have.

"Sorta. Yeah...oww…" She put a hand on a fresh wound on her arm. It wasn't large, but blood trickled out of a scratch past her elbow. But she pushed some hair out of her face and helped her pokemon up. "Mil-Mil. Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Mil…" The big cow mooed, looking up at the woman with its tired blue eyes.

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex this time. _"Miltank, the milk cow pokemon. Miltank produces very nutritious_ _milk_ _, a perfect drink for reviving sick Pokémon. Miltank are very even tempered and prefer not to_ _battle_ _. It is said that kids who drink Miltank's milk grow up to become hearty, healthy adults. Miltank gives over five gallons of milk on a daily basis. Its sweet milk is enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike. People who can't_ _drink_ _milk turn it into yogurt and eat it instead."_

"Alright! I won! Where's my Plain Badge?"

The voice made a shiver run down Julia's spine. She knew that voice anywhere. The one voice she was hoping to run into, yet at the same time not run into. "...Amara?"

There she was, standing before the pink haired woman with her usual scowl. Standing next to her was a tall crocodile pokemon. It looked like the totodile she stole, but at the same time, it didn't. It must have evolved. Amara didn't notice Julia, as she was too focused on staring the pink haired woman in the face, icy scowl included. Amara held her hand out with her palm open. "I beat you, Whitney. Give me that Plain Badge," She hissed condescendingly.

All Whitney did was wipe some sand off of her face before giving Amara a similarly stern, solemn expression. With that, she simply stated, "No."

Amara's ice blue eyes turned wide like saucers. She had a look on her face that made her look as though she got an F on an important school test. "No?! I freaking defeated you, Whitney! If a trainer defeats a gym leader, they HAVE to give them a badge!" She roared, stamping her feet on the floor like a bratty child.

Caiseal found himself speechless. He said that Whitney was a crybaby and a ditz, but she didn't cry even once. Whitney kept her stone faced look. "We gym leaders have a right to refuse to give badges to trainers who act and behave in a reprehensible manner, which you just did," That was when she raised her voice. Julia covered her ears, but she stayed to watch Whitney tear her sister a new one. "You basically confirmed to me that you are an incompetent pokemon trainer!"

"I-I-Incompetent?!"

"Yeah, I said it!" Whitney shouted, crossing her arms. "You waltz into my gym, assault me and my miltank without even so much as asking me for a battle, pummel me and my pokemon even AFTER you won, and not only that, verbally abused your poor bellsprout for losing to Mil-Mil!" There was no mercy nor sympathy in her eyes. She was going to lay it on her good, and she wasted no time doing so. "A good pokemon trainer never calls their pokemon worthless, nor do they treat them like war machines!"

If words could be knives that cut right through people's hearts, Whitney's words did just that to Amara. The brown haired girl was so shocked, she couldn't speak. "You do whatever the heck you want and won't hear any argument no matter what. You don't consider the feelings of the people or pokemon around you, and you throw a tantrum when nothing goes your way!"

"Whoa," That was all that came out of Julia's mouth, and it was in such a low voice that Amara didn't hear it.

Whitney stroke Mil-Mil's head gently, keeping her stern gaze on the flabbergasted Amara. "You have no right to be a pokemon trainer if you choose to behave that way, and I won't waste a Plain Badge on someone like you."

That was the last straw. Amara found herself seeing red. She kicked Whitney right in the stomach with a roundabout kick, sending her to the ground, falling right on top of Julia. A silver, square shaped badge fell out of Whitney's pocket. Amara wasted no time bending down to pick it up. Whitney struggled to grab it, but the pain in both her stomach and arm rendered her unable to move. Julia was aghast. How could Amara treat a gym leader like that? She balled her fists.

Amara was about to walk away when a hand coiled around her arm. She looked down to find an enraged Julia staring right up at her. "Put that badge down. Now."

"Aww! You again?!" Amara pried Julia's hand off of her arm. "You actually followed me all the way here?!"

"Yes! Yes I did, and you shouldn't treat her like that!" Julia shouted.

Perrine and Caiseal looked at each other with confused expressions. Something clicked in Perrine's mind. Julia told her that her sister was named Amara. Was this the same Amara? They talk as though they clearly know each other, so they just had to be sisters. Amara snapped back, "Mind your own business, you brat!"

"No! You stop hurting people and pokemon!"

"Ugh!" Amara groaned. "What's it gonna take for you to shut your hole?!" She sent the crocodile pokemon out against her.

Caiseal used his PokeDex again. "Croconaw, the big jaw pokemon, and the evolved form of Totodile. Once it bites down, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. If that happens, new fangs quickly grow into place. Because the tips of its fangs are forked back like barbed fishhooks, they become impossible to remove when the have sunk in."

Not only that, Amara threw two more pokeballs out. A bellsprout and a beedrill came flying right out, taking on battle stances. Julia shivered. Poison types. She backed away five steps before releasing all of her pokemon. At first, the creatures were confused as to why they were all out, but seeing Amara's pokemon made them go into battle stances. Hikaru stood before all of them with her tiny arms outstretched. "Pichuu!"

"I'm gonna win this time, and you're gonna stay the heck outta my business!" Amara sneered, her attitude unchanging.

Tsubasa made the first move, and slammed into bellsprout with a strong wing attack. Beedrill attempted a poison sting attack, but Hikaru electrocuted it with thundershock to protect Tsubasa. The pidgey and the pichu high fived each other. Croconaw charged at them with a growl, its large, sharp toothed maw ready for consumption. It didn't count on Blossom sucking out some of its energy with Mega Drain. Even Tokiko got in on the battle by throwing herself into Croconaw's chest, making him roll on the concrete. Ladybug let out a shrill cry as her body flashed in a bright white light, causing everyone, even Amara, to cover their eyes with their hands. Or in bellsprout and beedrill's cases, their leaves and stingers.

"Be careful!" Perrine shouted. Caiseal helped set Whitney down on a nearby bench before pulling out some gauze.

"Beedrill! Wipe them out!" Amara screeched. Beedrill buzzed right toward Julia with its stingers ready to penetrate her skin. Hikaru wasn't going to have any of this. The tiny mouse leaped on beedrill's body and used Thundershock on it once more. It wasn't enough to completely knock it out, and the beedrill threw Hikaru off of its body.

"Blossom! Use Stun Spore!" Julia cried, covering her face with her hands.

"Wash it away with Water Gun!" Amara screamed.

A sparkling yellow cloud billowed out of Blossom's leaves. It didn't get very far, as the croconaw washed her away with a water gun attack. Ladybug and Blossom both got caught in the watery geyser and found themselves swimming toward Julia. The two pokemon tried to get back up, but their bodies were too weak to go on. Julia recalled them back to their pokeballs. "Thanks, girls. Sorry you had to go through that."

"Why are you being so stupid, Croconaw?!" Amara screamed. "Beat them!"

"Hey! Don't talk to him like that!"

"I can talk to them however I durn please! Use Bite!"

"Tokiko! Extrasensoryyyyyy!"

Tokiko's eyes glowed in a purple light. Before croconaw could dig his teeth into whoever he came into contact with, his body suddenly went numb. A purple light surrounded him, and he was elevated a couple feet into the air. Before long, he was thrown against a tree. Tsubasa wasted no time flapping her wings up and down, creating a strong gust of wind that blew beedrill and bellsprout away...but not before bellsprout successfully knocked Aqua out with a single razor leaf attack. Julia was quick to recall Aqua into her pokeball.

Whitney pulled out her PokeGear and immediately called the police. "Hello? This is Whitney Blanche. Please help. A girl named Amara is attacking another kid, and she hurt me and my pokemon," She whispered in a low voice so no one could hear. Mil-Mil's ears perked up, hearing every word of the conversation.

"Three down, three to go…" Amara mused to herself.

"Amara! Please, stop this!" Julia screamed, her voice going up several octaves. Hikaru, Tokiko, and Tsubasa all stood before their trainer like knights protecting their beloved princess, glaring at Amara with eyes blazing with determination. Obstinance. Defiance. But Amara could see a strange kind of warmth in their upward glares.

Their eyes shined like stars.

Just like...hers…

" _Amara! Hurry up, you silly Swanna!"_ A young girl's voice echoed in her mind. It wasn't Julia's. It had a lighter, more cheerful sound. A silhouette flashed through her mind before vanishing. A single tear trickled down Amara's cheek, dropping off of her chin.

"Chanel…"

"Huh?"

"Defeat them all!" Amara screamed at the top of her voice. A blast of water spiraled out of croconaw's mouth. Leaves shot out from bellsprout's arms, flying toward the three pokemon like frisbees. Glowing white needles shot out from beedrill's stingers.

A dust cloud exploded, covering the area. Everyone covered their eyes. Dust flew right past them. It took a few minutes for it to fade, but when the dust cloud dissipated, croconaw, bellsprout, and beedrill were panting, gasping for air. Tsubasa, Hikaru, and Tokiko were all laying on the ground, covered in scratches and bruises. "Hikaru! Tokiko! Tsubasa!" With a scream, she ran over to her fallen friends, cradling them all in her arms. Warm tears trickled out of her green eyes, falling onto her friends.

But she wasn't crying at her defeat. She had been defeated before, so she had gotten used to losing in battle. No, it was something else…

Amara stood over her sister. "You're pathetic."

"Alright! That's enough!" Perrine threw herself in between the two girls. "You're her sister! Why would you treat her like that, and how can you treat your pokemon like they're nothing but war machines?!" She shouted, her blue eyes blazing with anger. To think she thought her father was bad.

"Stay out of my business, prissy! I'm doing whatever I want, and you idiots should know your place!" Amara screamed back.

Julia stood up, giving her older sister a tearful yet enraged glare. "Tell me, Amara! Why are you doing this?! What did I ever do to you that was so bad?!"

 _CRACK!_ Amara's thin, spindly-fingered hand struck Julia across the face, leaving a stinging red mark. The slap wasn't strong enough to knock her down, but to the younger sister, it still hurt. Hikaru, Tokiko, and Tsubasa would have retaliated had they not been defeated. Perrine's hands flew to her mouth, her blue eyes huge with horror. Even Caiseal and Whitney were speechless. How could someone treat their sister like that?

"You'll never understand…" Amara hissed, her voice dripping with contempt. "Someone like you will never understand my pain!"

Sirens wailed in the distance. Ghostly red and blue lights flashed from a ways away. Amara pulled out a purple ball from her pocket and slammed it on the ground. A huge cloud of grey smoke consumed the entire area. Everyone kept coughing and holding their hands to their mouths in order to keep from inhaling it. Once the smoke dissipated, Julia looked around anxiously. Perrine, Caiseal, Whitney, and Mil-Mil were still here.

Amara, on the other hand, was completely gone, her pokemon included.

* * *

"Uuuuugh!" Amara slammed her fist onto a nearby tree with a growl. Some tree bark dug into her fist, but she barely felt it. Croconaw, bellsprout, and beedrill all cowered in fear at the sight of Amara's blatant anger. Amara didn't stop there, either. Using her thick boots, she kicked the tree three times, kicking off some more tree bark.

"I hate this! I hate it I hate it I hate it!" She screamed petulantly, falling to her knees.

"Bellsprout?" Reluctantly, the timid bellsprout tried to approach her. Its beady black eyes were filled to the brim with concern. When it tried to touch her arm, Amara glanced at it before slapping it across the face, knocking it to the floor.

"Get out of my face, you worthless piece of garbage!" Amara shouted. The hapless bellsprout ran over to croconaw and bawled in its chest. Croconaw sighed and stroke bellsprout's back with its paw. Beedrill simply buzzed.

Amara leaned against the tree she was abusing before sliding to the grass. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a crumpled picture. It had two girls on it, one of which was a younger version of herself, with her hair down and wearing thick glasses. Her teeth were quite large, and she was wearing a beige sweater, a purple skirt, white socks, and black and white sneakers. A totodile flashed the peace sign in the middle with a bright smile. Next to the totodile was another girl with pretty brown skin, curly raven black hair that stopped at her ears, held up by a baby blue headband with a bow on it. Said girl was wearing a short sleeved white shirt underneath a purple dress, black socks, and blue sneakers. The word BFFs was written on Amara's corner in pink marker.

Tears spilled onto the picture. Amara held it close as she sobbed. It was all she had of her.

"Chanel…"

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes).**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**

 **Pokemon At Professor Elm's Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)**

 **Caiseal: Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), and Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl)**

 **Amara: Croconaw (Male, Lonely Nature, Bite Water Gun, Scary Face, Ice Fang), Bellsprout (Male, Modest Nature, Vine Whip, Growth, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder), and Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature, Twineedle, Fury Attack, Poison Sting, and Tackle)**


	11. Three's a Dysfunctional Crowd

Chapter 10: Three's A Very Tense, Dysfunctional Crowd

The police had arrived the moment the smoke from the smoke ball faded. Some local officers talked to the kids and Whitney, took their statements, and an ambulance escorted Whitney to the hospital, which was far away from the gym. The kids offered to go with them, feeling guilty about the whole fiasco. Julia, especially. She didn't say a word throughout the entire ambulance drive. She put Tsubasa and Tokiko in her pokeballs but left Hikaru out. Hikaru could see the sadness in her eyes and put a tiny paw on her hand.

"Pichuuu. Pichu pichu pi…" Julia knew exactly what the tiny mouse said. She gave a soft smile and stroke Hikaru's head gently.

"Thanks, Hikaru. You're sweet," She said. Caiseal glanced over to the two of them. For a moment, he assumed that he saw hearts fluttering between them. The love and affection that exuded from them was almost overwhelming. He looked down at his fists, which were clutching his pant legs.

Once they got to the hospital, doctors examined Whitney's injuries. There was a Nurse Joy there who took care of their pokemon. Sometimes hospitals kept Nurse Joys with them in case trainers who were hurt had pokemon with them who also needed immediate attention. Thankfully, Whitney's injuries weren't serious, and all she needed was some light stitching on her arm. The kids didn't have any injuries, but waited to see if they could visit Whitney. When they saw a doctor come by, the kids took the chance to ask her.

"Doctor? Is...is Miss Whitney going to be okay?" Julia asked.

"She's alright, dear. She's in the recovery room right now if you want to visit her," The handsome doctor told them with a kind smile. "It's just down the hall on your left," He pointed down the hall, and the kids walked down there without hesitation.

When they went inside, the first thing they saw was Whitney sitting on a bed with her arm wrapped in white gauze. She beamed upon seeing the kids. "Hey! You're the kids from before! Hi there!" She waved at them and smiled like she had gone out with friends. Like nothing happened. Julia couldn't help but find her cheerful demeanor rather unsettling. She was assaulted and bullied by a trainer yet wasn't angry?

"I-I-I-I'm sorry about what Amara did!" Julia apologized, bowing before the pink haired woman.

"Whoa whoa, back up. Amara? You know her?"

"Yes. She's my big sister," Julia confessed.

Caiseal's eyes grew wide with shock. "Your sister?!"

"She's on the National Blacklist, but she stole a totodile from Professor Elm's lab," Julia explained. She told Whitney everything while apologizing for her actions. Julia knew Amara should be the one apologizing, but she wasn't here. If she was, she was sure she wouldn't take responsibility for her actions. Julia felt it was only fair that Whitney deserved some form of an apology, even if she knew it wouldn't do much. "I don't blame you if you're angry or sad or upset."

Whitney crossed her arms. "The only thing I'm upset about is that she took the badge when she clearly doesn't deserve it," She exclaimed. "But it's okay! I'm not mad at you...uh…" She found herself lost. She had forgotten to ask for their names. "What's your name again?"

"Julia Parisa."

"I'm Perrine. Nice to meet you."

"Caiseal's the name."

"Well, I'm glad you're all okay," Whitney told them cheerfully. She held up her gauze wrapped arm like she was displaying muscular prowess. "I'm not gonna let this get me down!"

The kids all looked at each other dubiously. Whitney could tell they were conflicted over something. "If you kids want to battle me, it's okay! I'm not so hurt that I can't partake in gym battles!" She told them reassuringly, her cheerful voice unwavering. "But my pokemon are hurt, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Fine with me," Caiseal walked over to Whitney with his dark green eyes gleaming with determination. "Because I came to challenge you."

"Great!"

Since Whitney's injuries weren't too serious, she was discharged a few hours later. However, although she was given the okay to continue gym battles, she was advised not to let anything happen to her arm lest the stitching come undone. Afterward, the kids all went to a local cafe to eat. The sweet smell of delicious chocolate cake wafted in the air, and it made Julia's mouth water just from sucking it up with her nostrils. Soft, classical music played on the radio on the counter. Perrine, Julia, and Caiseal all sat by a window so as to watch the scenery.

"So...you're Julia right?" Caiseal asked.

"Huh? Uh...yeah," Julia stammered sheepishly.

"Is that Amara girl from earlier really your sister?"

Julia looked down at her chocolate cake. "Yes, she is," She took a big piece off with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth. The sight of that made Caiseal glare at her.

"Exactly how old is she?" Perrine asked.

"Thirteen."

The music from before changed into another symphony, something more somber, befitting Julia's irritated and guilt-ridden mood. She looked down at the rectangle-shaped table beneath her. Yellow prickly spots from where wood was scratched went across the top. They were small, but to the keen eye, they were very noticeable. Seeing them was just too unsettling, as everything else on the table was perfect, without any scratches or nicks in sight.

Perrine remembered something Julia told her back in Azalea Town. Perhaps this would be a good time to bring it up now. "She's the reason you're on your journey, right?" Her friend nodded as she took another bite of some chocolate cake. The silky, sticky chocolate danced around in her mouth, bathing itself in her saliva, dirtying her teeth. Julia didn't care. She loved chocolate, and she could always brush her teeth when they got to the Pokemon Center.

"Okay, seriously?!" Caiseal suddenly shouted out of nowhere, pulling both girls out of their reveries. Both of them turned to face him, their eyes wide with surprise. The blonde boy was suddenly staring at Julia with a severe look in her eyes. Julia looked away, not wanting to face him. Seeing him look at her like that...it reminded her too much of Amara when she would yell at Julia over stupid stuff. "You're only going on a journey just so you can teach her a lesson?!"

"I-I-I...yes...sorta...well..." Julia muttered, wanting to say more, but Caiseal cut her off.

"That's just pathetic!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Some of the cups clattered upon being shook by the slamming fist. Julia managed to keep her plate from falling off the table. "My God, are you really this stupid?! You should only go on a journey for yourself, not for someone else! If you spend your whole life chasing someone, you'll only think you exist for other people! You're basically chasing her all over Johto! That doesn't make you a trainer. It makes you weak...and a joke."

"Caiseal!" Perrine scolded before slamming a foot on his sneaker. The blonde boy cringed as he clenched his teeth. Pain shot through his leg, and it was strong enough to silence him. "That's enough! She's been through enough already! She doesn't need you yelling at her like that, and who are you to act like you know what's best for her?"

"Come on! She's devoting her entire journey for a stupid reason! You saw how that girl treated her! She doesn't look to be one to listen to reason! I say forget her! It's not worth it!" Caiseal argued.

"Whatever happens between them is their business," Perrine snapped. "And that's for Julia to decide, not you."

It was here that Julia finished her cake and stormed out of the cafe, leaving Perrine and Caiseal all alone. "See what you did? You scared her!" Perrine scolded. "Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. You and Julia are no different, but don't treat her reasons like they don't matter. You don't see me yelling at you for why you're going on your journey, now do I?"

This was what made Caiseal finally fall silent. Perrine left the cafe to go check on Julia. Caiseal stared down at his empty plate, a wave of guilt drowning him. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out some money. He felt it was only right to pay for the food since he caused this mess. Raising his hand, he exclaimed, "Waiter! Can I get a check, please?"

Julia stood at the front of the cafe, sobbing softly. Warm tears slid down her face, and she made absolutely no attempt to wipe them away. People were running to and fro, taking no notice of the crying girl. Car horns, pidgey calls, people talking amongst themselves, tires screeching against the concrete...the noises all seemed to melt into each other. She could tell them apart just fine, but she wished they would just be quiet. Already, she yearned to return to her warm, comfy bedroom. Her mother's comforting arms. Her father's bad, goofy jokes. The warm, grassy meadow where the pokemon frolicked.

Two of her pokeballs opened on their own, and out came Hikaru and Tokiko, looking up at her with concern in their eyes. "Pichu?" "Choki?" Julia kneeled down to pick them up, scooping them in her arms. "Hey, girls. Sorry. I'm...not a very good trainer, am I?"

"Pichu pi chupi!" ( _"That's not true! You're a great trainer!"_ )

"Choki choki!" ( _"Don't be sad! Tears don't suit you!"_ )

Her frown morphed into a sad smile as she buried her face in their fur. "Thanks. You're both so sweet. I don't know where I'd be without you," The tears finally stopped. "Hey. You know what? I hear there's a pokemon hair salon around here. They cut your hair and make you look and feel nice, and they wash your hair with shampoo that makes you smell nice. Would you like to try that some time?"

Hikaru smiled and stretched her arms out. "Pichu!" ( _"That sounds great!"_ )

"Choki kriii!" ( _"I wanna smell nice!"_ )

"Jule!" Perrine came out of the cafe, noticing Julia with Hikaru and Tokiko on her left. "Hey there. You okay?" Julia nodded, hugging Hikaru and Tokiko gently. "Sorry about that. I don't know what his deal is."

"It's okay. We did just meet him, after all…" She let that sentence drift away before starting a new one. "...Is it bad to go on a journey for someone else?"

"Hmmm…" Perrine crossed her arms and ruminated. "I don't know. He does have a point about doing stuff for your own benefit, but insulting you about it was uncalled for."

Julia looked down at Hikaru and Tokiko. Their happy, innocent smiles made the hurt from before instantly fade away. "I...I just want Amara back...I want to be a good sister and help her…" She mused loud enough for Perrine to hear. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing...is that so bad?"

"I don't think it's bad at all. You love her, right?" Perrine replied gently. "I don't like the way she treats you, and I think she should go to jail, but she's your sister, so saying that stuff isn't really my place," She wasn't sure how Julia could continue loving her sister, even after seeing everything she did. Julia did tell her that Amara was mean, but for a moment, she thought she was exaggerating. Seeing Amara pummel her earlier made Perrine completely regret ever doubting Julia.

"I do love her…" Julia mused. "But...at the same time, I hate her. I hate that she treats my Mom and Dad like garbage. I hate that she yells a lot, beats her pokemon, treats me like I'm everything wrong with her life, the way she treats other people...I can't stand it!" She stamped her foot once. "I know! That sounds terrible! I get it! But…"

Julia knew what she wanted. She wanted the old Amara back. The nice, friendly, kind, outgoing, and cheerful Amara. The Amara who would help her with her homework, show her how to be nice to pokemon, introduce her to her friends and let her hang out with them whenever they would come over, stand up to bullies who picked on her. The Amara who was nice to her, treated her like she mattered, and never picked on her for stupid stuff, even if they did squabble sometimes, like over the computer, or who would get the last piece of cake in the refrigerator, all those things. The Amara who loved her family, friends, and pokemon.

"It's okay," Perrine told her gently. Her friend didn't need to deal with more yelling.

"She's not the only reason I'm here…"

"Hm?"

"There's a lot more I want to do when I grow up…" Julia began. "I...I want to do lots of things. I want to make lots of friends, write books, make TV shows, draw pictures, take care of lots of pokemon, go to unseen places, and...lots of stuff!" She sputtered. "I guess...Amara was the thing that helped me leave the house."

"She motivated you to pursue your dreams," Perrine clarified. "That's wonderful. I know she's your sister, and whatever happens between you two is your business, but...I still want to hang out with you. Is that okay?"

Julia smiled. "That'd be great. You're...the first friend I ever really made."

"Am I really?"

"Yep. I did know some kids in my neighborhood, but we were just too different. Everyone else just made fun of me."

"They're stupid. They just never saw how wonderful you are."

It was here that Caiseal came out and joined them. "Hey there. I paid for everything, so we're good," He told them. Perrine could see some guilt in his eyes, but she kept a stern expression. "Look, I…" He rubbed his hair with one hand. "I'm sorry for going off on you like that. That was stupid, I know."

Julia looked away. She wasn't sure if she could forgive him or not. This was the second time he yelled at her, the first being accusing her of stealing Apollo. Perrine felt the same way. "So why are you on your journey?" Perrine asked.

Caiseal looked down at his shoes. "I...I don't really...want to talk about it."

"That's fine," Perrine crossed her arms. "I don't insult people's reasons for going on a journey," With that, everyone left.

* * *

The next day, Caiseal was at the Goldenrod City gym, standing at the left part of the battlefield, with Whitney right on the other side. Both of them stood firmly with their arms crossed. Julia and Perrine sat on some bleachers, with all of their pokemon joining them. Yes, ALL of their pokemon, both Julia's and Perrine's pokemon, out of their pokeballs. The referee stood at the side of the field.

"The challenge between Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod City gym leader, and the challenger, Caiseal Brownstone, will begin in a moment!" The male referee exclaimed. "The challenger can use six pokemon, and is allowed substitutions! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon!"

"Come on out, Mallow!" Caiseal threw a pokeball. "Show her what you're made of!" The white light morphed into a small, bipedal pokemon with a golden brown hide covering most of its body, including the dorsal horns on its back. It had a light brown, egg shaped belly, one claw on each hand, and two long nails on its toes. Covering its head is a large skull with two rounded horns on the top, with hollow cavities revealing its triangular black eyes. Resting on one of its hands was a bone.

"Cubone!"

Julia pulled out her PokeDex. _"Cubone, the lonely pokemon_. _It wears its mother's skull as a helmet-for this reason, no one has ever seen its face. It sometimes sees its departed mother's face in the full moon, which causes it to grow sad and cry. The stains on the skull are tracks of its tears. When it cries, the skull shakes and emits a mournful sound."_

Mallow simply spun the bone around like a baton before positioning himself in a battle stance. Whitney smirked before pulling out a pokeball. "He's cute. But my pokemon's just as cute! Hey, Fur-Fur! You're up!"

A furret appeared on the field. "Fuuurret!"

The referee raised both flags. "Battle...begin!"

"I'm making the first move!" Caiseal boasted. "Mallow! Use Bonemerang!"

"Cubone!" Mallow threw the bone across the battlefield like a boomerang. It spun around faster than a spinning top. But Whitney's furret dodged the attack simply by hopping to another side of the battlefield. The bonemerang returned to Mallow's hand.

"Fur-Furt! Use Agility!" Whitney cried. With a cry, furret ran all around the battlefield, glowing in a harsh white light. Furret didn't come anywhere near Mallow.

"Use Headbutt!" Mallow threw himself at the furret, charging at it with its skull ready for bashing. But no matter what he did, furret kept evading the attack. It was understandable, as furret's speed had increased considerably upon using agility.

"Quick Attack!" Furret charged right at Mallow, ramming his head right in his belly. The force was so strong, it sent Mallow flying in a perfect arch before he rolled on the battlefield.

But Mallow didn't give up. He stood back on his feet and rolled away in order to dodge yet another Quick Attack from furret. Once furret got close enough, Mallow rammed into furret with a Headbutt attack, sending furret rolling on the battlefield. With a grunt, furret got back on its feet and opened its mouth wide. A dark purple and black blob of energy materialized into a sphere, and once it was fully formed, furret spat it right out.

"Block it, Mallow!" Mallow nodded and held its bone up like it was a baseball bat. When the Shadow Ball attack got close, Mallow smacked the ball with its bone, sending it flying across the battlefield. A cloud of sand exploded, consuming the field. Furret coughed and covered its mouth with its paws. Even Whitney had to take cover.

"Fur-Fur! Hang on!" Whitney cried out.

"Alrighty! Use Headbutt!" Mallow raced through the sand cloud, charging right at furret. Despite being agile, some sand got into furret's eyes, and it was unable to see right, leaving it wide open. Mallow bashed his head against furret's body. The force was strong enough to make furret fly across the battlefield. When the dust cloud finally faded, furret was lying in front of Whitney, unconscious.

That told the referee all he needed to know. "Furret is unable to battle! The winner is Mallow the cubone!"

"Alright!" Caiseal pumped his fist in the air, jumping up once with a cheer. Mallow raced toward Caiseal and leaped into his arms.

"Awwww! My cute little furret lost!" Whitney whined before putting furret back in its pokeball. "It's okay, Fur-Fur. You battled great," She put Fur-Fur's pokeball back and took out another one. "You're strong, Caiseal."

"I have to be," Caiseal said.

"Cubone!" Mallow held up the bone in its hand in agreement.

"Wow…" Julia mused, holding Tokiko in her arms. "Mallow knocked that Shadow Ball back like a baseball. Maybe he should get a career in baseball."

"Choki!"

"Not only that, using it on the battlefield knowing that furret isn't affected by ghost type moves. That was a sneaky trick, but a clever one, too," Perrine agreed, holding Fuwari in her arms.

"Hoppip!" Fuwari chirped.

"Don't think you've won yet, Caiseal! Meow-Meow, time to batter up!" Whitney threw a pokeball on the field, and out came a cream colored cat pokemon. The tips of its hindpaws and curly tail were a light chocolate brown color, and it had two whiskers on each cheek, with two more popping up from its head, holding an ovular, golden charm on its head. The cat's large eyes gleamed with intent to battle.

"Meoooow!" The beige cat pokemon meowed in a scratchy voice, like a cat nearing the end of its days.

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. _"Meowth, the scratch cat pokemon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle, but it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping. When it sees round objects, it plays and loses track of time. Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light."_

Caiseal looked down at Mallow. "You want to go at it again?"

The skulled pokemon nodded, his grip on his bone tightening. "Cubone!" Mallow hopped out of Caiseal's arms, back on the battlefield.

"Battle begin!"

"Hey, Meow-Meow!" Whitney mused with a cute wink. "Be a good little girl and use Sand Attack on that little cubone, will you?" She donned a puppy eyes look. "Pleeeease?"

"Meow!" Meow-Meow dug his feet into the battlefield and began kicking up streams of sand.

"Evade it!" Caiseal yelled. Mallow ran around Meow-Meow, managing to avoid the sand. "Now use Leer!" Mallow gave the beige colored cat a stern, almost chilling glare, making him resemble a monster that loved to eat meowth for breakfast. The meowth flinched at the glare, losing all motivation to use Sand Attack.

"Meow-Meow! You can do it! Use Fury Swipes!"

"Block it with Bone Club!"

The meowth's claws grew long before glowing in a white light. With a hiss, meowth jumped in the air, ready to slice and dice Mallow like he was noodles. Mallow saw the attack coming and blocked every scratch and slash with the bone. Meow-Meow's claws collided with the bone every time, never leaving so much as a dent. Mallow blocked every scratch, predicting the cat's movements like he was a professional swordfighter.

"That's the ticket, Mallow! Now use Headbutt!"

Mallow held his head back, ready to bash it right into the cat…

"Screech!"

"MEOOOOOOOW!" All of a sudden, Meow-Meow let out a loud, piercing scream. White vibrating rings shot out of his mouth, sending Mallow rolling on the battlefield. Everyone, including Whitney, had their hands covering their ears. Julia let out a pained cry as she squeezed her ears with her hands in a futile attempt to block out the sound. It didn't work. Meowth's screech made her ears ring, and the very sound of it felt as though her ear drums were being slashed to shreds with no mercy. All she could do was hide under the bleachers and curl into a ball.

"Mallow! You can do this! Headbutt again!"

With heavy grunts, Mallow dug his bone into the ground, keeping himself from being blown away by Meow-Meow's screech attack. Finally, the piercing noise stopped, and Meow-Meow was unarmed and defenseless. Oddly enough, Whitney was smiling and had a hand on her hip. Caiseal was sure he and Mallow could beat Meow-Meow easily. It was a normal type, and Mallow, being a cubone, was a ground type. Surely Mallow could-

"Tsk tsk tsk! Don't ever underestimate a gym leader!" Whitney waved her index finger three times before shouting, "Water Pulse!"

' _Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-WATER PULSE?!'_ Caiseal was speechless. Even Mallow was unable to move. Unfortunately for them, that gave Meow-Meow the perfect chance to attack them. A sphere of water materialized in Meow-Meow's arms. He jumped high in the air, at least eight feet, before shooting the watery sphere right at Mallow. It came so fast, Mallow wasn't able to dodge it. As soon as the water ball made contact with Mallow, waves consumed the battlefield. Meow-Meow hopped back onto the sand gracefully.

Mallow had collapsed, its body wet and battered. The referee held up a red flag in Whitney's direction. "Mallow the cubone is unable to battle! The winner is Meow-Meow the meowth!"

"Alright!" Whitney jumped into the air once with a cheer, holding her hands in the air. Meow-Meow just sat there licking his paw.

Having recovered, Julia sat back on her spot on the bleachers. "No way! Meowth shouldn't be able to know Water Pulse! It's impossible! It's not even a water type!"

"Actually, it is possible," Perrine piped in.

"Hoothoot!"

"Jiggly!"

"How so?" Julia gave Perrine a quizzical look.

"There are special tutors that help pokemon learn certain moves that normally they can't learn from normal battling," Perrine explained.

Caiseal heard everything, already having pulled out another pokeball. "Viole! You're up!" Out came an oddish, very much like Blossom.

With this, the battle resumed. Whitney commanded that Meow-Meow use Scratch attack. The furry meowth charged at Viole with his claws ready for scratching, but as soon as he got close, Caiseal commanded that Viole use Stun Spore. A sparkling, golden cloud billowed over the entire battlefield. Everyone covered their mouths except for Meow-Meow, who had unknowingly inhaled the dust. Before long, his limbs became numb and tense. Anytime he tried to move, his muscles would ache, refusing to respond.

"Noooo! My sweet little Meow-Meow!" Whitney exclaimed.

"Use Acid!" On command, Viole shot out a stream of puke colored acid. It spilled all over the place, bubbling like boiling lava. Some of it got on Meow-Meow's face, and upon making contact, it burned the poor meowth's skin. Unable to battle anymore, Meow-Meow collapsed on the ground.

"Meowth is unable to battle! The winner is Viole the oddish!"

Without a word, Whitney put Meow-Meow back in his pokeball as Caiseal and Viole cheered happily, rejoicing in their victory. "You're good, Caiseal."

"I'm gonna beat you for sure!" Caiseal boasted.

"Oddish!" Viole echoed his statement by jumping up once.

Whitney pulled out another pokeball. "Think again! You're up, Mil-Mil!" This time, the miltank from before appeared from her pokeball. The referee commanded that the battle begin like usual. "Use Rollout!"

"Miiiil!" Miltank curled itself into a ball and rolled right toward Viole, knocking him right out.

Caiseal recalled Viole. "Go, Apollo! Use Smokescreen!" Apollo spat out a billowing cloud of black smoke that covered the entire battlefield. However, before the fire mouse could land an attack, Mil-Mil suddenly rolled out from the cloud and sent Apollo flying, knocking him out as well.

"Aaaaargh!" Caiseal rubbed his hair with his hands. Whitney simply smiled and crossed her arms, watching as Mil-Mil didn't stop to even so much as give her opponents time to even attack. Caiseal sent out three more pokemon, Geo being one of them. As usual, Mil-Mil knocked every single one out, without stopping. It was clear who won this battle.

"The winner is Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod gym leader!"

"Hooray!" Whitney jumped up and down like a little kid who received desert. Her miltank ran up to her, trapping her in a warm hug. Whitney wrapped her arms around Mil-Mil and nuzzled her with affection. "You were awesome back there, Mil-Mil!"

Julia, Perrine, and their pokemon were all speechless. That miltank basically knocked every single one of Caiseal's pokemon out like they were bowling pins. It never even gave them time to attack. "Whoa. She's...really good," Julia said, holding onto Tokiko tightly.

"Choki…" Tokiko agreed.

"We're really gonna have to plan this out if we're gonna win against her," Perrine said.

Caiseal recalled his last pokemon before letting out a howl, stomping his foot on the ground. "I can't believe I lost!" He shouted loud enough for all to hear. Julia's hands flew to her ears. With a grunt, he stomped right out of the gym.

"Awww," Whitney mused out loud. "I wanted to encourage him to battle me again next time…"

* * *

The blonde haired boy sat in the lounge of the Pokemon Center, waiting for his pokemon to be healed. Lost in his misery, he kept asking himself why. Why did he lose? Her miltank was definitely one factor: it managed to wipe out every single one of his pokemon without even trying, and with just one attack, no less. Perhaps knocking it out of its Rollout attack would be a good strategy. But how would he be able to go about it? That was the question. Looks like he was going to have to stick around and do some training.

"Ummm...Caiseal?" He looked up to find Julia and Perrine looking down at him. "Are you...okay?" Julia asked shyly.

"I guess," He looked over to Nurse Joy's counter. "My pokemon are being healed at the moment," He said tersely.

"Umm...it's okay if you don't win the first time!" Julia stammered. "Everyone loses sometimes! Even I do! If you work hard and try to study your opponent, you'll be able to win next time!"

Caiseal flashed a smile. "Thanks for the encouragement. I'm gonna train after this. You girls are battling her later, right?" He said.

"We plan to have a double battle with her," Perrine said, wrapping her hand right around Julia's. It must be confessed that her brown haired friend was surprised at the sudden gesture, but not in a frightened way. Perrine's hands were warm and soft, like Hikaru's fur. "Watching you battle with her really gave us an idea of what her battling style is."

"You be careful."

"Caiseal Brownstone!" A Nurse Joy called out from behind the counter. Caiseal ran over to see what was up. "Your pokemon are fully healed!" He took his pokeballs back without complaint.

"Come on out, everyone!" He let all of his pokemon out of his pokeballs. Four of them were Mallow, Apollo, Geo, and Viole. Two others were a light blue creature with a tail, no arms, purple spikes on both sides of its large head, small black eyes, a big smile, and a round tail, while the other one was a black crow with red eyes and a yellow beak. Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine them.

" _Wooper, the mud fish pokemon. Wooper usually live in cold water. However, it occasionally comes out onto land in search of food. On land, it coats its body with a gooey, toxic film."_

" _Murkrow, the darkness pokemon. Feared and loathed by many, it is believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters. It will even try to steal rings from women."_

"Wooo-pah!"

"Murkrow!"

"These are my pokemon. You've already met Mallow, Apollo, and Geo. The oddish is Viole, this wooper here is Flippy, and this sassy little murkrow here is Ravenclaw," Caiseal explained, introducing his pokemon one by one.

"They're so cute!" Julia crooned.

That was when Perrine had an idea. "Hey! If you want, you can train with us! Is that okay?" She exclaimed.

Caiseal beamed. "That'd be awesome! Thanks!"

* * *

 **Sorry, guys. Ran out of inspiration, so next one's gonna be chapter 10.5 so as to not drag this out. I really need to get better at planning these.**

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes).**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**

 **Pokemon At Professor Elm's Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)**

 **Caiseal: Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl), Oddish (Male, Quirky Nature, Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Sweet Scent), Wooper (Female, Jolly Nature, Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Mud Bomb), and Murkrow (Female, Hardy Nature, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Haze, and Dark Pulse).**


	12. Battle For The Plain Badge!

Chapter 10.5: Battle For The Plain Badge! Whitney's Counterattack!

"Flippy! Use Mud Slap!"

"Dodge it, Tokiko!"

As the sun set across the horizon, the sky was once again being painted a luscious orange color, streaked with soft blues and lofty pinks. But neither Caiseal nor Julia noticed, as they were still training on the Pokemon Center's battlefield. Flippy the wooper spat out balls of sticky brown mud before slapping them with her tail, throwing them right at Tokiko. Much to Caiseal's chagrin, Tokiko was dodging them all easily. Sometimes she would roll away, sometimes she would just run, and other times she would jump high in the air. Not too high, at most about three feet.

"Good job, Tokiko! Now use Headbutt!" Julia called. Tokiko gave a big smile before running right toward Flippy, her head ready for headbutting. Flippy cried and ran for her life, but Tokiko, being small, proved to be faster. Once the spiky egg pokemon caught up... _BAM!_ She rammed right into Flippy, sending her rolling on the sand.

"Woopah!" Flippy fell on her tail with a cry.

"Come on, Flippy! Get up! You can do it!" Caiseal exclaimed, flapping his fists up and down. Encouraged by her trainer's kind words, Flippy stood back on her stubby feet despite having no arms.

"Woopaaaah!" Right before everyone's eyes, Flippy glowed in a radiant white light. Some of the pokemon had to cover their eyes, it was that blinding. Julia did the same. Flippy grew bigger and taller, soon matching Caiseal's height, right before going up another foot. Once the light faded, out came a different creature. Flippy had transformed into a large, light blue pokemon with long arms and legs, with three fingers and toes on each. Her spikes had completely disappeared, replaced with a wavy dark blue fin going down her spine, ending to her tail. Following along the fin was a wavy purple stripe, and two small dots hovered over its mouth.

"Quaaaaagsiiiiiiiire…" Flippy yawned in a lower pitched, almost whispery voice. She sounded like she wanted to take a long, peaceful beauty nap.

"Wow!" Perrine clasped her hands together in awe. "Flippy evolved into a quagsire!" She pulled out her PokeDex to examine her.

" _Quagsire, the water fish pokemon._ _The Quagsire make their home in clean, fresh water lakes. Quagsire are covered by a slippery layer of skin, making this Pokémon especially difficult to handle. Quagsire have an easy going nature and don't care if they bump their heads on boats and boulders while swimming. It hunts for food by leaving its mouth wide open in water and waiting for its prey to blunder in unaware. Because the Pokémon does not move, it does not get very hungry."_

"Awesome! She's so cute!" Julia wasted no time running over to Flippy and wrapping her arms around her. A cool, slimy sensation covered her arms and shirt, but it wasn't in any way sticky or icky, so Julia didn't mind one bit. Even Tokiko got in on it, though she was only able to hug the tip of Flippy's tail. Flippy flashed a big smile and embraced Julia back, relishing the hug.

"Hey!" Caiseal yelled, giving Julia an austere look. "I didn't give you permission to hug my pokemon, and we're not done training yet!"

"Quaaaaaag…" Flippy let out a long, drawn out yawn.

"Flippy says _'I'm done training. I love hugs!'_ " Julia cried out, letting her hair stick to Flippy's oily skin.

Caiseal gave Julia a quizzical look, wondering if she made that up. But Flippy didn't seem to mind, and had a content look on her face. It was clear that she liked being the center of attention. Fuwari floated on top of Flippy's head, sitting on it and smiling sweetly. Flippy didn't even notice. Caiseal let out a sigh before smiling. Flippy did deserve a break from all this training, after all. She was always a jolly little pokemon.

"Alright then," He looked down at Mallow. "You ready for some training, dude?"

"Cubone!" Mallow spun his bone around like a baton before gripping it again.

Julia kneeled down to Aqua's level as she pulled Tokiko away from Flippy. "Hey, Aqua! Do you want to have a go at it this time?" She asked.

"Marill maar!" Aqua chirruped and got into position. Caiseal and Mallow did the same.

"I'm making the first move! Mallow, you use Headbutt!"

The cubone charged right at Aqua, with his head lowered and ready for bashing. "Dodge it, Aqua!" Aqua did as ordered and leaped away from Mallow like Tokiko did, via jumping around, rolling, or doing cartwheels. "Use Water Gun!" Aqua shot blasts of water out from her mouth. Copying Aqua's dodging style, Mallow jumped around or did cartwheels whenever Aqua would try to shoot water at him. Every time the water hit the ground, the blasts would leave behind small holes about the size of Aqua's body.

Holes...Julia stared at them intently. Immediately, an idea flashed in her head. Her insides were doing backflips, and a torrent of words began forming in her throat, dying to push right out of her mouth. "Use BubbleBeam!"

"Maaar!" Aqua shot a barrage of fast moving bubbles at Mallow. Since he stopped to breathe after doing so much dodging, he was unable to evade it. The bubbles overwhelmed him at every turn, and the water soaked his body to the bone. "Okay, we're done!" Julia stormed over to Perrine.

"Whoa!" Julia came up to her so fast that she got really close to Perrine's face, making her recoil a bit. "You might want to back up a little."

"Oh! Sorry!"

"What's up?"

"I have an idea of how we can defeat Whitney!" Julia whispered in Perrine's ear, too restless to not let this information go to waste. Caiseal sprayed Mallow's elbow with an orange super potion, watching as the girls gossiped.

"Ooooh. That sounds like a good idea. I made up something we can do too," Perrine whispered in Julia's ear this time.

' _I wonder what they're planning,'_ Caiseal asked himself as he finished spraying Mallow. The girls were nodding, waving their arms, letting their pokemon join in on their conversations, flailing their legs up and down, clasping their hands together, stuff like that. To be honest, he wasn't sure if they could possibly defeat Whitney. If he lost to her, then he was sure the possibility of them losing to Whitney was just as high.

Although he had to admit, he thought Perrine to be quite a good trainer, and beautiful, too. Her orange hair the color of the sunset, her ocean blue eyes, her poised demeanor, her motherly nature...everything about Perrine exuded a kind of warmth about her. It helped that she was quite smart, and seemed to be mature for her age. He smiled upon seeing Perrine snuggle Fuwari and Chirin warmly, like any kind mother would.

On the other hand, he wasn't so sure about Julia. She was nice enough, and he could see from the way she interacted with her pokemon that she loved them dearly, but he was sure that kindness could only go so far. She certainly acted and behaved like a naive little girl who knew nothing about the world. Just hearing the fact that she's on a journey for tracking down her sister...it just made him snap. To Caiseal, a journey was for oneself, not for the sake of someone else. He couldn't help but question if Julia was really a good pokemon trainer. Something about her just seemed bothersome to him, but he wouldn't dare say that in public. Not in front of Perrine, especially after the way she scolded him for yelling at her at the cafe. Her pokemon liked her well enough.

"I think that's enough training for one day," Perrine said, stretching her arms outward. "Anyone up for dinner?"

Julia's stomach growled lightly. "Definitely."

"Sure. I could go for some grub."

With that, the kids went inside to order some food. The kids were careful to prepare some food for their pokemon so they could have bites to eat. However, Caiseal noticed Julia giving Tokiko and Hikaru some cut up pieces of meatballs from her spaghetti. He found this to be unsettling. "Why are you giving your pokemon people food?"

"Huh?" Tokiko had already scarfed down her piece of meatball. "They like it. What's wrong with that?"

"I give Florian and Kitsune grilled dumplings all the time," Perrine added, taking a bite out of some chicken. "It's their favorite. Fuwari even likes brown rice," Florian rubbed his head against Perrine's arm, snuggling up against her. The orange haired girl smiled and stroke her friend's leaf with her hand gently. It was here that Ravenclaw snuck a piece of broccoli off of Caiseal's plate, swallowing it whole. Caiseal didn't even notice.

All of a sudden, a loud, rattling sound rattled the entire restaurant area, along with the sound of breaking plates. Julia's hands immediately flew over her ears as everyone turned to look and see what caused the loud crash. A silver tray lay upside down on the floor, with remnants of food and broken plates scattered all around. Ketchup melted into the broccoli and corn, turning them an ugly shade of reddish orange. Alfredo noodles were contaminated by the dirt on the floor left behind by many a dirty sneaker. A broken glass caused soda to spill all over the chicken. A young waitress in a black dress and white apron scrambled all over to try and clean up the mess, pulling out paper towels.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" The waitress exclaimed as another waiter came over to wash the mess with some paper towels. "I'll ask the chefs to make new ones for you, and it'll be on the house!"

Caiseal wasn't bothered by the mess, annoying as it was. But seeing Julia with her hands still on her ears didn't look normal to him. "Why are your hands still on your ears? Take them off. It makes you look weird," He said.

The next thing he knew, he felt something kick him on the shin. It was Perrine's brown shoe. Her shoe sent pain right up his foot, and he clenched his teeth together to keep from screaming in pain. "She's sensitive to loud noise, and it's not weird," She hissed in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

"Pichu!" "Choki!" Both Hikaru and Tokiko echoed Perrine's statement, annoyed by Caiseal's lack of understanding of her condition.

Once the fiasco was done and over with, the kids returned to their rooms. Julia and Perrine shared a room, whereas Caiseal had his own room, for obvious reasons. Perrine sat on her bed as Julia took a shower, absorbed in a new book she had just bought called _'All You Ever Wanted To Know About Autism/Asperger's Syndrome But Were Afraid To Ask.'_ She had intended on researching autism for a while, but never got around to it until now. This was her chance to try and get to know Julia even better.

She poured through that book, taking in all of its information. The more she read, the more she realized that many of the traits autistic people often displayed, he saw Julia display. Fear of loud noise, rocking back and forth, flapping hands, an intense obsession with routine, fixations on things or events...Julia did all of those things. So they weren't just personality traits after all.

None of this made Perrine think less of her, however. Autistic or not, Julia was still the kind, sweet, compassionate girl who loves pokemon, reading, and classical music. She was still the girl who took the time to help her and Florian back in Union Cave, when no one else would. So what if she was autistic? It wasn't as though she was some brain sucking alien from outer space sent here to kill everyone. She couldn't believe all the stigmas and stereotypes that autistic people were subjected to upon reading about them.

Lack empathy and affection, caring only for themselves? Please. Julia was the most empathic, affectionate, and emotional girl she knew. If she didn't display empathy or affection or cared solely about herself, she would never have become friends with Perrine or even stopped to help her when she needed it the most, and she certainly wouldn't care for her pokemon as much as she does. Flaps her hands and rocks constantly? Not all the time, only when she was anxious and needed to calm down. Throws tantrums all the time? Absolutely not! Julia never threw a tantrum once in the time she knew her. Causes trouble? That described Amara way more than it did Julia. A savant who was a genius at a certain skill? No, that didn't sound like Julia at all. She was smart, yes, and knew a lot about pokemon, but that was it, nothing more.

"Whee!" Julia found herself bouncing on the plushy bed with her wet hair tied in a white hair towel. "We're gonna try and beat Whitney tomorrow!" Hikaru, Tokiko, and Blossom jumped on the bed with her.

"Odd oddish!"

"Pichuuu!"

"Choki choki kriii!"

"Hey! Perrine! You remember our strategy, right?"

Perrine nodded, her eyes seldom averting their gaze. "You know I do. Let's win that Plain Badge together."

"Oh yeah!" Julia noticed the book she was reading. "Did you get that just now?"

"The book? Uhh...yeah, I did. Do you want to read it?"

"Not right now," Julia replied. "Oh! Some brochures!" She grabbed some brochures from the nightstand and browsed through them. Aqua and Ladybug peered over both of her shoulders to get a good look. Even Fuwari joined her by hopping on her head. "Ooooh. It says they're holding a Bug Catching Contest at the National Park soon. I wonder what that's like?"

"How about we check it out after we battle Whitney?"

"That'd be great!"

* * *

The moon glittered in the sky, accompanied by her beautiful stars. Julia and Perrine slept peacefully, lost in dreamland, surrounded by all of their pokemon, who slept alongside them. However, Ladybug found herself awakening at the sound of a soft breeze coming through the window. It was opened wide enough for a pokemon to sneak out of. Since they were on the first floor, the window was about two feet above the ground, making it easy for one to jump through it without getting hurt. Ladybug opened her wings and flew out the window.

Ladybug's buzzy wings pulled Fuwari out of her beautiful dream. She woke up early enough to see Ladybug fly out the window. The tiny pink cottonweed hopped out of the window and floated on the grass. Thankfully, the ledyba was only a few feet away, staring longingly at the round moon. What could she be doing up this early? Fuwari wasn't sure, but she was going to find out. Ladybug wasn't running away, nor did it look as though she intended to.

"Hoppip? Hop hop hoppip?" ( _"Ladybug? What are you doing out here?"_ ) Fuwari asked in a cute, sweet voice.

Ladybug said nothing, continuing to stare at the moon. The pink cottonweed noticed a sad, longing look in her eyes. _"What's wrong? You look sad."_

"Ledyba ledy ledyba…" ( _"I'm a weakling."_ )

" _What makes you say that?"_

" _I can't battle very well. I always lose. I can't meet Julia's expectations,"_ Ladybug buried her face in her white fists, even though she wasn't crying. _"My family always said I was a puny, worthless little runt...and they're right!"_ Ladybug shook her head sadly. _"I'm scared of everything, I don't like talking with others, I can't fight to save myself...I'm sure Julia hates me."_

Touched by Ladybug's sad words, Fuwari put her stubby hand on the ledyba's arm. _"You're not worthless or a weakling. You're a great pokemon, and Julia loves you. I've seen the way she talks to you and the others. She loves you all dearly, no matter what."_

The pink cottonweed had a good point. Ever since Ladybug had been captured, Julia had been nothing but nice to her. She always thought humans were bad, and stayed away from them to avoid trouble, but Julia and her friends were different. Fuwari smiled and continued on. _"I've seen humans who care only about strength, and yell at their pokemon when they lose battles. I'm glad Julia and Perrine are nice and don't care about that stuff."_

" _That's true…"_

Fuwari began flailing her arms, hopping up and down. _"It's okay! It doesn't matter if you're strong or weak! I'm not very strong, but Perrine doesn't mind. To them, we're their precious friends."_

A smile creeped upon Ladybug's face. Fuwari was right. Strong or weak, they didn't care. Their pokemon were their friends, and that was what was important to them. Ladybug balled her fists and looked up at the moon, this time with a determined look in her eyes. _"Even so...I want to make Julia and my friends happy…I'm not strong, but that's okay!"_

"Choki!" ( _"Hello!"_ ) It came as a surprise to them as they found Tokiko trotting right up to them. _"Are you two having a nighttime party? Can I play, too?"_

* * *

The next morning, Julia and Perrine stood together on the left side of the battlefield, facing Whitney, whose arms were crossed. The pink haired woman's eyes were gleaming with intent to win. They could see it. For Julia, Whitney's determination to win felt like a suffocating aura coming from her very being. Caiseal sat on the bleachers, surrounded by Julia and Perrine's pokemon. Interestingly enough, Aqua and Fuwari weren't with them.

Two hands joined together, intertwining, giving each other strength. "You ready, Jules?"

"I am," An odd feeling surged through her being. At first, she was confused, but it wasn't hard to figure out what it was. Confidence, the very thing she thought she could never have.

"This is my first double battle!" Whitney exclaimed as she pulled out two PokeBalls. "You better get ready, girls! Fur-Fur and Mil-Mil! Come on out, sweeties!" On cue, her beloved furret and miltank popped right out.

"Aqua and Fuwari! You can do this!" Both girls used their free hands to throw their pokeballs, and Aqua and Fuwari came bouncing right out.

Caiseal gave them both a quizzical look. "Seriously? A marill and a hoppip? They're crazy…" He mused to himself. Marill and hoppip were relatively weak pokemon. Furret was fully evolved, and miltank was strong. In his mind, there was just no way those girls would be able to stand even a shadow of a chance against them.

"Ready?" The referee raised two flags in the air. "Battle begin!"

"Fur-Fur, you start off with Sand Attack!"

"Fuuur!" Fur-Fur kicked her legs into the battlefield, kicking dirt in the air.

"Fuwari! Blow it away with Fairy Wind, and make it a big one, too!" Perrine commanded.

"Hooooppiiiiip…!" Fuwari floated in the air, the two weeds on her head spinning like the propellers of a helicopter. A sparkling pink cloud came spiraling right out of the weeds, blowing the sand attack away. The pink gale suddenly ran past Fur-Fur and Mil-Mil, hitting them head on.

"Hm! Good move!" Whitney said. "But we're just getting started! Mil-Mil! Rollout, let's go!"

"Mil-Mil!" The big miltank immediately rolled into a ball, charging right at the two smaller pokemon.

This was their chance to put their plan into motion. In their hearts, they prayed that it work. "Aqua! Dodge it with Water Gun!" Julia called out.

"Marill!" Aqua shot a blast of water at the ground, pushing it so that she would fly up in the air. Mil-Mil rolled right into the geyser but didn't stop rolling. Fuwari was able to float away.

"Keep using Water Gun! Shoot that water everywhere!"

"Marill maaar!" Aqua began shooting blasts of water everywhere. With every blast, she left behind large, miltank sized holes in the battlefield. Soon, the entire stadium was covered with them. All of a sudden, Mil-Mil got caught in one hole, pulling her out of her Rollout attack.

"Whoa!" Whitney's eyes widened.

"Now's our chance!" Perrine shouted. "Fuwari! Use Bullet Seed to keep it from getting out!"

"Hoppipipipipip!" Fuwari took in a huge breath of air before suddenly assaulting the helpless miltank with a barrage of tiny, glowing yellow seeds. They came so fast, Mil-Mil was unable to dodge them or even so much as put her hooves up to shield herself from them.

"Fur-Fur! Use Fury Swipes to knock them all away!" Whitney cried. On command, her furret threw herself into the fray as her claws extended farther than normal. Once her claws grew out, the furret swiped at the glowing seeds, either cutting them to ribbons or knocking them onto the sides, protecting her friend from further damage.

Caiseal couldn't take his eyes off of the battle. It had only just started, but the determination coming from both sides was blazing passionately. Even the pokemon's eyes were glued to the battle, their mouths falling open in an ungraceful manner. Perhaps he had underestimated them. Those two small pokemon could easily lose, yet they were putting up quite a fight.

"Use BubbleBeam!" Julia cried. Aqua inhaled deeply before spitting out a storm of round, rainbow colored bubbles at the furrets feet. Since Fur-Fur's claws were facing upward, that left her lower body open for attack. As the bubbles popped upon making contact, Fur-Fur's feet burned. Mil-Mil took the chance to climb out of the hole she was trapped in.

"We're not giving up! No way!" Whitney balled her fists. "Mil-Mil! Use Stomp on that marill!"

"Miiiil!" With zeal in her heart, the giant pink cow lunged right at the blue mouse with one of its large feet ready for stomping. Aqua was quick to dodge. Since she was smaller and lighter than the pink cow, she evaded the attack easily.

"Fuwari! Jump on Mil-Mil's face!" Fuwari flew right onto the cow's muzzle. "Use Sleep Powder!" The weeds on her head spun around, causing a sparkling green cloud of powder to billow right out. Mil-Mil shook her head vigorously, managing to throw the tiny cottonweed off of her face. Unfortunately, her nose inhaled a scent of the power. Before long, her head began to feel light, and her eyes became heavy.

"Furret!" Fur-Fur was quick to cover her nose with her arms so as to not smell the power. It was too late for Mil-Mil, as she fell to the battlefield with a thud, completely unconscious. A big, drippy nose bubble came ballooning out of her nose. Aqua couldn't resist the urge to laugh.

"Awww noooo!" Whitney whined, with her hands on both sides of her head. "Mil-Mil's sleeping like a log!" As much as she hated to admit it, she was in a big pickle.

"Great job, girls!" Julia exclaimed.

Aqua and Fuwari turned to face their trainers and cheered. "Marill!" "Hoppip!"

Then it happened. Fuwari suddenly became enveloped in a harsh white light. She soon grew to about Aqua's size before the light dissipated. Her pink fur had turned a soft, light green color, with the weeds on her head having blossomed into a big flower with sunny yellow foliage. Her pointed ears turned round and floppy, like those of a dog, and her red eyes were brimming with cheer.

"Popo! Popo!" Fuwari squeaked in an even higher pitched voice than usual.

"Oh my gosh! Yay!" Perrine found herself jumping up and down like a little kid. "Fuwari evolved into a skiploom!"

Julia pulled out her PokeDex, holding it over Fuwari as the green pokemon danced alongside Aqua. _"Skiploom, the cottonweed pokemon._ _This happy-go-lucky grass-type has a flower on its head which opens and closes depending on the temperature. For that reason, this Pokémon is sometimes used as a thermometer. It floats in the sky to soak up as much sunlight as possible by spreading the petals on its flower, and to get closer to the sun."_

"Awesome, and right in the middle of our battle, too!" Julia exclaimed as she put her PokeDex away.

"We're not done yet!" Whitney shouted. "Fur-Fur! Use Quick Attack!"

Since Quick Attack increased the pokemon's speed, Fur-Fur was able to knock both Aqua and the newly evolved Fuwari out. Not to a point where they had fainted, but the giant ferret did leave some decent damage on the two.

"Careful, Jules," Perrine whispered. "Miltank may still be asleep, but her furret is just as strong. Don't let your guard down."

Julia nodded silently. The tension in the room was thick enough that a scyther could slice it with its sickles. Even Caiseal's eyes were glued to the action. "Bubblebeam!"

"Bullet Seed again!"

Once Fur-Fur stopped to rest, Aqua and Fuwari fired their attacks, stopping it from taking a moment to breathe. That was when Whitney commanded Fur-Fur to use Fury Swipes, and not just to slice and dice the barrage of bubbles and seeds. Once the attacks had ceased, Fur-Fur charged right at Fuwari and scratched her repeatedly with her long claws. "Popoooooo!" Fuwari tried to float away, but the ferret was able to jump at least ten feet and slammed on the green grass type pokemon with its claw. As a result, Fuwari slammed right onto the battlefield, her eyes swirling all around.

"Fuwari the skiploom is unable to battle!" The referee exclaimed.

"Oh no! Poor Fuwari!" Julia looked upon the fallen skiploom piteously. "She worked so hard…"

With a sad smile, Perrine put her beloved friend back in her pokeball. "You did great, Fuwari. I'll treat you to your favorite cupcakes later."

"Fuwari likes cupcakes?"

"Yeah, especially those chocolate ones with green frosting and flower sprinkles," Perrine turned over to the bleachers. "Hey, Baloo! Want to take on this giant ferret?"

The pink balloon pokemon's round eyes sparkled with delight. "Jiggly!" With a cheer, Baloo hopped off the bleachers and trotted over to the battlefield, giving Aqua a reassuring high five to assure her she wasn't alone.

The battle resumed. Fur-Fur was still tough to handle despite being at a disadvantage with Mil-Mil still sleeping. This time, plan B was set in motion. Since Whitney wasn't allowed to switch Mil-Mil out, Aqua took the chance to blast the sleeping cow with Water Gun and Bubblebeam, all at once. At one point, Mil-Mil managed to wake up, and would have defeated them had she not been so woozy and had she not fallen face first into another hole. Aqua took the chance and tackled the pink cow so hard, she made Mil-Mil fall on her back, leaving her unable to battle.

"Mil-Mil! Noooo!" Whitney whined.

All of the pokemon on the bleachers began cheering, jumping, and flailing their arms up and down. Hikaru jumped up and down, encouraging Aqua and Baloo to keep going. Tokiko and Ladybug simply shouted at them to win the battle no matter what. Everyone else simply shouted words of encouragement. Caiseal found their enthusiasm to be charming, if a little annoying.

"Alright! Let's finish this! Aqua, use Bubblebeam again!"

"Baloo, use Wake-Up Slap!"

Aqua shot bubbles at the giant ferret's eyes, making them sting from the piercing soapy feeling. Once she covered her eyes, Baloo hopped right up on her face and began smacking her with two stubby hands, left and right. The pain from the repeated slaps stung the ferret's cheeks. Finally, Fur-Fur couldn't continue, as her legs gave out, burning from too much running around. Fur-Fur collapsed on the battlefield, with Aqua and Baloo in battle stances. The referee looked closer and raised a flag in the younger girls' direction.

"Furret is unable to battle! Aqua and Baloo win, which means the victors are Julia Parisa of New Bark Town, and Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City!" The referee announced.

"Yay! We won!" The girls joined hands and jumped up and down. Baloo and Aqua did the same, only they danced around their beloved trainers, joining them in their rejoicing. All of their pokemon ran off the bleachers, performing their happy dances.

Whitney called Fur-Fur back into her pokeball. "You were great. We lost, though. It's okay. It was a fair fight," With a smile, she walked over to the happy girls and their pokemon. Once they calmed down, she said to them, "Great job, girls. You really kept me on my toes."

"Ehehehe…" Julia nuzzled Aqua in her arms, giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead. "All we did was think up a strategy. The pokemon were the ones that gave it their all, so you should be giving them the credit. You and your pokemon were great, too."

"Is your arm okay?" Perrine asked.

The pink haired girl held her arm out like she was displaying some muscle. "It'll be a-okay! I see a lot of potential in you girls. Keep it up, and you'll win the Pokemon League in no time!" She dug through her pocket and opened her palm to reveal two square shaped silver badges. "In honor of your victory, here's your Plain Badges!" The two girls took the badges gratefully. "You'll be great trainers. You treat your pokemon with all the love in the world. A good trainer always puts their pokemon first. By the way…" Whitney got a closer look at Perrine. "Forgive me if this sounds rude, but aren't you the girl that went missing some time ago?"

"Urk!" Perrine's body stiffened. Caiseal walked over to them, curious. Julia just cradled Aqua in her arms.

"I don't mean to pry," Whitney began with a shrug. "But there's missing posters of you everywhere, and your picture is all over the news. I hear your parents are pretty worried."

"Please don't let anyone know I was here!" Perrine begged, clasping her hands together. Baloo, Florian, and Kitsune all looked at each other with confused faces. "My parents...don't want me becoming a trainer. I ran away from home so I could be a trainer."

"I see…" Whitney scratched one of her pink pigtails with one hand, wondering what she should do. "I don't want to lie to anyone. Maybe it'd be a good idea to just let them know you're okay? I mean, for all I know everyone might think you've been kidnapped or killed by some creepy child murderer. Trust me, I've seen stories like that on TV."

Although she wasn't sure what she should do, Perrine decided to take Whitney's advice into consideration. However, she wasn't sure if she could face them. More than anything, she wanted to stay the heck away from them. They said their goodbyes to Whitney and went to the Pokemon Center to get their friends healed up. Caiseal was the first to bring it up. "So you ran away from home, huh? I don't blame you."

"Yeah."

"So...are your mom and dad, like...I dunno...abusive?" Caiseal asked. "Do they hit you or beat you?"

"Hey!" Julia exclaimed. "It's rude to ask personal questions like that! She might not want to talk about it!"

"Shut your trap!" Caiseal snapped back.

"No. They're not," Perrine hissed, clutching the fabric of her skirt. "They just don't want me becoming a pokemon trainer. They're pretty adamant about it."

Julia gave Perrine a quizzical look. "What does adamant mean?"

Caiseal rolled his eyes before answering, in a condescending tone, "Adamant means if you have an opinion or idea about something, you stick to it no matter what and never change your mind," Julia noticed the disappointed look on his face, like he expected her to know what it meant. "Jeez, you must be really-"

"Zip it!" Perrine hissed. _'Man, what is this guy's problem?!'_ She thought. As much as she liked the extra company, she couldn't help but notice Caiseal's odd behavior toward Julia. Chastising her for doing something she usually does, for not knowing certain things, looking at her with disgust like she was an ugly Trubbish...she was liking him less and less every time he opened his mouth. What was he even doing hanging out with them anyway? Didn't he have other things he needed to do? She figured he didn't know about autism. Perhaps she could explain it to him later.

Once their pokemon were healed, the kids decided to head to the grassy areas of Route 34, just outside the city. Not so far that they would get lost or be out of the city's vicinity, but just enough so they could easily go back without problems. The kids let their pokemon out so they could play. Hikaru and Tokiko chased each other around, running and laughing happily. Perrine sat on a stump, brushing Kitsune's fur and tail with a brush she kept with her. Ladybug slept in Julia's lap, basking in her trainer's affection as Julia stroke her body with one hand.

"Chuuu!" "Choki kooo!" The two baby pokemon ran around like little kids, happy to be able to run around in the warm sunshine. At one point, Tokiko tripped on a small rock and fell face first on the grass. "Pichu!" Hikaru ran over to try and help her up, but oddly enough, something else did it for her.

Standing before the yellow mouse was a pink pokemon about Mallow's size. Its fur was a cotton candy pink color, with some of its skin coming loose to drape over its legs, making it resemble a dress. Said loose skin had four light blue spots dotting it, with a matching ruffle around its neck. The pokemon's floppy ears were black at the ends, its feet were a beige color, and it used its stubby arms to carry Tokiko up from the grass, holding her upright.

Oddly enough, Tokiko didn't even cry. Since she was still a baby, one would expect Tokiko to cry after falling on the ground, but the togepi proved to be quite a tough little thing. Tokiko looked up at the pink pokemon with a big, bright smile and chiruped, "Choki ko!" ( _"Thank you!"_ )

"Snub snub snubbull," The pink pokemon told her. ( _"You're welcome. Just be careful next time."_ )

"Hey, look!" Julia exclaimed. "A snubbull! How cute!" She pulled out her PokeDex, watching as Hikaru and Tokiko conversed with the pink pokemon.

" _Snubbull, the fairy pokemon,"_ Julia couldn't help but think that snubbull looked absolutely nothing like a fairy, even though it was technically classified as a fairy type pokemon. _"Although snubbull's grumpy face makes it look gruff and frightening, it is actually a kind, caring, affectionate, and even cowardly pokemon. They don't like to battle, and prefer to scare their opponents rather than fight. Because of their playful nature, devotion, and loyalty, it is popular with women. They also have a sensitive sense of smell, and can smell things like smoke from a thousand kilometers away."_ A pink female sign appeared on the PokeDex, signifying that she was a girl.

As soon as snubbull heard Julia's voice, she walked over to Julia, hopped on the stump she was sitting on, and poked at the PokeDex with her stubby hand. "Snubbull…"

"Do you want to look at it?"

"Snub!" Snubbull nodded, her floppy ears flapping right along with her.

"Here," Julia handed the snubbull the PokeDex. "Just be careful. It's very fragile," The snubbull sat down next to her and stared at the PokeDex with her small eyes, never averting her gaze. Perrine and Caiseal came over to look at the pink pokemon.

"Awww! It's so cute!" Perrine crooned, her blue eyes twinkling.

"I hear they're pretty strong," Caiseal piped in. "But they're usually found around Olivine City. What's a snubbull doing here?"

The snubbull handed the PokeDex back. Then she dug through Julia's bag, pulled out a pokeball, tapped it, and allowed itself to turn into light as she was pulled inside. The pokeball wiggled left and right for a few seconds before the blinking red light disappeared. Everyone's jaws were agape. "Wow. Looks like I just made a new friend."

"Pichuuu!" "Chokiiii!" The two baby pokemon cheered, happy that they could spend time with their new friend.

The pokeball disappeared, but that didn't stop Julia from announcing out of the blue, "Saoirse! That'll be her name!"

Perrine and Caiseal gave her a quizzical look. "Saoir...se?"

"Yep! I've always wanted to use that name! Oh! There's a ditto! I'm gonna try and catch it! Come on, Blossom! Wanna catch it with me!" Ladybug flew off of Julia's lap once she stood up.

The weed pokemon cheered happily. "Oddish odd!" The two of them trotted into the grass to search for that ditto. Perrine returned to a stump and brushed Florian's fur this time. The leaf pokemon cooed upon feeling his fur being brushed, basking in Perrine's affection.

"You like getting your fur brushed, don't you?"

"Chikori…"

"Yo, Perrine."

"What's up, Caiseal?"

Caiseal sat on the ground, right next to Perrine. The orange haired girl could tell he had a serious look on his face. That meant he had something to say to her. What could it be? Florian didn't have a care in the world, as he lost himself in his dreams as the brush stroke his fur. "I'd love it if we could go on a journey together. We both wanna win the Pokemon League."

"Sure! That'd be great! You, me, Julia...it'll be awesome-"

"Actually, I say we ditch her."

Ditch her. Those words made Perrine's warm, motherly smile morph into a confused yet disappointed frown. The warmth in her eyes disappeared, now gleaming with anger. "Why do you say that?"

"Come on, you've seen the way she acts, right?" He began. "She's just gonna hold you back and slow us down. She's freakin' weird."

Perrine put Florian down before suddenly yelling, "Absolutely not! She's my friend and has done so much for me. I really don't appreciate you talking about her like she's some kind of brain sucking alien from outer space out to suck the joy out of my life!" She balled her fists. All of her pokemon stopped to watch her scold him, wondering what was going on. "What is your problem?! She's been nothing but nice to us, yet here you are asking me to ditch her because you don't like her! If that's how you're going to be, then tough luck! I'm not going with you."

"I'm baaack!" Julia came right back, and the conversation stopped. Blossom was panting, her big leaves drooping downward. "Man, that ditto was strong! I didn't even get to pull a PokeBall out and it just escaped!"

"It's okay!" Perrine chirruped, her smile returning. Caiseal's eyes widened at the sudden change in mood. "There's plenty of ditto around here, so you can always-"

"...Perrine?!"

The voice of a middle aged woman suddenly stopped their conversation. Perrine turned around to find a woman standing right behind her. Said woman looked to be in at least her late forties or early fifties, with auburn hair tied in a round dango bun, covered by a lavender hat. A matching shawl wrapped around her shoulders, concealing a long sleeved brown dress that went down to her knees. The woman was also wearing black stockings, brown shoes, a ruby ring on her left ring finger, and sapphire earrings. She looked like the perfect rich socialite. The woman's blue eyes teared up upon seeing the orange haired girl.

"P-P-Perrine! My stars, it _is_ you! My sweet little Perrine!" The woman cried hysterically before throwing herself on the smaller girl.

Caiseal and Julia looked at each other with confused faces. Who was this woman, and how did she know Perrine? In a flash, an idea popped in Julia's head, and it was confirmed as quickly as she thought it.

"...Mom?!"


	13. Innocenti Family Matters

Chapter 11: Innocenti Family Matters

Perrine's mother?! And she was here?! In the flesh?

Julia and Caiseal were silent from the shocking revelation. They had heard from Whitney that Perrine's disappearance was hot on the news, but not once did they ever think they would run into Perrine's mother right away. Perrine seemed just as surprised as they were, her face stuffed in her mother's shawl. Warm tears dripped on her sleeves as her mother's shaking body embraced her.

"Perrine...my dearest Perrine…" The woman cried on her shoulder, her voice hoarse from crying. "...I thought I would never see you again…" The first thing Perrine noticed about her mother was her perfume. Lavender perfume. She had watched her mother spray it on herself all the time whenever she would get ready for the day. She was surprised she had forgotten it so quickly.

Soon, her mother let go and put her hands on her shoulders, bearing a warm, tired smile. "You're alive, sweetie. Thank goodness…" She noticed the pokemon beside Perrine's feet. Vulpix, chikorita, jigglypuff, skiploom, mareep, and hoothoot. All of them stared at her with confused expressions. Fuwari simply chirped "Popo!" and waved her tiny hand at her. "You have pokemon. I see...so that's why you left…"

Perrine said nothing. She just stared at the light purple shawl around her mother's upper body. The woman then noticed Julia and Caiseal watching the scene unfold. "Hello there," She greeted them kindly, in a soft voice. "Are you two her friends?"

"Yes, we're her friends!" Both Julia and Caiseal stammered in perfect unison. It took them looking each other in the face for them to realize it.

The woman smiled. "I am Rocio Innocenti, Perrine's mother," Rocio introduced herself. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"It's...no problem at all, Mrs. Innocenti!" Julia stammered, waving her hands back and forth modestly.

The orange haired girl balled her fists. She could see Rocio moving her mouth in an attempt to say something, probably to dissuade her from her journey. No way was she going to give up. "I don't care what you and Dad say," She began in a strong voice. "I'm going to fulfill my dream and win the Pokemon League no matter what."

She expected her mother to contradict her, or convince her to drop it. Oddly enough, she didn't. She simply said, "Would you like to come to the house for a while? Your father's been worried sick about you. He wants to see your face again." Her voice was soft and kind, albeit a little hoarse, like she was getting up in years.

Perrine wanted so badly to decline. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with her father. Then she remembered Julia telling her about her experiences at Violet City. Perhaps, now that she was a full-fledged trainer, she could convince him that it was too late to change anything...that he could see how far she had come and let her go. The last time it happened didn't go so well, but a lot had happened since then. It wouldn't hurt to try again, right?

"Alright. I'll go. But Julia and Caiseal are coming with me. Is that okay?" Perrine told her.

"That's fine. You're probably hungry," Rocio took Perrine gently by the hand. The smile that spread across her face upon feeling the warmth of her daughter's hand was unmistakable. Julia could tell Rocio was all too happy to finally see her daughter again. The pain of her disappearance must have been absolutely terrible. She found herself imagining what would happen if one of her pokemon disappeared, or even died. The thought was too awful to think about.

"We're here!"

Caiseal and Julia's mouths fell wide open. Neatly trimmed hedges and bushes lined the front yard, surrounding a large marble fountain depicting a vaporeon spitting water out of its mouth. An orange brick mansion that was the size of an onix loomed over the front yard, with the entrance being supported by four Corinthian style columns. Large glass windows covered the walls, all of them paired up with black shutters. Butlers and maids dressed in black and white stood at the entrance as they welcomed Rocio, Perrine, and their guests inside.

"Welcome back!" The butlers and maids bowed before them, not moving even once as they walked by.

"This...this is your house?!" Julia yelped in such a loud voice, Caiseal had to back away a step. She had even caught the attention of the butlers and maids.

"Yeah, this is my house," Perrine deadpanned.

The interior of the mansion was just as glamorous, if not more so. Almost everything from the ceiling, to the walls, to the tile floors were a pristine snow white color, with the exception of the mahogany brown doors and stairs that led to the second floor. The stairs and balconies were lined with black railing with intricate, curled designs resembling vines of grass pokemon. A man sat on a large red chair before an empty fireplace, dressed in a pure white tuxedo with a shiny black tie and patented leather shoes. The man looked to be in his late forties, with new wrinkles tracing the edges of his mouth, and straight black hair neatly done in a rich man style, framing his chocolate brown eyes. A small mustache stood in between his nose and the top of his mouth, and a small beard came out from his chin.

"Eduardo, my dear! Perrine has come home!" Rocio announced as soon as her eyes caught the man's figure. Perrine looked away, staring down at her shoes.

"Girl! I didn't know you were loaded!" Caiseal exclaimed in a lower voice.

"Yeah, I'm loaded. So what?" Perrine hissed, like she thought being a rich girl was a bad thing.

Eduardo stood up and looked down at Perrine with a soft look on his expression. This left Perrine speechless. She had expected to see his usual cross, austere expression, the one he would always give whenever she disobeyed his orders. Yet, here he was, kneeling to her level, wrapping his large arms around her, and pulling her close, just like Rocio did. The tangy scent of bamboo cologne assailed Perrine's nostrils.

"Perrine…" The man's voice was old and hoarse, showing his age. But there was a kind of warmth to it. "I'm so glad you're back…"

' _Yeah right,'_ Perrine thought to herself bitterly, wearing a defiant expression. _'You're only happy I'm back so you can subject me to more stupid piano lessons and boring tea ceremony lessons...all you want is for me to be your perfect little lady!'_ Already, she wished she was back in the wild, catching pokemon and showering her friends with love. She could see her father possibly scolding her for running away, taking measures to ensure that she would never leave the house, and probably signing her up for etiquette classes, all that stuff.

"Chiko!" Florian chirruped out of nowhere, drawing Eduardo's attention. He let go of Perrine and saw the pokemon. Chikorita, vulpix, jigglypuff, hoothoot, mareep, and skiploom. Like with Rocio, Fuwari waved her hand at Eduardo and cooed happily, just to be friendly and say hello. But all that got out of Eduardo was a scornful glare. Fukuro glared right back, and Baloo found herself hiding behind Kitsune, frightened by the man's domineering glare.

"There's a lot we need to discuss, Perrine," Eduardo said, glancing at the two kids behind her. "Are you two her friends?"

The kids both nodded vigorously. Caiseal's stomach let out a rumble. He looked down at his shoes to keep from facing Eduardo. He looked over to his wife. "Rocio, dear. Tell the cooks to prepare dinner. I'm sure these kids haven't had much to eat," He told her in a calm voice.

At least five cooks prepared a grand feast for the Innocentis, Julia, and Caiseal. They had even prepared pokemon food for their pokemon, setting big bowls on the floor for everyone to eat. Perrine found herself speechless. This was very unlike Eduardo. As far as she knew, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with pokemon. Even having them around was forbidden. Why did he make the cooks prepare pokemon food for them? Lots of thoughts were going through Perrine's mind, none of them optimistic. Was this just an attempt to win her favor so he could keep her here? Or was he just keeping up appearances? Regardless, she ate the rich steak quietly. She had to admit, she missed this steak, the rich corn, and the drippy mashed potatoes.

Both Julia and Caiseal could tell that Perrine was not fond of being here, not even a little bit. All they did was eat quietly, not wanting to make a scene. Even Rocio and Eduardo had serious looks on their faces. An old butler poured some wine into Eduardo's glass. Caiseal turned to Julia and noticed the way she held her utensils. Instead of holding them with her palms facing up, she was holding them with her palms face down, grasping them like she was a child that had just learned to grasp things. Somehow, he found this to be unsettling, and wasted no time bringing it up.

"Why are you holding your utensils like that?" Caiseal asked loud enough for everyone to turn their attention toward him.

"Huh?" Julia looked down at her hands. "No real reason. I always hold them like this. Is...that bad?"

Caiseal glared at her. "Why can't you hold them normally?" He asked in a condescending tone.

"Knock it off, Caiseal," Perrine interrupted. "She's fine. She's not hurting anyone, so zip it."

"What she said," Julia piped in. With that, she went back to eating the steak.

The tension in the room was understandably thick. The pokemon didn't notice, as they were too busy helping themselves, but everyone could tell the Innocenti family was serious. Eduardo set his wine glass down. "We were very worried about you, Perrine. I had called the FBI and had them search for you," Eduardo told her. "I guess I should have expected that you had run away."

"Ed, can't we talk about this later?" Rocio asked. "She just came back, and she's probably tired. Don't push it, please."

Perrine finished her food quickly. "I'm done. Can I show Jules and Caiseal my room?" She stood up and walked away without even waiting for a reply. Julia and Caiseal got the message, finished their food, and followed Perrine up the stairs. The pokemon did the same. Eduardo let out a disappointed sigh as he put a hand on his face.

* * *

"Whooooaaaa…!"

The kids knew Perrine was rich, so they had expected her to have a fancy bedroom, but the room itself was nothing like they had imagined. Pasted all over the salmon pink walls were posters of various gym leaders, three of which were Falkner, Bugsy, and Whitney. Others showed a red haired man with a cape, accompanied by a big, cutesy-looking orange dragon. The wall above Perrine's bed resembled an old church painting, depicting angels rising into a golden cloud that shined light down on them. Mountains of pokemon plushies scattered all over the floor. Pikachu, togepi, marill, oddish, hoppip, many pokemon plushies.

Also dotting the walls were various movie posters, all of which depicted nothing but ninjas. Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas! Sitting on a maroon coffee table was a chess set, with white and black chess pieces. A king had fallen on the white rug on the hardwood floor. Florian, Kitsune, and Baloo wasted no time leaping on Perrine's bed and bouncing on it, laughing joyfully. Chirin simply sat next to the mountain of pokemon dolls. Fukuro flew over to a large mirror above Perrine's desk, marveling at his reflection. "Hoothoot!" ( _"Man, do I look great!"_ )

"THIS is your room?!" Caiseal exclaimed, marveling at the painting above her bed.

"Yeah. This is my room. Make yourselves at home," Perrine told them as she put the King back on his throne on the chess set. "If you want, we can play some chess."

"I stink at chess," Julia replied. "But wow! Your room is soooooo much nicer than mine! You even have a canopy thingy!" She pointed to the lacey, transparent canopy dangling over her bed. Skiploom draped part of it around herself, pretending to be some kind of fashion model.

"Chuuuu!" "Choki!" "Odd oddish…" "Marill!" Even Julia's pokemon agreed that Perrine's room was to die for.

"Cubone cubone cubone!" ( _"Pheh! It's so girly! Caiseal's room is way cooler!"_ ) Mallow exclaimed petulantly, crossing his arms. Apollo just sniffed Chirin's fur with his long nose.

"Perrine?" Eduardo's voice made the kids and pokemon turn right around. He stood at the entrance with a strong posture, glaring right at Perrine. The orange haired girl glared right back. "I wish to talk with my daughter in private, kids. You'd best-"

"I know what you're going to say, Dad!" Perrine interrupted before he could finish. "I'm not gonna stop being a pokemon trainer."

"It's not proper for a lady to interrupt-"

"See?! This is what I mean, Dad!" Perrine exclaimed. She hated the whiny tone that consumed her voice, but she just couldn't help it. "It's always about being proper or keeping up appearances or being a lady with you! Don't you ever think of anyone else besides yourself?!"

That was when Eduardo raised his voice and stomped on her floor with one foot. "That is enough, Perrine! This defiant behavior of yours absolutely cannot continue!"

Julia let out a squeak, her hands flying to her ears as she fell to her knees. It took Perrine's attention away from her father as she ran and kneeled to her level. "You shouldn't have yelled. She's autistic. She hates it when people yell," She told him in a calmer, gentler voice that still had a barbed edge to it.

Both she and Eduardo fell silent. Even Caiseal was speechless. Eduardo finally calmed down, uncurling his fists. "...Just like your Aunt Mao…" This statement made Julia's ears perk up. Aunt Mao? So...Perrine has an autistic relative? That was a first. Eduardo's expression softened. "I'm sorry. I-"

"We're done here," Perrine escorted Julia out of the room, with Caiseal and the pokemon following behind.

The kids and the pokemon found themselves in the backyard, which was just as large as the front yard. It looked more like a meadow, with nothing but green grass stretching for miles, kept inside by a black fence. The three kids sat on a bench as most of the pokemon ran off to play. Julia clutched Hikaru and Tokiko in her arms tightly, like if she lost them, she would just break down. Perrine could tell that she looked to be on the verge of crying. She was happy she got to get her away from the bad situation before Eduardo made it any worse.

"So...do you…" Julia whimpered, still hugging Hikaru and Tokiko. "...really have an autistic aunt?"

Perrine looked up at the cloudless blue sky with a wistful look. "Yep. Mao Borgia. She's in Unova right now. She was the one who inspired me to become a pokemon trainer."

"How so?" Caiseal asked, kicking a pebble into some grass.

The orange haired girl watched as one tiny, wispy white cloud floated across the sky, blocking the sun for just a moment. "She actually understands me, and doesn't expect me to be perfect. She likes me for me. Mom and Dad...they hate the fact that I'm not the daughter they want…" Perrine began. "She was a really good trainer. In fact, she was even the champion of Johto at one point."

"WHAT?!" Caiseal and Julia screamed in unison. "The champion?!"

"Yep! She's awesome!" Perrine chirruped with a smile. "Not anymore, though. But she's still the coolest gal I know," Her smile morphed into a frown. "But she and Dad don't get along. Whenever she would come over, they'd always argue...sometimes, Dad would just get angry at me for no reason…"

(flashback)

 _A seven year old Perrine sat before a large, shiny, black grand piano. Her tiny, shaking fingers tried to press on some keys, imitating the movements of the old woman next to her. Eduardo simply stood at the entrance, watching with a curious yet scornful glare in his eyes. However, she just couldn't get it right._

" _Perrine!" Eduardo shouted loud enough to make both the girl and the old woman flinch. "Your playing is an absolute disaster!"_

" _Eduardo, sir!" The old woman stood up, alarmed by his behavior. "Please, she's only learning the basics. Don't be so harsh-"_

" _It's your job to teach her!" He yelled, wagging his finger at the old woman like he was her father._

 _Warm tears streamed out of Perrine's eyes, dripping onto the milky white keys. "I'm sorry, Daddy…" She whimpered in a trembling voice._

" _Go on! Teach her again, from the top!" He yelled, forcing the woman to return to the piano. He shot a fierce glare at Perrine. "And no slacking off, Perrine! This is for your own good!"_

 _He did everything he could to keep her occupied, signing her up for private lessons on just about everything. Violin, math, etiquette, tea ceremony, flower arranging, traditional dance, sewing. It was all too much. She just couldn't do it. Her legs would throb and cramp from sitting in one position for so long. Her hands couldn't hold the violin properly. Needles would prick her fingers every time she did even a single loop around yarn. All the high heels she was forced to walk on would make her trip and fall, sometimes even break a heel._

 _One day, when she was about ten, a door was slightly open, and the loud sounds of two voices arguing came out from it. One belonged to Eduardo. The other belonged to a woman. "Mao! What do you think you're doing?! All Perrine talks about now is becoming a pokemon trainer!" Eduardo screamed. Little Perrine didn't dare go inside, as she knew her presence would only make things worse. She didn't want to exacerbate the argument._

" _That's what she wants, and I don't want to stop her from fulfilling her dream, unlike you," A woman, probably her Aunt Mao, replied in a stern yet calm voice._

" _I knew it! You've been putting ideas in her head behind my back, haven't you?! I knew it was a bad idea to have you come over!"_

" _You're being ridiculous, little bro."_

" _Unlike you, I want to keep my daughter safe! Being a trainer will only get her killed!"_

" _See, Ed? You wonder why Perrine doesn't want to deal with you. All you wanna do is keep her in some glass box her whole life. She's not a baby, y'know."_

" _You don't know anything about my daughter!"_

 _Silence. Then, out of nowhere, "Get out. Don't come here anymore. You're a bad influence on her."_

 _A shiver of ice ran through Perrine right then and there. Her father was kicking her out of the house. Forbidding her to ever come again. Why would he do that? No, she already knew the answer to that. Already, she saw her world crashing all around her. "Ed, this needs to stop. You can't keep clinging to the past forever."_

" _It's your fault they're gone!" He roared, slamming a fist into the wall. Perrine ran into her room, not wanting to hear anymore._

" _You're the one that caused it, Ed. Stop scapegoating me," Aunt Mao snapped right back with venom in her voice._

 _The orange haired girl watched as her aunt left the Innocenti premises. There was just so much pain swirling in her heart. Confusion. Anger. Frustration. Resentment. First her father intended on keeping her locked in the house for God knows why, and now he's forbidding Perrine from seeing Aunt Mao. The very fabric of her life was being torn into shreds. She couldn't let him get away with this. As soon as Aunt Mao left, Perrine was quick to barge into his office. "Why did you kick Aunt Mao out?!"_

 _Eduardo put down his pen. "Perrine, it's not proper to barge into-"_

 _Not proper. The sound of those annoying words made her cringe. Proper this, ladylike that. What else was he going to chide her for? "I can't believe you just kicked her out like she was garbage! She's your sister!"_

 _Her father stood up. "I'm sorry, Perrine. It's for your own good. I know you love your aunt, but I'm afraid she is a bad influence on you."_

 _Bad influence? To Perrine, her Aunt Mao was a lot of things, but she was by absolutely no means bad. There was just no way. "How so?! Because she actually likes me for me?! Because she doesn't make me do all this stupid stuff you made me do?! Because she actually treats me like I matter?! Because she doesn't try to keep me here all the time?!"_

 _Eduardo left his desk and walked over to his angry daughter. The defiant look in her blue eyes was unmistakable. It was the same look that Aunt Mao would give him sometimes. "You cannot behave this way, Perrine. She feeds you stupid ideas and continues to spoil you. You must become a lady-"_

" _Come on! Do you realize how stupid you sound?!" Perrine interrupted once more. "I can't become a lady! I don't even want to! I'm sick of all this! Sick of everything! What's wrong with wanting to become a pokemon trainer?!"_

 _A large, rocky hand struck her cheek. Although it wasn't strong enough to send her falling to the floor, the sting was still painful. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. "Perrine Sophronia Innocenti. You will never, EVER talk of becoming a pokemon trainer! I can't believe you...want to pursue something so barbaric! Why can't you be obedient?!"_

 _Barbaric. Of course. He would always say that whenever she would talk about becoming a trainer. The tears finally came out. No longer could she hide her anger. The injustice of it all took hold of her, and an all-consuming fury seized her whole. "I FREAKING HATE YOOOOU!" With that, she stormed out of the room. He had expected her to run to her room, like she always would. Contrary to his expectations, she went running out the front door._

 _Run. That was all she wanted to do. Run. Find Aunt Mao. Convince her that she isn't a bad influence. More than anything, she wanted to go live with her. Learn everything she could about pokemon, gym leaders, how to become the champion of Johto, everything. She would train hard, love her pokemon, and be the best in all of Johto, possibly the world. Screw her father! He wasn't worth it in her eyes._

 _She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize she had ran farther than she ever did. The screech of a rattata, whose tail she accidentally stepped on, brought her back to reality. It bit her hard on her shoe with its big teeth, but it wasn't enough to cut through it. After that, the rattata crawled into a rusty silver trash can. Brown rust spots dotted it. She stopped to take in her surroundings._

 _None of it was in any way like the neighborhood she knew. Abandoned houses lined the streets. Roof tiles had fallen off, some being completely broken, shattered into pieces. Multicolored graffiti covered the glass windows and chipped paint. Trash was everywhere. Everything from candy wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic cans, and even glass shards were all over the place. Perrine couldn't walk one step without stepping on something. At one point, white gum latched onto the bottom of her right shoe. Gold bullet casings shone in the sunlight. Some houses were completely boarded up with big wood squares or rectangles._

 _Yet another shiver of ice ran through her. Where in the world was she? This wasn't a place she had been to before. She had no idea something like this was even here. How far had she ran? Fear began to gradually seize her. She had heard the stories, but she never expected to be in a place like this. She stopped at an abandoned dark blue car, with its hood still open. One of the windows had been broken into, with glass lying around on the leather seat. Perrine glanced at one brick house, with orange graffiti on one part of it reading_ BUY CRACK AND METH HERE _, with a cursory arrow pointing to a basement window._

' _Oh no...I'm really lost…' She thought, slumping to her knees. The gravel dug into her white stockings, already leaving brown marks on them. This time, she couldn't hold the tears back. Perhaps she would never fulfill her dream of becoming a trainer. Some druggie would probably find her, stab her with a knife, or shoot her, or sell her to someone, and leave her for dead. She had no phone, so there was no way she could call her parents, and there were no pay phones around either. Finally, she found herself bawling loudly._

 _It was all she could do. She couldn't fight, as she didn't know any martial arts skills, or any self-defense skills for that matter. What could she do? She thought she was done for. She figured she might as well accept her fate and let it all out._

" _Vul?"_

 _A tiny voice pulled her out of her spiel. She looked down to find a small pokemon cautiously approaching her. A small fox, with reddish orange fur, brown paws, and six round, fluffy, bright orange tails, matching the tuft of fur on its head. Its grey eyes watched Perrine curiously yet cautiously. "What's a vulpix doing here?" She asked herself in a low voice. "Umm...hello."_

" _Vulpix!"_

 _The vulpix came closer, sniffing Perrine's hand with its small nose. Before long, it stuck its tongue out and gently licked her hand. This brought a smile back to Perrine's face. "What are you doing in a place like this?" She asked. Vulpix came closer, this time it jumped on Perrine's lap._

" _Vul!"_

" _Did your trainer abandon you?"_

 _The vulpix looked down at Perrine's skirt sadly. Perrine returned the affectionate gesture by stroking the tuft of fur on its head. "Now what stupid idiot would abandon a cutie pie like you? It's dangerous around here," Soon, the vulpix reached up to Perrine's face and licked her tears away. "Aww! That tickles! You're so sweet!"_

" _Vul!"_

" _Would you...like to be my friend?"_

 _Its response was rubbing its head against Perrine's chest. To Perrine, this was a good enough answer. "I'd love to be your friend."_

(end flashback)

"Ohhh! So that's how you met Kitsune!" Julia exclaimed. Caiseal was so absorbed by Perrine's story that he didn't say a word. Kitsune herself sat on Perrine's lap, like she did back when they met in the slums. "So how'd you get back home?"

"Someone found me and took me to her house. She called my parents and they picked me up. But I managed to sneak Kitsune into the car and…" Perrine stroke Kitsune's fur once more. "We've been friends ever since."

"How did you get to be a trainer?" Caiseal asked.

"About two months ago, I applied to get a PokeDex and a trainer card. When my card came in the mail, I knew I had to take this chance," Perrine explained. "So Kitsune and I went all the way to New Bark Town so I could get them. I wasn't expecting to pick out one of the starters, but I couldn't reject Professor Elm's kindness, plus I wanted a chikorita anyway. I knew Mom and Dad would never let me be a trainer, but I left anyway," She balled a hand into a fist. "I want to be a good trainer. See the world and become the champion, no matter what it takes."

"You're not the only one with parent problems," Caiseal piped in.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't wanna go into details," Caiseal began. "But let's just say I'm an unwanted kid."

"Huh?!" Julia suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere.

"What's wrong?"

"Tokiko's gone!"

What the kids didn't know was that Eduardo watched them from his study. Unlike before, he didn't have the same stern, disappointed look in his eyes. Instead, he turned his attention to a framed picture on his desk. It showed five children, four boys and one girl. The girl was holding a chikorita in her arms. A dark skinned boy was flashing a large smile. One of his teeth was missing. Next to the framed picture was a newspaper article detailing an onix wreaking havoc on Azalea Town. Three children died in the rampage.

 _Jean Wheatley, 13._

 _Dejour Hoode, 13._

 _Malcolm Thomas, 13._

The article also detailed two kids escaping. Siblings Mao and Eduardo Innocenti. "My friends…" He mused to himself in a low, sad voice before burying his face in his arms. His shoulders hunched up and down as though he were sobbing. "I don't want to lose Perrine...like I lost you…"

"Choki!" A tiny, squeaky voice pulled the man out of his thoughts. He looked down to find a tiny togepi waddling into his study. This was a first.

"My word…" He stood up and kneeled before the tiny, smiling pokemon. Wasn't this one of Perrine's friend's pokemon. He saw that brown haired girl release it from a pokeball, so this little one must be hers. "What are you doing here?" The little togepi had a cursory bouquet of purple wild flowers in her arms. Probably from the backyard.

"Choki choki!" Tokiko took one of the flowers and handed it to the large man before her. It was odd that such a small pokemon wasn't afraid of a large man towering over her. He could easily crush her. This little togepi didn't look the least bit afraid. Taken aback by the little one's kind gesture, he began wondering. Maybe, just maybe...pokemon trainers weren't bad after all? He used two fingers to take the flower out of Tokiko's arms.

"Thank you, little one. You are very kind."

"Choki!" Tokiko cheered happily, as if to say, _"You're welcome!"_ Even Eduardo couldn't stop the smile that tickled his face from appearing.

"Tokiko! There you are!" Julia rushed into the room and cradled the little togepi in her arms. "You shouldn't wander off like that. You should tell me if you want to go somewhere," She told her. The girl tried to keep a kind but still authoritative tone, hoping she didn't come off as too harsh. "Sorry about that, sir."

"It's quite alright, miss," Eduardo said.

Julia was about to leave, but a bloodcurdling scream made her freeze in place. Eduardo stood up in alarm. "That came from downstairs!" Both he and Julia rushed down to the entrance...only to find some of the butlers and maids unconscious except for one.

"Master! Call the police!" A young maid cried before a large arbok smacked her across the room with its tail.

"What's going on?!" Perrine yelled as she and Caiseal arrived on the scene.

"Chaaaaa-baka!" An arbok howled at them. Perrine could make out someone wearing black clothes, with a red R emblazoned on his shirt. Green hair protruded out from underneath his hat. She recognized that green hair.

"Proton!"

"Children! Get back!" Eduardo commanded in a booming voice. Caiseal was quick to run through the house in an attempt to find a phone.

"Hm, so this is the Innocenti estate, eh?" Proton mused in a condescending tone of voice.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Eduardo yelled.

"Dad, don't!" Perrine grabbed her father's arm worriedly. "He's part of Team Rocket!"

"Tokiko! Use Extrasensory!" Julia commanded with her eyes squeezed shut. Tokiko's eyes glowed in a purple light as the arbok was suddenly levitated into the air. Before long, arbok was thrown right at Proton, who simply took one step out of the way as the purple cobra rolled onto the front yard.

"Children! Come with me!" Eduardo grabbed both girls by their hands and dragged them from the scene, with the pokemon following suit. The man's grip was like iron, his large hands wrapping around the girls' arms so tight, it felt like their arms were being suffocated. They all ran downstairs into a basement, and found themselves crammed into a small bathroom that could barely fit three people. It was a wonder that all of Perrine's pokemon were able to fit in there, right along with them.

"Where's Caiseal?!" Julia yelped, clinging to Hikaru like a lost child. "That Proton guy might hurt him!"

Perrine tugged on her father's sleeve with a desperate, pleading look. "Dad! Please, let us go out there and fight them! It's the only way!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Eduardo roared. "I refuse to let you go out there and get killed!"

"Dad! Come on! We're trainers! We can beat him! I've done it before!" Perrine shouted.

"No you can't!" The girls could tell the older man was just not having it. Even in this desperate situation, he wasn't going to budge one bit. This was not the time for arguing, but what else could they do?

"We know what we're doing! Please, Dad! Let us fight them!"

 _BANG! BANG!_ "Chaaaaa!" Arbok's head banged against the bathroom door.

"Father knows best!" The door came flying off. Kitsune was quick to fire a stream of flames at the giant cobra, making it back away. Eduardo took the kids by the hands once again and pulled them away. The pokemon once again followed suit. All of a sudden, both the arbok and a large blue bat pokemon surrounded them on both sides.

"Sweet Kiss on both of them!" Julia commanded. Tokiko made kissy noises before pink hearts floated over to both enemies. Unfortunately, the arbok sliced them with its tail, and the big blue bat flapped its wings vigorously, making them disappear.

"Choki…" The fear on Eduardo's wrinkled face was unmistakable.

Proton smirked, taking great pleasure in seeing the unadulterated fear on his victims' faces. "Arbok, use Poison Sting. Golbat, use Air Slash."

Arbok opened its large maw, shooting white needles at them. The golbat flapped its wings once, and blue sickles came flying at them. They would have hit them, had Tokiko not glowed in a white light. Soon, a glowing green bubble consumed everyone, rendering the attacks completely useless. The green bubble was big enough to completely encase everyone inside, the other pokemon included. "Wow! Tokiko, you just learned Protect, didn't you?!"

"Choki!"

"Oh lord...we really are trapped…" Eduardo stammered, his body trembling with fear.

"Dad! Pull yourself together!" Perrine shouted. The arbok slammed the bubble with its tail. The golbat tried to slice through the bubble with its wings. They didn't leave even so much as a dent. "Come on, Dad! Let us battle them! We know what we're doing! Please!" Perrine begged, her voice going up an octave.

"No you don't!"

That did it for Julia. As much as she tried to stay out of their business, as her parents drilled it into her head that she should never meddle in someone's private or personal business...she had to intervene. "Yes she does! She's a good trainer! She was the one who stopped Team Rocket from stealing the slowpoke at Azalea Town! She's already won three badges already! That should tell you how capable she is, Mr. Innocenti!" She shouted.

"Vuuuul!" Kitsune echoed Julia's statement.

"No!" Eduardo shouted. "No no no no no no no no no! I _know_ my daughter!" He used his thumb to point at himself, his face beet red both from a combination of fear and anger. "My job is to protect her from any danger!" Hearing that made Perrine cringe. "I don't know what kind of influence you have on her…" Julia squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Did he really have to put her on the spot. "But she is not some barbaric hooligan, and I refuse to let her get herself killed, whether it be because of them or you!"

Was he accusing Julia of Team Rocket's machinations? Was he serious? That did it for Perrine. "YOU DON'T KNOW ME AT ALL!" Perrine finally shouted at the top of her lungs. "This is what I freaking hate about you, Dad! All you care about is you, you, you, you, you! Stop trying to protect me and make me into some glass porcelain doll you can show off to your coworkers and friends! I'm not some robot you can manipulate to do your bidding! Didn't it ever occur to you that all you're doing is trying to keep me in a glass box all the time?! I'll never be the perfect lady you want me to be! You've been absolutely nothing but suffocating my entire life, and I'M SICK OF IT!"

This time, the golbat bared its fangs. "Oh, for the love of Arceus! We're getting out of here!"

Julia got the message. She kneeled down to the egg's level and whispered something. Tokiko nodded obediently and made the bubble dissipate, but not before making it bigger so as to push the arbok and golbat away. "Kitsune, use Flamethrower on arbok! Fukuro and Chirin, use Confusion and Thundershock on golbat!"

Their pokemon nodded, and carried out Perrine's commands with flying colors. The flames danced all around arbok, burning its skin. The golbat was struck by Chirin's thunder, its body jerking from being electrocuted. Fukuro's eyes glowed in an eerie red light, trapping the helpless golbat in place as Chirin electrocuted it. "Baloo, use Disarming Voice on that green haired rocketeer over there!" Baloo made a spiral of red and pink hearts fly right at the man. This gave them the chance to escape into the backyard.

Wailing sirens caught their ears. Men dressed in blue uniforms stormed into the house. Three of them managed to catch four rocket grunts. Eduardo sat down on a bench. His large face was a mixture of fright, confusion, frustration, and possibly many more emotions none of the kids could make out. Eduardo wrapped his arms around himself, hugging himself, or maybe he was trying to protect himself from everything going on around him.

"Is that...how you've always felt?" Eduardo murmured weakly. "Have I...really been too controlling?"

Perrine didn't mince words. "Yes! Yes you have!"

"Perrine!" Even Julia was taken aback by her friend's bluntness. She wished she could be that upfront.

"Dad...I always thought...you hated me...for not being perfect…" Perrine confessed, her small voice trembling. "All those things you made me do...the things I could never do...sewing, tea ceremony, piano...I had thought you saw me as a big mistake…"

"What?! A mistake?!" Eduardo stood up, his eyes having gotten large, like saucers. "No no! Perrine, I...you're not a mistake! You're my daughter! I...I just…" He scratched his hair with one hand. "I just wanted to be a good father. To protect you. I can't believe...I made you feel so...worthless…" He sat back down, taking in everything his daughter told him. "I...I need some wine…this is just too much…"

"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry I made you and Mom worry. Really, I am," Perrine balled her fists tightly once more. "I just wanted to go out and fulfill my dream. I want to see the world and do great things."

Eduardo didn't say anything after that.

* * *

Despite the police's efforts, Proton was nowhere to be found. It was assumed he had escaped. But they were able to tell the Innocentis that Team Rocket were intent on stealing their money and their estate. For what purpose, nobody knew. Thankfully, the butlers and maids were taken to the hospital, and nobody else was hurt. Caiseal was the one who helped the police catch the other grunts with the help of his pokemon.

Rocio and Eduardo offered to let the kids spend the night here, since they figured they might have been tired from both their journey and the burglary. When night fell, Perrine took a shower. Once she got out, she was surprised to find her mother sitting on her bed with a soft expression, holding Kitsune in her arms. "Mom."

"Your friend is adorable," Rocio crooned, petting Kitsune's fur gently. The little fox basked in the older woman's affection. Perrine sat down next to her.

"She is."

"Of course. You have taken care of her for a long time, haven't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've had her since you were trapped in the slums, right?"

Perrine stood up in alarm. "How did you…?!"

"I came home early one day and heard you talking to her," Rocio confessed. "You were telling this little one how happy you were that she comforted you that day. You were so happy. Happier than you had ever been," The woman looked down at the little fox with a warm smile. "I didn't want to separate you two. I knew it would hurt you terribly. I understand why you ran away, and...I'm not mad at you for wanting to fulfill your dream."

"Mom…" Perrine was taken aback by her mother's confession. Rocio knew she had Kitsune that whole time, and not once did she tell anyone about it. Not even Eduardo. True, her mother was more sensitive and caring than Eduardo was, but as far as she knew, she also didn't like pokemon trainers.

"Personally, I still don't approve of the choice you made," Rocio began. "But...as a mother, your happiness is important to me, so...as long as you're happy, you can go on your journey. I have no right to hold you back. After all, you were going to leave the nest sooner or later, so I figure why not."

"Mom…" Perrine couldn't help herself. She wrapped her arms around her mother, and Rocio hugged her back. She had no idea her mother felt this way. Perhaps coming back here was a good idea after all. If Julia hadn't suggested it, Perrine would have avoided them entirely. Now, she learned so much after coming back.

She was only going to learn more the next morning. After breakfast, Eduardo gestured for Perrine to come to his office. For once, she didn't disobey. Eduardo sat down at his desk, with Perrine sitting in front of him. "So...what did you want to talk about, Dad?"

"Perrine...I want to apologize," Eduardo told her in a warm, gentle voice. This was quite unlike him. Perrine's mouth fell open. "You're right. I have been far too controlling. I should have been more sensitive and caring, like Rocio. All I wanted was for you to have a good life. A secure future, where you could thrive and be happy and secure. I was afraid...that you becoming a pokemon trainer...would destroy any semblance of a future you had. But even then, I was too harsh on you."

The orange haired girl listened this time. She was so sure Eduardo would continue to be harsh and scold her for what she had done. For a moment, she thought an alien had come to Earth and replaced him with a nicer clone. "I should have tried to understand you. I should have let you do what made you happy," Eduardo pulled a newspaper clipping out and handed it to Perrine. She skimmed over it, noting the names Mao and Eduardo. Her aunt and father.

"Truth be told, I had wanted to become a trainer myself, like Mao. She had gotten her first pokemon the day before, and she was elated. I didn't get one, because Mother and Father didn't trust me. They were right. It happened when your aunt and I were silly little children…" Eduardo began.

(flashback)

" _Come on, guys! It's this way!" Four boys of about thirteen raced down the edge of Union Cave. An older girl of fifteen years raced after them with just as much enthusiasm. The girl had sunny blonde hair tied into a French braid, tied up with a pink ribbon, and her hazel eyes gleamed at the chance to have her first pokemon battle. She was wearing blue overalls over a yellow shirt and dirty brown sneakers. A chikorita kept close, never straying from its path._

" _Hey, Mao! Catch me if you can!" A young Eduardo teased, chasing his friends._

" _Come on, Ed! Quit it!" The girl with the braid-Mao-shouted back. "And tell Jean, Malcolm, and Dejour to slow down a little!"_

 _The three rowdy boys didn't slow down one bit, and had already reached the trees where the end of Union Cave stood long before Eduardo and Mao had. Eduardo was a small boy back then, with scraggly black hair that would always cover his blue eyes, no matter how much he would brush them. "Whoa! Hey, guys!" One of the boys, Dejour, called out._

 _Eduardo and Mao stopped to listen. "What is it?"_

" _You gotta come check this out!" Dejour motioned for them to come closer. Mao, Eduardo, and the chikorita finally managed to catch up. The five kids were standing before a large onix, curled up in a swirl shape, sleeping in front of the cave entrance contentedly. Its body rose and fell with every loud snore. Mao covered her ears, inadvertently pushing up her pink hat._

" _It's a real life Onix, dude!" The orange haired boy, Jean, exclaimed, marveling at the onix's large size._

" _It's huuuuge! That oughta be my first pokemon for sure!" The dark skinned boy, Malcolm, shouted._

" _Shhh! You'll wake it up!" Mao hissed, putting a finger to her mouth._

 _Eduardo scratched his hair. "Man, this thing's blocking the entrance. I wanna catch a sandshrew already…" He moaned. The kids had come to the cave to try their hands at catching their first pokemon._

" _I think we should go back," Mao mused out loud._

 _All four boys whipped their heads around to give Mao surprised expressions. "What?! Come on, Mao!" Eduardo screamed. "You're the one who suggested we come here in the first place!"_

" _That was before this onix came along!" Mao explained. "You know how dangerous these things are. If you disturb it, it'll go crazy, and it could destroy Azalea Town! Heck, it could even kill you all!"_

 _Malcolm kicked a pebble at the onix's hard skin. It didn't leave a dent, nor did it wake it in any way. "What? You too chicken? Bok bok bok!" He folded his arms and flapped them like a chicken would flap its wings._

" _I'm serious, guys!" Mao shouted, appalled by their lack of understanding of the situation. "You don't wanna mess with an onix!"_

" _Quit being such a stick in the mud, Mao," Eduardo said as he pulled out a bottle of water. "You really are stupid."_

" _Don't you dare, Ed!" Mao lunged at her little brother to yank the water bottle out of his hand. She knew all too well that onix didn't like water. But Jean and Dejour held her back by holding onto both her arms._

" _Splash it! Splash it! Splash it!" Malcolm chanted. Jean and Dejour joined right in. "Splash it! Splash it! Splash it! Splash it!"_

 _Encouraged by his friends' chanting, Eduardo undid the cap on the water bottle. With a swing of his arm, water came cascading out of the bottle, splashing right onto the onix's sleeping face. Big mistake. That was all it took for the onix to shoot right awake, and it let out a mighty roar. "RUN!" Mao grabbed Eduardo and pulled him away from the enraged onix. Jean, Dejour, and Malcolm scrambled after them, their eyes all wide with undiluted fear._

 _Rocks came piling down. A dust cloud consumed everything. Mao and Eduardo were weighed down by something heavy piling up on them. Everything went black._

 _The next thing he knew, he found himself in a white hospital room, tucked underneath a snow white blanket. Gauze covered both his arms, and a stream of it had wrapped around his forehead. He wasn't able to bend his leg, as something hard was wrapped around it. A minty, medicinal smell assailed his nostrils. The first thing he saw was rectangle shaped fluorescent lights hovering over him, blinking. Dark and light._

" _Ed! Little bro! You're okay!" Mao buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "Thank Arceus! I thought I lost you forever!"_

" _Mao…?" Little Eduardo wriggled out from underneath the blankets, sitting himself up to get a better look at her. "Where am I?"_

" _The hospital. Someone saw us get hurt and called 911."_

" _Where are Mom and Dad?"_

" _They're on their way. You've only been out for about an hour," Eduardo noticed the bandages wrapped around Mao's left leg and right arm. A pack of gauze was taped to her forehead, and her braid had come completely undone, leaving pale brown her hair a tangled, scraggly mess._

 _But three people were missing, and they both knew it. "Where are the guys?" Mao squeezed her eyes shut and looked away, unable to respond. Her cheeks were red, and the fluorescent lights revealed the drying tears. He looked up at a window and saw two people talking to a doctor. A dark skinned woman with black hair tied in a bun was holding her husband's hand. "Hey! That's Malcolm's mom!" He exclaimed with a smile. Maybe she came to pick him up. Maybe he was...okay?_

 _The doctor shook his head silently, with a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes. A piercing scream echoed throughout the hospital chambers, loud enough for even the kids to hear it, as their door was open. Malcolm's mother fell to her knees like she had been hit, clutching her husband's sleeve for dear life, wailing like a dying animal. A shiver of ice ran through Eduardo's body._

 _It couldn't be true. They just couldn't be…_

" _Ed. I'm sorry...they're gone…" Mao whimpered._

 _It had to be a lie. This had to be some terrible dream. A horrific nightmare. Of course he would wake up in due time. Wasn't it about time he woke up? No. The gauze on his body proved it. Of all the days he knew Malcolm's mother, he was sure she was never one to cry. She was always jovial, with a smile on her face like a sunflora. The sound that came out of her mouth didn't sound as though it belonged to her. High heels stomped against the tile floor as Malcolm's mother burst through the door. Eduardo froze as soon as they made eye contact. Rage. That was all he saw in her eyes. Absolutely nothing but undiluted rage._

" _YOU!" She stomped over to the hospital bed. "You did this! My son is dead because of you!"_

" _No! Mrs. Thomas! Please!" Mao threw herself in between the hospital bed and the hysterical mother._

" _Bring my child back! Bring him back! Bring them all back!" She wailed with contempt in her voice._

" _Mrs. Thomas! He didn't know what was gonna happen!" Mao explained. "Please, don't be mad! He didn't mean it, honest!"_

 _Hearing Mrs. Thomas's words was like a thunderbolt striking in a clear blue sky. The weight of what happened piled right on him, like the world was on his shoulders. His weak body trembled. The screams of his friends echoed through his mind._

 _It was his fault._

 _No. No no no. It couldn't be. He shook his head vigorously to force those awful feelings out. Jean, Malcolm, and Dejour weren't dead because of him. Already he was telling himself that they didn't die because of him. How could he possibly deal with this? Where were his mother and father? Before he could stop himself, he suddenly shouted, "Yeah! It was your fault, Mao!"_

 _Mao's fault? Both Mao and Mrs. Thomas turned to face the tearful Eduardo. Even Mrs. Thomas stopped yelling at this point. "Little bro! You know that's not true!" Mao exclaimed._

 _He tried everything to deny it. Denying everything. Denying his own part in it. He couldn't accept it. Why not make Mao take the fall for it? After all, she got a pokemon and he didn't. She was the smart one and he wasn't. Why couldn't something go wrong in her life for once? "You splashed the water on that onix! You killed my friends!"_

(end flashback)

Warm tears trickled down Perrine's face, dripping onto the newspaper clipping. She looked up and saw Eduardo at his desk, silently crying, letting the tears flow. This made her speechless. Not once had she ever seen her father cry in all her years of living. She didn't think he ever could cry. "I...I had no idea…"

"Losing my friends…" Eduardo's voice caught in his throat, giving it a sad tone. Even he seemed to be surprised by how utterly broken he sounded. "...hurt me more than you could ever imagine. But I couldn't accept that I had gotten them killed, so...I blamed your aunt for it. Yes, that was how utterly stupid I was, Perrine! In fact, I still am stupid!"

The pieces came together in Perrine's head. All these years he was strict with her...he was trying to dissuade her from becoming a pokemon trainer, all in an attempt to keep her safe, like he couldn't protect his friends. She knew it didn't excuse what he did, but at least now she had some answers. "I was a prideful child. I never liked to accept responsibility for anything, so...I tried to make Mao take the fall for it. That's why...we don't get along, even now," He put a hand on his head, letting out a tired sigh. "My parents didn't know what to do with me. I went to counseling, therapy...everything. I even went to a different school. I was...so scared of pokemon after that. I studied hard to be what I am today...I tried to move on. I tried to forget about them. But then Mao left…"

" _You became a pokemon trainer?! Even after what happened?!"_

" _Yes, I did. What's wrong with that?"_

" _Have you no remorse for what happened to them?!"_

" _I'm doing this to honor them! Unlike you, I know how to move on. I made my peace with them."_

"When I found out Mao went on a journey anyway...I hated her for leaving. I thought I had lost someone yet again to pokemon...I didn't even go to her coronation or congratulate her when she became the champion…" More sobs escaped his mouth. "I blamed her for years. My refusal to let go of the past...made me the terrible person you see before you. Every time I saw her...I saw my friends dying...and I couldn't bear it. There's no excuse for the way I treated you and her."

Perrine fell silent. Her father had never told her any of this. "I...I appreciate you telling me all of this. You...didn't have to."

"No. I needed to," Eduardo stood up, his body shaking from the awful memories flooding his brain. "I have to. I can't...run away anymore. I can't keep protecting you and blaming Mao for something that wasn't her fault. The whole thing was mine. I can't keep blaming others for it anymore. Only I can carry my sins on my shoulders."

"You talk like you're serving the death penalty."

"Seeing you with your friends and pokemon...looking so jovial, so alive...finally made me forget my hatred," Eduardo told her. Even he couldn't deny it. Perrine loved pokemon, and would continue to do so, no matter what. Perhaps it was time to finally accept it. He kneeled before Perrine and said, with a kind expression on his wrinkled face, "Your mother and I were talking, and...Perrine. Go on your journey."

Perrine's eyes widened. Did he just say that she thought she heard. "I was wrong to treat you the way I did. It scares me that...you're going out all alone. It's a parent's job to pull you back when you get in over your head. But even I know I can't protect you forever. I was selfish, Perrine. But I won't be selfish anymore," He wrapped his arms around his daughter and pulled her close. "You are my most precious treasure, Perrine. I won't stop you from fulfilling your dream, anymore. Go and be the best pokemon trainer you can be. No matter what, you'll always be my daughter…"

That was when it hit her. All this time, she kept her heart stiff and cold toward them, so she could survive the harsh journey and the life ahead of her. Suddenly, everything felt melted and soft, and the tears returned. She cried into her father's tuxedo, ruining his tie, not that either cared, and both felt a warmth and comfort that they hadn't felt for a long time.

Caiseal watched from a crack in the door. Despite the heartwarming scene before him, all he felt was disappointment. Apollo and Mallow looked up at him with concerned expressions, wondering what was going on in his mind. This was a happy occasion, so why wasn't he happy, they asked themselves. "Durn. I thought I could relate to her…" He turned around, recoiling at the scene unraveling before him.

A voice he didn't want to hear came back into his mind, screaming, "I wish you were never born!"

"Quil quil!"

"Cubone!"

"Yeah. I should have expected this," Caiseal scratched his arm with one hand. "Oh well."

About a few hours later, the kids were ready to return to the wilderness. Rocio walked over to Perrine and said, "I talked to Professor Elm earlier. I arranged for all of your future pokemon to be transferred here, so we can take care of them ourselves. That way, if you ever come home, you can play with your friends."

"I appreciate it, Mom. Thank you," Perrine hugged her mother.

Julia looked over at Caiseal and said, "It seems everything worked out!"

"Yeah. It did," Caiseal replied sheepishly.

"Choki!" Tokiko chirped in agreement.

"Be careful, Perrine. Call us if you need anything," Eduardo told her.

"I will."

"Oh," He looked up at Julia, who held Tokiko in her arms. "You're...Julia, right?"

"Uhh…" Julia looked down at Tokiko, focusing on the yellow spikes on her head to avert Eduardo's gaze. "Y-Y-Y-Yes?"

"You and Caiseal seem like good kids. Take good care of my daughter. Would you please?"

"Uhh...sure! We'll try!"

"I have something for your little friend here," He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small, shiny, glistening silver bell, the size of a marble, with a red string holding it up like a necklace. A small, pale yellow ribbon matching Tokiko's skin sat on top of the bell. "It's for you, little togepi."

"Choki!" Tokiko grabbed the bell so fast she almost dropped it. Julia was quick to grab it.

Eduardo smiled, marveling at the little pokemon's grateful expression. "It's a soothe bell. They help foster a bond between a trainer and the pokemon wearing it."

"Wow...thank you, sir…" Julia wasn't sure what she did to warrant this, but Tokiko seemed happy, and she figured it'd be rude to refuse his kindness, so why not. "Say thank you, Tokiko."

"Choki kriiii!"

"If you ever plan on going to another gym, there's one in Ecruteak City," Rocio announced. "Morty, the gym leader, uses-"

"Ghost and poison types. I know, Mom," Perrine said, giving both her parents one final hug. Julia froze, her stance becoming rigid at the mere utterance at the word poison types. "Thank you both. I love you."

"We love you too, Perrine."

With this, the kids left the Innocenti mansion with light hearts. Perrine found herself skipping along the golden roads with a radiant smile. Coming here had been a good idea after all. Now, her resolve was stronger than ever.

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, blatant shout out to Steven Universe here. I LOVE Steven Universe, and Nightmare Hospital helped me with some writer's block regarding this chapter, so I thought I'd pay homage to it.**

 **Also, special thanks goes to Pokemistress for pointing out that I accidentally mis-updated the file with the wrong chapter! Thanks!**

* * *

 **Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Protect).**

 **Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), and Snubbull (Female, Gentle Nature, Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, Scary Face).**

 **Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Skiploom (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)**

 **Pokemon At Professor Elm's Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)**

 **Caiseal: Cubone (Male, Lax Nature, Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, and Growl), Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl), Oddish (Male, Quirky Nature, Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Sweet Scent), Quagsire (Female, Jolly Nature, Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Mud Bomb), and Murkrow (Female, Hardy Nature, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Haze, and Dark Pulse).**


	14. I Can Take Care of My Pokemon!

Chapter 12: I Can Take Care of My Pokemon!

Eduardo Innocenti sat at his desk, writing on some important papers. A beautiful night sky, cut in a square, came through his window, with the stars shining brightly, just like usual. After what seemed to be hours, he put his pen down and straightened the papers out by tapping them on the desk. "That should do it," He looked over to a family photo. A mahogany frame held together a picture of himself, Rocio, and a ten year old Perrine standing on a balcony, overlooking a beautiful, sparkling ocean.

A smile pushed the corners of his mouth upward. How was Perrine doing, he wondered. She had left for her journey just this afternoon, after they finally managed to work things out. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, he finally felt at peace. With both himself and the demons he tried so hard to push away. The dread he used to feel had finally decided to leave. Then again, it was he who finally pushed it out. But there was still one thing he needed to do.

Mao. He looked at a framed picture on his wall. It showed a woman in her thirties wearing blue overalls over a white shirt, brown boots, and a pink hat on her head, surrounded by pokemon, holding a large trophy with a tearful smile. Multicolored confetti was flying all over the place. Even the pokemon had jovial smiles on their faces. Eduardo smiled at the picture. Normally, he would look upon it with disgust. Now, those days were gone.

Still...he couldn't help but yearn for the chance to talk with Mao again. Any time they did talk, all they did was argue and fight, no matter the situation. In his heart, he knew Mao didn't deserve that. No more running away this time. He picked up the phone, punched in some numbers, and held it up to his ear. Three rings echoed in his ear before a female voice answered the phone. _"Hello. This is Mao Borgia."_

"Big sister? It's your little brother, Eduardo."

" _Eduardo?!"_ Mao screamed so loud he had to pull himself away from the phone. After a brief period of silence, she calmed down. _"You never call me,"_ She replied, her voice adopting a slightly scornful tone. _"What do you want? Make it quick, because cross-region calls are a dollar a minute."_

"Mao...I...I want to apologize."

" _For what?"_

"Everything. From that day. For...blaming you for it. Everything I've done to you since then. I...I should never have been so stupid."

" _Yeah, you were kinda stupid,"_ Eduardo flinched at the comment. As much as he appreciated Mao's honesty, he wished she wasn't so blunt sometimes. But then again, she was never one to hide her true feelings, unlike him. In a way, he liked that about her. She was upfront, and always straight with people.

"You never deserved the treatment I gave you. You're not a bad influence. Everything I said to you…" Eduardo paused for a brief moment, letting his remorse do the talking. "...it describes me more than anything."

Silence. Then… _"Ed. I...I don't know what to say…"_

"You have every right to hate me. I've been absolutely terrible to you. I should have respected your decisions. Also…" For the first time in a long while, pride enveloped his being. "I'm proud of you. For having been the champion."

Another silence, until, _"Thanks, Ed. I...I appreciate it."_

"You're a wonderful sister."

" _You're a good little brother, even if you can be more stubborn than a ponyta on speed."_

Eduardo couldn't hold back a chuckle. "That's true."

" _How's Perrine?"_

"She's doing well. In fact...she went on a pokemon journey."

" _Really?!"_ Mao exclaimed, her voice adopting a jovial tone to it. _"That's wonderful! Wait, you actually let her go on one?"_

Eduardo explained everything to Mao. It took about ten minutes to fully tell the whole story, but Mao listened like the good sister she was. _"I wish you had told me this stuff sooner, Ed!"_

"I know. I'm sorry."

" _Well, I'm glad to know she's alright, and...thanks for being a dad to her for once. I'm sure she really appreciates that."_

"She does. I was selfish to hold her back for so long. Also...Mao?"

" _Hm?"_

"I know this sounds sudden, and you're probably busy, but...would you...like to come visit Johto sometime? We could go out to lunch together and catch up on old times. I'm sure...the boys wouldn't want us to be angry forever."

Once again, silence. This time, it was a good silence. _"I'd love to, Ed! My schedule's kinda tight right now, but I'll see what I can do. There's no way I can reject that offer. I can't wait to see you again. Hey, maybe I'll run into Perrine and see how she's doing! Where is she now?"_

"I heard she's heading to Ecruteak. If you want, I can give you her PokeGear number."

" _That'd be wonderful. Thanks, little bro."_

Finally, he was at peace. For real, this time. The last of his demons was finally kicked into oblivion.

* * *

Caiseal lay down on a grassy meadow, watching a gloomy grey sky loom down on everything with interested eyes. Then again, it wasn't really the sky, as the big clouds had completely blocked it off. Not even the tiniest little sunbeam could break through those thick clouds. A gentle breeze made the grass blades dance and sway, pushing some of his blonde hair into his face. The merry sounds of pokemon laughter livened the gloomy atmosphere around him, not that he really noticed.

On the other hand, he did notice something during his time with Perrine and Julia: traveling with company was different than traveling alone. Well, he didn't travel with kids his own age, just with pokemon. Still, it was an odd experience. He hadn't known them very long, but other the few short days he spent with them, he had already learned a lot about them. One such thing being Perrine coming from a rich family, her intense love of ninjas, her aunt being the former champion of Johto, and wanting to be a champion like her. Smiling at the thought of Perrine being a champion one day, he silently wished her luck. He had many friends during his school days, but none of them were rich or had famous relatives. Still, Perrine herself was her own person, being outspoken yet polite, kind to everyone, though quick to scold him when he said something about Julia.

Julia...the boy wasn't sure what to make of her. He looked over at the girl in question. "There you go, Saoirse! You got it!" She had left Aqua with her parents and exchanged her for her new friend, Saoirse the snubbull. Said snubbull rubbed herself against Julia's cheek happily. "That tickles! You like to snuggle, don't you?" Julia said with a merry laugh.

Not even Caiseal could prevent a smile from tickling his face. He wondered if he was wrong for constantly putting her down, even for stupid things like the way she held her utensils. He could see from the way she interacted with her pokemon that she was kind to them, treating them like family.

"Cubone?" Mallow's concerned voice drew Caiseal out of his reverie. He sat up and stroke his friend's skull gently.

"Hey there, Mallow. You doin' okay?"

"Cyndaquil!" Apollo rolled on the grass, right toward Caiseal, uncurling as soon as they made contact. Caiseal cradled Apollo into his arms and nuzzled him.

"Be careful, little guy. I don't want you getting hurt," He told the little anteater kindly.

"You got him from Professor Elm's lab, right?" Julia's voice suddenly made him turn his head around. Saoirse, Hikaru, and Tokiko all looked at him with curious eyes.

"Yeah, I did," Caiseal replied sheepishly. "Do you...want to hold him?"

"Is that okay?"

"Sure," Apollo crawled over to Julia and sniffed her hands to see if she was safe. Soon, Julia cradled the warm, fluffy cyndaquil in her arms. Little Apollo squealed happily at Julia's warm touch before the girl made her fingers dance across his belly. "Ooooh. I didn't know you were ticklish, Apollo!" Julia crooned as Apollo giggled uncontrollably. Hikaru found herself laughing at the adorable sight. Tokiko just found herself approaching Mallow with a bright smile and a little wave. Mallow sheepishly returned the gesture by waving right back.

Soon enough, Julia could tell Apollo had enough and set him back down. "Aren't you just the cutest thing!" She ruffled Apollo's head with one hand. The anteater smiled, silently basking in the girl's affectionate touch.

"So...how long have you been a trainer?" Caiseal asked as Apollo sat on his lap. Mallow had put his bone down to hoist a happy Tokiko in the air, like a parent would do for their child.

"For a short while, I guess. I think...about a month? I haven't really counted," Julia replied as Saoirse hopped on her lap, begging for pets. The girl caved in and stroke the pink bulldog's fur with one hand back and forth. "What about you, Caiseal?"

Caiseal looked over at Mallow, who happily rolled on the grass with Tokiko. "I've had Mallow since I was nine. But I guess you could say I became an official trainer for about two months," He replied in a soft voice. "I notice you don't have one of the Johto starters. Why is that?"

"It's kinda a weird story," Julia began right as Blossom waddled over. "I wanted to get a chikorita, but Perrine got to the lab before I did and took it. But then I found Hikaru near death, and my mom and I took her to the lab to get healed," The memory was strong in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if fate had brought her and Hikaru together. Hikaru let out a "Chupi!" at Julia's recounting of the tale. "She just got attached to me...and we've been inseparable ever since," She picked Hikaru up and nuzzled her cheek against her friend's tiny red one. "She's my adorable friend! Then again, all of my pokemon are!"

"Pichuuu!"

"Oddish?" Blossom cooed for Julia's attention.

"What's wrong, Blossom?" Julia turned around, wondering what was up. Blossom held up one of her feet, which was red on the front. "Oh, did you hurt your leg? Hang on. I think I have a potion in my bag," Julia gently put Saoirse down on the grass, dug through her bag, and pulled out a potion. "This'll sting a little, but it'll make your foot all better," She sprayed the potion on the wound. The plant pokemon squeezed its eyes shut and let out a small cry, as the spraying substance felt as though she was being stung by beedrill stingers. "There! All better!"

When Blossom opened her eyes, she looked down at her foot. The injury was completely gone. "Oddish!"

"You're welcome, sweetie," Julia stroke the big leaves on her friend's head kindly.

Caiseal smiled. "You really do love your pokemon, don't you?"

"Of course! I've lived with them my whole life!" It was here that Flippy laid down on the grass, letting out a long yawn. Saoirse and Hikaru jumped onto Flippy's belly to try and sleep on her. Since Flippy's skin was slick and oily, they fell right down as soon as they got on. "You love your pokemon too, right?"

"Heck yeah!" Caiseal suddenly exclaimed. Julia put a hand over her ear to muffle the sound, but she could tell he was serious. It wasn't as though he was yelling, especially not angrily. "By the way," He said in a lower voice. "Where's Perrine at? She's been gone for a while."

Julia scratched her hair with one hand. "Didn't she say she was gonna investigate some weird tree blocking the roads?" As soon as she said that, an odd voice echoed through the air.

"Sudowoodoooooooo!" Something resembling a human sized tree suddenly ran right past them. It suddenly ripped on a rock and fell on the grass, face down. The pokemon was a tall, brown thing with small yellow spots dotting its body, with stick-like arms with large, round, green fingers at the tips. Protruding from its head was a Y-shaped forked branch, and it stood back on its forelegs. It had two small eyes and a mouth, both of which were consumed with fear.

"Whoa! What's that pokemon?" Caiseal was quick to pull out his PokeDex and examine it.

" _Sudowoodo, the imitation pokemon._ _Although it camouflages itself as a tree in order to avoid being attacked, its body is actually more like a rock than like a plant, and because the forelegs remain green throughout the year, the Pokémon is easily identified as a fake during the winter. It hates water and disappears whenever it rains,"_ A blue male sign flashed in the PokeDex.

"Chiko!" A green vine shot out of Florian's neck, wrapping right around the frightened sudowoodo. Perrine came flying out from some bushes with a pokeball in hand.

"Use Razor Leaf to weaken it!" Perrine commanded. With a swing of its leaf, Florian threw three large leaves at the rocky tree. The leaves managed to leave two dents on the sudowoodo's hard skin. The rocky tree smacked the vine coiling around its body to break free, but they were flexible, and Florian wasn't intent on letting it go.

Then an idea hatched in its head. The sudowoodo used one of its legs to sweep at Florian, kicking him across the face. The force was so strong that Florian fell to the ground, and the vine was forced to release it. With that, the sudowoodo took the opportunity to escape. The kids stood up to try and grab it themselves, but the sudowoodo was too fast for them, having disappeared into the horizon.

"Awwww, man!" Perrine fell to her knees, gasping for breath. "I was so close to catching it, too!"

"Chiko!" ( _"You said it!"_ ) Florian shared Perrine's sentiment.

"What was that all about?" Julia asked.

"I wanted to catch that sudowoodo," Perrine explained once she caught her breath. She even had a PokeBall in her hand ready to catch it.

"Chikori…" ( _"I'm sorry…"_ ) Florian looked down at the grass with a rueful expression. Perrine stroke the leaf on Florian's head. "It's okay, little guy. He was probably too strong for us anyway. We can catch one next time."

"I guess we should have helped you," Caiseal said.

"No no. It's okay," Perrine interjected.

Although Perrine didn't catch that sudowoodo, it wasn't the end of the world. Florian seemed to understand, and was happy that Perrine wasn't angry with him. After this, Florian went off to play with the other pokemon. Julia did the same, leaving Caiseal and Perrine alone together. The two couldn't help but notice that Julia looked absolutely radiant when she was among the pokemon. Rolling with them on the grass, playing with them, hoisting them in the air, tickling them...the smile on her face was as bright as a sunflora's golden foliage. Seeing this made Caiseal smile as well.

He looked over to Perrine. "Ummm...can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead. What is it?"

"Back at your mansion," Caiseal began. "You said...that Julia was...autistic or something," The word sounded so alien to him. So unfamiliar. He felt he needed answers. "Exactly...what does that mean?"

Perrine gave him a quizzical look. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

It must be confessed that Perrine wasn't sure if she could trust him with this information. Considering how he had treated her since they met, the orange haired girl wondered whether he deserved to know. Even if she did explain it to him, it could go three ways: he would be willing to understand and work with her quirks, completely forget about it and go back to treating her like she usually did, or take it up a notch and be even worse. But maybe, just maybe, he was genuine in his curiosity. Maybe he wanted to understand? Maybe he wants to be friends?

The orange haired girl shrugged. Oh well. She might as well explain it to him. "Julia has something called autism. I don't really know how to explain it, but I will tell you this," Caiseal could hear the no-nonsense tone in her voice, like she wanted him to keep this information in his mind and take it seriously. "It's not a problem. It's not like it's something that needs to be cured. Her brain just works a little differently from ours. That's all," She told him in the most direct manner possible.

"So...is she, like...really super good at math? Or counting cards?" Caiseal asked.

"No. Not that I can see. I'll have to ask her later. I hear people say those are stereotypes, though," Perrine answered. "I know she hates it when people yell," She turned her gaze to Caiseal. In no uncertain terms, she told him, " _You've_ done plenty of it."

The shame that overtook him upon hearing that comment was instantaneous. He looked down at his shoes. "She's not stupid, nor is she doing stuff to embarrass people or annoy you. My aunt is autistic...my aunt the former champion of Johto."

"Whoa! Seriously?!" He yelped. He had known that Perrine's aunt was a former Johto League champion. She had told him and Julia that. But he had no idea she was autistic. "That's...awesome…"

"Cubone!" Mallow agreed with a nod.

Perrine wasn't done yet. "If you want to travel with us, that's fine. But if we're going to be friends, you're going to have to respect the decisions we make or the people we hang out with, Julia included. I mean it when she says she hates yelling. It won't help her learn stuff. Trust me, I've been there. If you do anything skeevy, bully her, call her names, say she's in the way, or do anything to her, you're hitting the road," She stared right into his eyes. "Got it, buster?"

Caiseal nodded in agreement.

"Good. She's been nothing but nice to me since we met, and I don't appreciate people dissing my friends. Would you like it if someone dissed you or your friends?"

"Nope nope nope," Caiseal shook his head to empathize his answer.

Loud music suddenly pulled them out of their conversation. It was Julia's PokeGear, playing loud rock music. "Whoops! Sorry!" She was quick to press the button that turned the volume down.

"What the heck was that?" Caiseal asked.

"Sorry!" Julia apologized again. "I just wanted to try out the radio function on here, and it started playing this loud rock music…" Once the volume was down, Caiseal and Perrine found themselves at ease, their initial shock disappearing. The kids could make out the lyrics easier with the volume down. Guitar riffs and roaring drum beats crackled through the PokeGear's speaker.

" _The cruel sun shines down on me,_

 _With its piercing, burning light,_

 _It's the worst kind of stigma,_

 _The misery is too overwhelming for me to bear…_

 _This barren world, reduced to ruins,_

 _On its surface I tread with my calloused feet,_

 _It's all too much, I can't see anything anymore…_

 _Withering...Smoldering…_

 _Oh God, please save me from this cruel world!_

 _Please give me even the tiniest beam of light!"_

"Who's singing this?" Caiseal asked, staring down at the PokeGear with a confused, almost disinterested expression.

"I don't know. But I have to admit, it sounds cool!" Julia added. One of her feet was tapping up and down in time to the beats. Not even she could control it, not that she cared.

"Eh, to me it sounds kinda depressing…" Perrine mused.

As the kids were absorbed in the music, Saoirse sat on the grass, straightening out the red ribbons on her ears. Julia had bought them for her recently, and Saoirse fell in love with them as soon as they were put on. However, she happened to notice Tokiko walking off. None of the other pokemon noticed, as they were too busy playing by themselves to notice.

A shiver of worry ran through the bulldog pokemon's body. What if something were to happen? She had to get Tokiko back. She couldn't risk something happening to her. With a grunt, she stood up and ran after the waddling egg pokemon. "Snubbull snubull!" ( _"Tokiko! Wait! Please come back!"_ ) She called out. But Tokiko was out of sight.

* * *

"Dangit!" A woman stomped through some thick grass, inadvertently scaring off some small pidgey. A round black hat concealed the rest of her pale brown hair, and her eyes were gleaming with irritation, with some bags holding them down. She was wearing a long sleeved black dress going down to her thighs with a bold, crimson red R emblazoned on the breast, tall grey boots, and matching gloves. "We've been stuck in this forest for three days now! When am I ever gonna get a shower?!" Some bush leaves got caught in her hair. With a whine, she yanked them out.

"You know what the boss said, Margeaux," A man exclaimed, using a machete to swipe at some trees. He was dressed in a different uniform, consisting of a pure white jumper with the same red R on the shirt, light grey boots and gloves, a white hat, and a silver belt with some PokeBalls and a whip attached to it. The man's spiky jet black hair protruded out from underneath his hat, and his brown eyes were devoid of any kind of compassion. "If we don't find any rare pokemon, we'll be kicked out of Team Rocket!"

"I get that, Yannick!" Margeaux snapped before running her hands through her scraggly hair. "Uuuuugh! Good God, are we EVER gonna find anything worth stealing and selling?!"

The white clad man cracked his whip. "If we don't, I bet some naive trainers would give my beautiful whip great pleasure…" He sneered with a smirk curling upward in a skeevy, lustful manner. A shiver ran through Margeaux's spine.

Margeaux pulled out some shiny black binoculars and looked through them. "I am so done with this…" She groaned, seeing nothing so far. First, it was some pidgey eating some berries. Then it was a caterpie climbing up a tree. Some metapod sitting around waiting for evolution, a stantler running across the plains, a togepi and a snubbull running around.

Wait…

"Hey! Yannick! Check this out!"

"Hm?" Yannick crawled over to the woman as she handed him the binoculars. He looked inside to find himself gazing at a lone togepi, happy as can be, just waddling around without a care in the world. A snubbull with red ribbons on its ears gave chase.

"A togepi and a snubbull…" Yannick mused to himself. "They're fairy types, right?"

"Yeah!" For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on Margeaux's face, lighting it up like it had never been lit before. "They're the new type that's hot on the news! I know togepi are really really rare pokemon, too!" Excitement peppered her screechy voice. To Yannick, it was just white noise. "If we sell them to J, she might consider raising our salaries!"

Yannick's gaze locked onto the two fairy type pokemon. Yet another lustful smirk painted over his face. The ribbons indicated that the snubbull belonged to a trainer, not that he cared. No, Team Rocket didn't care if pokemon had trainers. They didn't even see pokemon as...well, pokemon. He was already seeing dollar signs that just screamed "Ka-ching!"

"Eeeeyep. Boss J is going to love this indeed," Yannick mused to himself.

Speaking of said togepi and snubbull, Tokiko stopped in the middle of a meadow to look around. All she saw were grass and trees going on for miles. Some large bird pokemon soared overhead, taking their sweet time in floating on the gentle breeze. "Choki!" ( _"There they are!"_ ) A bouquet of soft pink flowers caught the spike ball's attention. Apple shaped flowers, complete with cotton candy pink foliage spread outward as though they were welcoming the sun's warm rays, stood out from beneath a large oak tree.

With a chirp, Tokiko waddled over to the flowers. She was sure her friends were going to love them. It helped that they smelled nice, too. She wasn't sure how else to describe the lofty scent that caressed her non-existent nostrils. Before she could pluck one of the flowers off, Saoirse came running. "Snubbull snubbull snuuuub!" ( _"Tokiko! There you are! What are you doing here?"_ )

Tokiko turned around, tilting her head to one side. _"See-See? What'cha doin'?"_ See-See was Tokiko's new nickname for Saoirse.

" _Looking for you, of course!"_ Saoirse exclaimed before kneeling down to the innocent togepi's level. _"You shouldn't wander off by yourself. There's lots of dangerous pokemon around here."_

" _I just wanted to get these flowers for everyone,"_ Tokiko told her. _"They're so pretty. I think Hikaru would like them. Julia and Perrine, too!"_

Saoirse crossed her arms, giving Tokiko a stern expression. _"I know, and that's nice, but you need to be careful. Who knows what pokemon or people could be lurking around."_

" _Sowwy…"_

The pink bulldog stroke the spike ball's head gently with her stubby hand. _"It's okay. Get the flowers and let's go back. We don't want Julia to be worried. She might cry if she finds out we're gone,"_ Saoirse told her. Tokiko would have grabbed the flowers and left right away, had she not seen a large net looming right over them.

" _LOOK OUT!"_ Tokiko screeched in a piercing voice before her eyes glowed in a purple light. The grey net suddenly froze in the air. Saoirse found herself shocked at the sight of the net. It was large enough to cover them both. Once Tokiko felt the coast was clear, the purple energy around the net disappeared, and it plopped onto the floor.

Unfortunately, they weren't out of the woods. As soon as Tokiko put the net down, a steel cube came rolling toward them. Saoirse grabbed Tokiko by the hand and tried to pull her away, but blue energy came shooting out, trapping them both inside a glowing cube. "We got'em!" Yannick rejoiced with enthusiasm peppering his voice.

" _Oh no...what do we do?"_ Tokiko chirruped.

Saoirse held Tokiko close. _"I don't know...but Julia will find us…"_

* * *

"Think it's time to hit the road?" Perrine asked as she put her pokemon back in their pokeballs. "We might be able to get to Ecruteak if we hurry."

"Good idea," Caiseal agreed, having already put his pokemon away. Julia agreed as well, and put her pokemon away as well...except she noticed two were missing. Right then and there, a shiver of fear ran through her body.

"Saoirse? Tokiko? Where are you?" Julia cried, cupping her hands over the sides of her mouth.

"They're not here?" Perrine asked.

"That's strange...they were just here a minute ago…" The beast called worry was growing in size. Although she was calm right now, already she felt the need to flap her hands, which she did. It didn't calm her down one bit. In fact, it only provided the beast with more fuel to consume her.

"I'll go look over there," Caiseal said.

"Saoirseeee! Tokikooooo!" Julia shouted loud enough for her voice to echo in the wind. Perrine searched underneath bushes, around trees, and even asked some passing trainers. No sign of Tokiko and Saoirse anywhere.

"This is so weird," Perrine said. "They couldn't have gone far-" As soon as she turned around, she saw something that rendered her silent. Julia was flapping her hands up and down wildly, pacing around, looking past the meadows with huge tears streaming right down her eyes.

"TOKIKO! SAOIRSE!" The girl screamed far louder this time, her voice almost bordering on hysterical.

"Jule!" Perrine slammed both hands on her friend's shoulders. "Don't cry! It'll be okay! We'll find them!" None of what she said consoled her friend one bit. "I'm sure they're alright-"

"NO!" With a scream, she pushed both of Perrine's arms off. Even the orange haired girl found herself aghast, taking two steps back to get out of her personal space. This was quite unlike her. Now, Julia was outright glaring at her friend with her green eyes a distorted combination of both sadness and rage. "How do you know, huh?! How do you know Tokiko and Saoirse are alright?! Oh, that's right? YOU DON'T! That's what! They're not even YOUR pokemon!" Perrine took yet another step back, her eyes widening in fright. What had come over her? "Don't you dare say you're sure about something when it's undoubtedly and categorically clear that you don't know a thing!"

"Hey! Calm down, will you?!" This time, Caiseal threw himself in between them. "Screaming at the top of your lungs isn't going to do anything! Take a deep breath."

A light shot out of one of Julia's pokeballs. Out came a very determined Tsubasa, who looked right up at Julia with sharp eyes. "Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"Stop your crying! We gotta find them, pronto!"_ ) She pointed her wings at Julia, then at the sky, to empathize her point.

She had to admit, both Caiseal and Tsubasa were right. As much as she wanted to cry, Julia knew this wasn't going to do anything. Her pokemon came first. In her mind, a good trainer would take action. Reluctantly, she wiped her tears away. "Tsubasa," She began in a shaky, trembling voice. "Can you fly around and see if you can find Tokiko and Saoirse from the air?"

"Coo coo!" ( _"Way ahead of you!"_ ) Tsubasa had already ascended into the sky by the time Julia finished her order. Caiseal and Perrine looked at each other before nodding and threw pokeballs into the air. Both Fukuro and Ravenclaw came flying right out.

"Hoothoot!"

"Murkrow!"

"You guys! Go and look for Tokiko and Saoirse!" Caiseal exclaimed. "As soon as you find anything, let us know right away!" With nods, the two birds went in different directions, hopefully to cover more ground.

"We should keep looking, too," Julia suggested.

With this, the kids split up looking for the two fairies. Despite keeping herself calm for her pokemon's sake, it was hard to bottle up all of those emotions. Fear, sadness, despair, hysteria, and the urge to just scream. When she was like this, even walking was painful for her. Her heart raced a million miles a minute, like it was going to explode into pieces. She stayed with Caiseal and let Hikaru out so the pokemon could try and smell her scent. Most pokemon had a stronger sense of smell than humans.

Caiseal could tell Julia was struggling to keep herself together. He remembered Perrine telling her about autism, and that Julia had it. It didn't necessarily change his opinion of her, but it did explain a lot of things to him. Even he was bothered by her hand flapping and worry for her friends, he felt it was justified this time. He wanted so badly to scold her for letting her pokemon wander off, but refrained from doing so, knowing it wouldn't do any good for either of them.

"Pi?" Hikaru's nose crinkled up and down. "Pichu! Pichu pi!"

"What's up, Hikaru?"

The yellow mouse hopped over to a set of footprints. One set of them was small, shaped like two large grains of rice. The other set of footprints was bigger and more circular, with three round toes. "Footprints!" Julia kneeled down to Hikaru's level to examine them closer. They faced Julia's direction, facing east. No doubt about it. "These are Saoirse and Tokiko's footprints!"

"Pichu pichu!" ( _"Their scent is strong! They went that way!"_ ) Hikaru pointed toward a dirt path.

"Let's go and take a look," Caiseal said. Julia nodded in agreement.

As for the birds, they soared all over the place with their wings outstretched, looking everywhere for the two fairies. So far, they saw nothing. But something caught Tsubasa's eye. She perched down on a tree and saw a set of houses made of stone. Years of exposure to nature left nicks and cracks on the stone walls. Some weeds and grass grew from some cracks. Two people, both wearing Team Rocket uniforms, were dragging a glowing box behind them. Saoirse and Toki were inside.

"Step on it, Yannick! We can catch some rare pokemon in here, too!" Margeaux shouted. The glowing box shook as Tokiko repeatedly rammed herself against the glowing walls. None of it left so much as a dent, but the tiny egg pokemon continued to slam the walls with every ounce of energy she had. Not even a crack from Yannick's whip was able to make her stop.

"Cease your defiance, stupid fairy!" Yannick roared as he cracked the whip at the glowing box. All Tokiko did was glare at him with a look that said, _"I'm not afraid of you!"_ All Saoirse did was cover her eyes with her stubby hands. "You're lucky we're making a pit stop here at the Ruins of Alph. When we're done here, you're gonna be sold off to J in no time!"

Tsubasa heard every word. Her feathers ruffled with rage, right as Fukuro and Ravenclaw descended next to her. "Murkrow murkrow!" ( _"Did you find them?"_ )

"Coo coo!" ( _"Yeah! They're over there! Those people caught them!"_ ) Tsubasa pointed her wing at the glowing box. Yannick stared down at the captive pokemon with a stern glare, not taking his eyes off of them one bit.

"Hoothoot hoothoot!" ( _"I'll go and let the kids know!"_ ) Fukuro pointed his wing at himself before wagging it in front of the other two birds. _"You girls stay here and make sure Saoirse and Tokiko don't get seriously hurt. Watch their every move!"_ She told them.

Tsubasa stretched her wings out. _"Good, because I want to kick their behinds so hard they'll go flying on Arceus's doorstep!"_ Tsubasa cooed loudly before Fukuro took off.

Exasperated by her boasting, Ravenclaw simply shook her head. _"I swear, you're the only pidgey I know who's this arrogant."_

Julia and Caiseal followed the footprints, but found that they stopped at a certain point. "Aw man. They stop here," Caiseal said. Out from the bushes came Perrine, whose hair was covered in leaves.

"Did you find them?"

The younger girl shook her head. "No," Julia could tell from the way Perrine looked down that she didn't have any luck on her end either. The dreadful feeling she thought she had pushed out of her body came creeping back in, morphing straight into guilt. "This is my fault. I...I should have put them in their pokeballs…" The tears came back this time.

"Hoothooooot!" Fukuro cooed as he flapped right in front of the kids.

"Did you find them?!" Perrine yelped.

Fukuro gave a nod and gestured for them to follow him. The kids swallowed their guilt and followed the young owl. They had to sift through some bushes before arriving at the stone houses. "What is this place?" Julia asked. The scent of aging stone and fresh grass wafted through the air, and it had a sort of mysterious feeling to it, like there was something here. But they couldn't figure out what. But all the kids knew was that this was where Fukuro led them, and Saoirse and Tokiko were sure to be here.

"Hey! I know this place!" Caiseal exclaimed. "These are the Ruins of Alph!"

Perrine gave the scraggly haired boy a quizzical look. "Ruins of Alph?"

"I read about them in a book once," He explained as the kids stopped at the entrance of one stone house. Julia touched one of the stone walls to feel its texture. Like normal rocks, they were hard and bumpy, with her fingers catching some of the gravel. "These ruins have been around for thousands of years, probably since the Earth was created," Tsubasa and Ravenclaw returned to their trainers as they arrived. Caiseal sent out Apollo to light up the inside of the stone house.

As they went inside, the corridor stretched farther than they could see, even with Apollo's flame lighting it up. Perrine found herself trembling. "These ruins...they're kinda creepy…"

"Really? I think they're kinda cool," Julia replied matter-of-factly. All of a sudden, she and Hikaru stopped. The yellow mouse's ears twitched. "Guys. Wait. Do you hear that?"

At first, Perrine and Caiseal didn't hear anything. After taking a few more steps, faint human voices echoed in the corridor. On one of the walls, a large hieroglyph glowed in a soft purple light before a black and white pokemon popped off.

"This is great! This is so great! Margeaux, do you know how happy J will be if we take these to her?!" A man's voice exclaimed.

"I know, Yannick! We'll get a raise for sure!"

"Chokiiiiiii!"

Julia heard the cry. It was Tokiko for sure. Caiseal donned a serious expression. "We're not wasting any time. Apollo, use Ember!"

"Quiiiil!" Running down the corridor, Apollo shot forth a barrage of tiny orange flames. Margeaux and Yannick were quick to evade the attack. One of the flames managed to hit the box trapping Saoirse and Tokiko, particularly the grey one. The flame broke it into pieces, and the glowing walls trapping Saoirse and Tokiko inside disappeared into thin air. Seeing the kids before them was enough to make the two fairies run right toward them.

"Saoirse! Tokiko!" The fairies leaped into Julia's arms, and she laughed and cried, embracing her two friends like she had been separated from them for centuries. "You're okay! Thank Arceus!"

"Hey! Those are our property!" Yannick roared with a crack of his whip.

Property. The word made nothing but rage run through the kids' veins. Team Rocket. Of course they thought pokemon were their property. Even so, thinking of them like that was just too cruel. Degrading, even. What gave them the right to think pokemon were property? To talk about them like they were inanimate objects with no feelings?

"You'd better stay out of our way!" Margeaux threw a pokeball, and out came a teal pokemon that looked like an oversized pine cone. Yannick threw a pokeball and out came a humanoid pokemon with grey skin, red eyes, and three tan horns on its head.

"Machop! Use Karate Chop!"

"Pineco! Use Tackle!"

"Tokiko, knock them all out with Dazzling Gleam!"

"Apollo, use Ember again!"

Apollo began the fight by shooting tiny flames at the pokemon like before. The pine cone, Pineco, dodged them all by rolling all over the place before hitting the fiery anteater with its body. Machop swiped at little Tokiko with one hand, trying desperately to land even the smallest hit on her. Since Tokiko was small and agile, however, she successfully evaded every attack by hopping around one one foot like an experienced ballet dancer. Once Machop stopped to catch his breath, Tokiko's body glowed in a radiant pink light that blinded him and the Team Rocket goons.

More black and white pokemon began peeling off of the walls, not that anyone paid any attention. "You kids messed with the wrong crooks!" Yannick roared. "Machop, use Low Kick!"

"Maaaachop!" Once Apollo stopped bombarding Margeaux and pineco with Ember, machop knocked Apollo off his feet with one kick. Tokiko tried to headbutt the grey creature, but pineco headbutted her right back, sending her flying. Tsubasa lost her patience as she flew over to the Team Rocket goons and pecked their faces over and over. Tsubasa even went as far as to pull on their cheeks with her beak.

"YEOOOOOWCH! Scram, you pesky bird!" Yannick cracked his whip at the little pidgey, who evaded it like it was as easy as sliding on the ice.

Normally, Julia would scold Tsubasa for this, as she had done so before. In this case, however, she didn't say a word. In fact, she smiled gleefully as she watched Tsubasa torture the Team Rocket goons. In her mind, anyone who dared to refer to her precious pokemon as property deserved Tsubasa's wrath. Despite being adults, they weren't people who deserved any kind of respect from her.

"Quiiiiiil!" Apollo let out a shrill cry, scaring the pineco and machop into covering their ears. Julia did the same. However, Yannick was not deterred. He loomed over the fiery anteater, his whip raised in the air, ready for lashing.

A shiver of fear ran through Caiseal's body. If that white clad man lashed his pokemon...No! He couldn't let Apollo get hurt, or even die! "APOLLO!" The blonde boy leaped in between the whip and the anteater. Yannick didn't even hold back. Julia could only fall to her knees with her hands over her ears as Yannick's whip lashed Caiseal's back.

"Caiseal!" Perrine yelled.

The whip sliced the back of Caiseal's shirt open. The boy laid on top of the frightened Apollo as the burning sensation ran through his back. Margeaux found herself frozen in place, eyes wide with fear and jaw open, unable to breathe. Yannick stared down at the boy with an icy stare. "You made a mistake in getting in my way, you stupid child," Yannick whispered with a growl as he made the whip descend down on the boy three more times. Each time, Caiseal let out pained cries.

"STOP HURTING HIM!" Julia wailed. Margeaux looked away, disgusted by the sight.

All Apollo could do was stare at Caiseal with fright. Caiseal was letting himself be hurt for Apollo's sake. Already, the anteater's mind went back to that fateful day, when Caiseal came into Professor Elm's lab. He didn't even look at totodile or chikorita. The first thing the two saw was each other. Caiseal didn't even so much as glance at anyone else.

Caiseal had held his hand out for Apollo to sniff. _"Hey there, little guy. Would you like to be my friend?"_

The anteater thought his ears were playing tricks on him. Every time a trainer came by, the anteater had hoped they would pick him. But they always picked either the jolly totodile or the gentle chikorita, and it wounded his heart every time. Every night, Apollo would cry himself to sleep. Nobody picked him. He was sure nobody wanted him, a mousy, timid little cyndaquil, and yet...here Caiseal was, choosing him like it was the most normal thing in the world. Apollo didn't hesitate, and leaped into Caiseal's arms without a second thought.

" _Can I give you a name? It'll make you feel more...individual, y'know? How about Apollo? Like the ancient God of the sun?"_

God of the sun. Apollo. He took to it within seconds. Apollo was absolutely perfect. That was when he vowed to become strong. To shine bright like the flames on his back. Like the sun, even. Shine a light on the darkness and make everyone happy, especially Caiseal.

Fear morphed into anger. Blazing flames, like the sun, his namesake. How dare this evil man beat his trainer? Apollo's rage made his body glow in a white light. He crawled out from underneath Caiseal and slammed right into Yannick, sending the whip right out of his hand. But the light didn't stop shining. Apollo's body grew longer, stopping at Caiseal's waist. His arms and legs increased in length, and the light dissipated. Apollo still looked like...well, Apollo, but his eyes were open. Fiery red eyes shined like the flames on his neck and rear end. He still had his yellow and dark blue fur, but he gained longer arms, legs, and a set of pointed ears. Yannick took two steps back as the flames on Apollo's back blazed.

"Lavaaaaaa!" Apollo hissed.

Even Julia was pulled out of her fright. Caiseal stammered as he got back on his feet with a bright smile on his face. "Apollo! You evolved, buddy!"

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. _"Quilava, the volcano pokemon,"_ Julia couldn't help but think Apollo looked absolutely nothing like a volcano. Volcanoes were large mountains that spewed fire, and Apollo was not a volcano. To her, Apollo looked more like a large gopher. Who classified a quilava as a volcano, anyway? _"_ _Its body is covered with fire-proof fur and can withstand any Fire-type attack. Quilava keeps its foes at bay with the intensity of its flames and gusts of superheated air. This Pokémon applies its outstanding nimbleness to dodge attacks even while scorching the foes with flames."_

Before long, Apollo's body became consumed by red hot flames. The giant gopher rolled toward Margeaux and Yannick, sending a trail of fire their way. Yannick and Margeaux were quick to dodge it, but pineco and machop weren't so lucky. Apollo came so fast, the two were unable to dodge. Both machop and pineco were thrown against the hieroglyphed walls.

"Awesome! You learned Flame Wheel!" Caiseal cheered as Apollo returned to his side.

"Quila!"

"Don't think you've woooon!" Yannick roared, pulling out his whip once more. Julia flung her arms around Perrine. Tokiko and Apollo adopted battle stances once more.

Then it happened. Yannick's body froze. A purple light surrounded him, Margeaux, and their pokemon. "Unoooooooown…" High pitched voices drew the kids to the walls around them. Black pokemon with huge white eyes surrounded the two Team Rocket grunts, their irises glowing in purple lights.

"What's...going on…?!" Yannick croaked.

"It's...these pokemon!" Margeaux hissed.

"Machop!"

"Pineco pineco!"

Neither of them stood a chance. All of them were consumed by light before they disappeared. With this, the battle was over. Julia looked up to get a better looked at the pokemon that came to their rescue. They didn't look like anything special. They looked more like oversized letters with one eye. There were six of them shaped like the following letters: A, O, D, W, I, and P.

"Did you...save us?" Julia asked. The A shaped pokemon nodded before squeaking, "Unown!"

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to examine them. _"Unown, the symbol pokemon. Unown have the power to perceive the feelings of other creatures, including human beings. Because of their very timid and careful character, Unown do not want to go out to the external world. This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known,"_ The PokeDex didn't display any gender sign.

"Thanks for helping us out," Perrine said as the O-shaped unown floated into her arms. "You're so cute!"

"Unoown!" The D shaped unown squeaked.

"This one says they don't like it when people come in to capture them or mess with the ruins," Julia explained.

"Wait, what?" Caiseal raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Just go with it," Perrine advised.

The unowns floated around and squeaked in high pitched voices, as though they were telling them something. Julia listened intently, without interruption. "They want us to leave the ruins and not tell anyone about them. They don't like dealing with people," Julia bowed before them. "We apologize for trespassing. We'll leave you guys alone, we promise."

With this, the letter shaped pokemon returned to their places on the walls. Caiseal kneeled down to Apollo's level and stroke his head gently. The gopher smiled, basking in his trainer's affection. "Thanks, buddy. You're the best."

"Caiseal!" Julia looked at the welts on his back. "You might need a doctor. Those look painful."

"Nah. This is nothing."

"I'm serious! You might bleed out!"

Julia dragged them out of the ruins, as per Unown's wishes, and looked around to see if any hospitals were nearby. "Julia. I'm fine. It's not as bad as it looks," Caiseal said. "And what was that earlier? You acted like you knew what the Unown were saying."

"That's because I can understand what pokemon say!"

"Huuuh?"

Perrine whispered, "I'll explain later," Even so, the fact that Saoirse and Tokiko were safe was good enough for them. Still, questions lingered in Caiseal's mind.

* * *

 **So...you know how in the old games when you'd talk to Bill in Goldenrod and he'd give you an Eevee? I'm thinking about making Eevee appear in some upcoming chapters, but I don't know. With this, I posted a new poll! Should I give Julia an Eevee or not?**

 **Random fact: Caiseal is named after Caiseal Mor, an Australian/Irish fantasy novel writer and musician, who happens to be autistic. The name Caiseal is Gaelic for "great stone fort." (And yes, I am rearranging their parties so as to make them easier to read down below)**

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgey, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack, Tackle**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Ladybug (Ledyba, Female, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Early Bird**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Comet Punch, Flash, and Safeguard**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Mareep, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Hoothoot, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam)**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl**


	15. A Swarm At The National Park!

Chapter 12.5: A Swarm At The National Park!

After the Ruins of Alph fiasco, the kids returned to their trek to Ecruteak, but they wanted to sit down somewhere and talk some things out. They found the National Park nearby and decided to take a break there and let the pokemon play some more. It was a spacious, halcyon park with tall grass, flowers, and a round fountain right in the center, all closed off by a solid white fence. If one were to look at it from above, they'd notice that the grass and fountain were arranged to resemble a giant pokeball.

"So...let me get this straight," Caiseal said, kicking his legs back and forth to get the kinks out. Too much walking made his feet hurt. "You're saying you can talk to pokemon and understand everything they're saying?" He kept giving Julia a confused yet disbelieving look.

"Pretty much, yeah," Julia replied, holding her hands up to keep Caiseal out of her personal space. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."

Perrine pulled out a comb and pushed it through her orange hair. "I didn't believe it myself at first," Kitsune snuggled up next to her beloved trainer, begging for her to brush her hair.

That feeling came back again. That feeling of coming off as a little liar. Julia found herself trembling as Caiseal looked away in displeasure. "Pheh! That's the biggest load of crock I've ever heard!" As usual, such talk stabbed Julia right in the heart, twisting so the blood would rush out.

"B-B-But it's true!" Julia argued. "I...I don't know how to prove it, but I'm not lying!" A subtle whine peppered her voice, not that she wanted to come off as whiny.

"Dude! Nobody in this world can talk to pokemon!" Caiseal snapped. "Are you sure you're not making this up just to get attention?" He insinuated without even the tiniest ounce of hesitation.

Making it up. Just to get attention. The anger that seized her was instantaneous, and the blood flowing in her veins boiled to the point of eruption. She stood up and screamed, "I AM NOT MAKING IT UP NOR AM I TRYING TO GET ATTENTION!" She got so close to his face that their noses almost touched, and Caiseal jumped with fright as soon as she yelled.

"Julia! Quiet down!" Perrine told her as she pushed herself in between them.

Julia didn't care if they were in a public place. Mom and Dad weren't here to tell her that she shouldn't yell in public. In her mind, Caiseal deserved it for accusing her of wanting attention and for lying. She hated it. She hated it so much. Any time she told people she could talk to pokemon, their responses were always disbelieving laughter or accusations of telling falsehoods. All of them painful. Smothering her. Drowning her. Pulling her back to those horrible, lonely days when she had no friends. Already, she could hear their scornful laughter.

" _No way! You're faking it!"_

" _Nobody can talk to pokemon!"_

" _You're a weirdo! Are you cracked or something?"_

" _Man, you really are retarded!"_

Even _her_ voice came back. The voice she thought she had finally managed to escape from. Amoretto. _"First you scream your lungs out over nothing, then you go around telling lies?! Stop being difficult and behave yourself!"_

Hikaru's fur bristled, and she hissed right at Caiseal, scaring him into walking backwards about two steps. It was as though she sensed the agony in her trainer's heart. "Alright, break it up now," Perrine said before turning to Caiseal. "Look, Caiseal. I don't know how to explain it or prove it. I don't really get it myself," She told him in a firm voice that was not in the mood for nonsense. "But I can assure you that she's not lying. She hasn't lied to us before, and accusing her of such was totally not cool," She then turned to Julia. "Julia, it's great that you're sticking up for yourself. But there are better ways to go about this. I think you both need to cool off."

"Me?!" Caiseal's found himself taken aback. "Cool off?! She's the one freaking out at me like some crazy person!"

" _You're_ the one accusing me of lying!" Julia snapped back. The pokemon stopped to observe what was going on. Apollo and Ladybug looked at each other with worried faces, like they suspected something bad was happening. Even though they were right, they weren't sure what to do about it. "I'm not some person who goes around telling people stuff that's not true!"

Perrine put a hand on Julia's shoulder. She did the same with Caiseal. Julia shivered, but she knew why she did it. Perrine wanted them to calm down, for their own sake. With this, the argument was over. The orange haired girl let out a sigh. In a way, she had suspected this would happen. Nobody's going to just believe that she can talk to pokemon. Even she herself had some trouble believing it. Of course Caiseal wasn't going to believe it. But him accusing her of trying to get attention was uncalled for.

The argument finally stopped when Julia noticed something. "What's that?" She pointed to a small booth being set up by a man dressed in red. He held up a sign over it that read, _'Bug Catching Contest! Sign Up Here!'_ in big red painted letters. A smile touched Julia's face. Bug Catching Contest. She remembered reading about it in a brochure back in Azalea Town.

"Excuse me!" She didn't hesitate to dash over to the booth. The man whipped his head around to face the smiling girl beneath him. "Is there a Bug Catching Contest being held today?"

"Yes there is, ma'am," The man told her kindly. "It doesn't start for another two hours, though. We hold it on Saturdays, once every two weeks," Caiseal noticed another man releasing some pokemon from pokeballs. Butterfree, caterpie, beedrill, and many others. "Whoever catches the strongest bug type pokemon gets a Sun Stone as a prize!"

Sun stone. Just hearing the word made Julia's eyes glimmer. If she had a sun stone, then Blossom could evolve into a bellossom instead of a vileplume. The urge to enter the contest seized her and she signed up for the contest. Caiseal and Perrine shrugged and signed up as well. Perhaps this would be good exercise and training. They recalled their pokemon so they wouldn't get mixed up in the contest.

"There is one rule, though," The man began. "You're only allowed to use one pokemon for the contest."

"Awww. That's no fair," Julia complained. "Oh well. Saoirse could use some training anyway, so I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"I'll use Fukuro. He's good at this kind of stuff," Perrine signed her name and Fukuro's on the signup paper.

"Geo can help me out here."

It didn't take long for a wave of people to swarm into the National Park like bug pokemon flying across the sky. Soon, the park was abuzz with people and their pokemon. Multicolored balloons were tied to the fences, floating aimlessly in their positions, giving the park a colorful, more cheerful atmosphere. The man from before held up a megaphone before shouting cheerfully, "Welcome one and all to the National Park Bug Catching Contest!"

Julia kept her hands over her ears as he was rather loud. Saoirse simply put a hand on her leg to reassure her. Her trainer appreciated the kind gesture. "Each trainer is allowed to catch one bug type pokemon! If you run out of Sport Balls, you're out of the contest!" The trainers went to get their Sport Balls at the man's behest. "If you catch your desired bug pokemon, meet back here and wait for the results! You all have exactly one hour before the contest is officially done!" The man fist pumped the air. "Now go out there and catch the strongest bug pokemon you can fiiiind!"

The swarm of trainers scattered all around the park. Caiseal smirked at the geodude next to him. "You ready for this, Geo?"

"Geo geodude!"

"Come on, Saoirse! Let's go find a new friend!"

"Snub snubbull!"

Perrine and Fukuro scurried off into the thickets without a word. _'I'll win this contest for sure! I just gotta find a super strong bug pokemon!'_ She told herself, with Fukuro close by, flapping his small wings to keep up. Creeping through the grass like a pokemon, she silently scoured the park for any pokemon worth catching.

One pokemon happened to crawl right in front of her within ten seconds. It was a small worm with orange fur, small eyes, a white horn on its head, a matching tail, small pink legs, and a pink mouth. "A weedle…" Perrine scanned it with her PokeDex.

" _Weedle, the hairy bug pokemon._ _Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell. It is capable of distinguishing its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes just by sniffing with its big red proboscis. The stinger on its head is filled to the brim with a lethal poison that can easily kill even an unborn fetus within half an hour. The younger the prey, the faster the poison kills them. They are often found in forests eating large leaves. For the most part, they are docile and only attack when absolutely necessary,"_ A pink female sign appeared.

"Weedle?" The hairy bug tilted its head to one side, gazing at the girl and owl confusingly.

"Nah. I don't think a weedle will win this contest," Perrine mused.

"Hoothoot!"

With that, Perrine and Fukuro went to find other bug pokemon. All they came across were caterpie, weedle, and metapod so far. One young bug catcher already caught a metapod despite his weedle getting injured at points. One girl snagged a paras with her trusty oddish. "Yay! I caught a paras!" The girl squealed, hugging her sports ball like it was a plush doll.

"Man...we're getting nowhere…" Perrine complained.

Fluttering wings caught Fukuro's attention. "Hoothoot!" The owl pointed to a big tree nearby. A lone butterfree sat on a branch contentedly, distracted by some berries hanging from the tree.

"Wow! A butterfree!" Perrine pulled out her PokeDex despite having seen one before.

" _Butterfree, the butterfly pokemon. Butterfree have the ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest. The wings are protected by a rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokémon can fly about even in rain. Its wings are covered with poisonous dust. If you see one flapping its wings, be careful not to inhale any of the dust,"_ A blue male sign appeared.

"Fukuro, use Peck on that butterfree," Perrine whispered. Fukuro let out a trill before flying in front of the butterfly and pecking its face with its beak. "Freeeeeee!" The hapless butterfree flapped its wings once to try and escape, but Fukuro was too fast for him. However, before Perrine could throw her sports ball, one already hit the pokemon. The sports ball trembled. One, two, three... _POP!_ Butterfree broke out of the capsule and flew away.

"Awwww, man! I almost had it!" One little boy complained.

"Uugh! I can't believe you! I saw that butterfree first!" Perrine shouted. Fukuro simply facepalmed with one wing.

* * *

"I wonder if there are any rare bugs around here?" Julia asked, walking alongside some wildflowers with Saoirse trotting by.

"Snub snub," ( _"I don't know. I've never been here before."_ ) Saoirse replied.

As soon as they passed by a small bush, the leaves on it rustled. Julia and Saoirse got into a battle position. Instantly, the color was sucked right out of Julia's face as a fluffy purple ball leaped out of the bush. Said purple ball of fluff turned around, its large, red eyes looking straight at the girl. "YEEEEK!" Julia fell on her rear and scrambled behind the confused snubbull.

"Venonat!" The fluffy purple ball of fur shrieked in a high pitched yet robotic voice. The creature had two long antennae bobbing back and forth, with a pincer-like mouth between its eyes. Two small, beige hands flapped up and down, and the ball waddled about with its two long feet. "Venonat?"

"Get away from me!" Julia screamed like she was trapped in a pit full of beedrill, using her PokeDex as a shield, holding it right in front of the confused venonat.

" _Venonat, the insect pokemon. Their large eyes, which are actually a collection of many smaller eyes, function as a radar, allowing it to see in the dark. Poison oozes from all over its body. It catches and eats small bugs at night that are attracted by light. They usually sleep in holes in large trees,"_ A pink female sign appeared, not that Julia cared.

Like a lost child, Julia wailed and clutched Saoirse tightly. "SAOIRSE MAKE IT GO AWAAAAAY!" All Saoirse could do was sweat drop as the venonat suddenly marched right toward them, not out of instinct or malice. Just out of simple curiosity. As soon as she saw her coming close, Julia yanked Saoirse off the ground and sprinted away from the area. The fluffy venonat was in hot pursuit.

She passed right by an unsuspecting Caiseal, who had his eyes on a large brown bug pokemon. He had already pulled out his PokeDex to examine it even though Geo cracked his knuckles. _"Pinsir, the stag beetle pokemon. With its horns, it digs burrows to sleep in at night. In the morning, damp soil clings to its body. Pinsir has a pair of massive horns. Protruding from the surface of these horns are thorns. These thorns are driven deeply into the foe's body when the pincer closes, making it tough for the foe to escape. Grips and tears at its enemy with the two pincers on its head. Enemies with hard bodies are gripped and tossed,"_ A female sign appeared.

"Piiiiiiin!" The brown pokemon hissed, showing off its horns.

"Geo! Use Rock Throw!"

"Geoduuude!" The sentient rock made boulders appear out of thin air and threw them at the pinsir.

Caiseal pulled out a Sports Ball. "You're mine, pinsir!" With a swift throw, the Sports Ball bounced off of the pinsir. The pokemon turned into light before being sucked into the capsule. Trembling from side to side, the pokeball blinked once before the pinsir broke right out. "Dangit!" Caiseal hissed. "Geo, use Tackle on it twice!"

"Geeee!" Geo threw himself at the pinsir before it could land an attack, ramming his body into the stag beetle's hide. The first blow wasn't enough to knock it out, as the pinsir used its thin arms to catch Geo before it could hit her. But since Geo's arms were stronger, he was able to pry them off before ramming himself at her again. This time, the blow made the pinsir fall on her back.

"Stay inside this time!" Caiseal threw the sports ball at pinsir, and the pokemon was sucked inside the capsule. Finally, after the pokeball wobbled around for a bit, the blinking light stopped. Caiseal couldn't resist the urge to scream and jump into the air. "Awwwwright! We caught a super cool pinsir! Yeah!" He rejoiced like a little kid getting a new toy.

"Geo!" Flashing a big smile, the sentient rock threw himself at Caiseal, his hard arms wrapping right around Caiseal's neck. Despite his rock hard surface and strength, Geo was careful not to ram Caiseal so hard that he hurt him and made him fall to the round. Caiseal returned the affectionate gesture and jumped around with his friend.

"You were awesome, dude! You're the man!" Soon, the two were spinning around in circles with their hands joined together.

"Geodude dude!" ( _"I know I'm the man, Cash!"_ )

Once they calmed down, Caiseal picked up the pokeball. "Well, it looks like we're done here. How long did that take?" He pulled out his PokeGear and checked the time. It was fifteen minutes past five. "Hey. We made pretty good time, didn't we?"

"Geo!" ( _"We sure did! That was fast!"_ )

"Think we should turn in and tell the contest guy we got our catch?" Caiseal asked.

The big rock nodded twice in agreement.

"Alrighty then. I hope we get the first prize," The boy mused to himself, marveling at his glorious capture. "By the way, I wonder how Perrine and Julia are doing," All Geo did was shrug, as he had no idea where they went. "I hope they're doing okay."

"Geodude." ( _"Me too, man."_ )

Unlike Caiseal, Perrine wasn't having any luck with pokemon. She tried to catch two more butterfree, but two other trainers caught them before she could. She even went after a beedrill, but it was too tough, and managed to break out of three sports balls before it flew away. The normally calm and mellow girl found herself growing frustrated with every failed capture. After even a kakuna got away, she found herself screeching and stamping her foot on the grass. "Uuuuuugh! I don't believe this!"

"Hoothoot…" Fukuro hopped two steps back to stay out of her way, cowed by her unusual change in demeanor.

"We have another forty minutes to get our catch, and I'm almost out of sports balls!" Perrine pulled out her remaining sports balls. There were eight in all. In her mind, she knew she was going to have to make good use of the ones she still had. If she ran out, she was out of the contest. "What are we gonna do?"

Rustling leaves caught Fukuro's eye. "Hoothoot hoothoot!" ( _"Perrine! I hear something over there!"_ ) The bird pointed to a bush right in front of him. Perrine adopted a catching stance with a sports ball in hand. A venonat popped right out of the bush, examining its surroundings closely.

"Venonat! Venonat!"

"Hehe…" A cocky smirk touched her face, brimming with determination. She raised her sports ball in hand, ready to throw…

"GYAAAAAAH!" A piercing scream suddenly scared the venonat into running off into another bush.

"Hey! Come on!" Perrine almost ran after it, but her foot got caught on a rock. She didn't trip and fall, but it was enough to let the venonat run away. She whipped her head around to see what made her catch run away, only to find a cowering Julia sitting on her knees, rocking back and forth with her hands on her ears. A sympathetic Saoirse was stroking her back with one paw.

"Julia?! What the heck?!" Perrine yelped, making no attempt to lower her voice. Against her better judgment, frustration seized her. "I was gonna catch that venonat!"

"I can't stand poison types!" The brown haired girl cried.

With an irritated grunt, Perrine ran into the thickets once more, with Fukuro trailing behind her. As angry as she was, she didn't feel like sticking around. Not just because she wanted to catch something and get the contest done and over with, but because she didn't want to say something to Julia that she might regret. She figured leaving her alone with Saoirse would be the best choice, as she was in no mood for sticking around and comforting her.

It did prove to be a good choice. After a half hour of whimpering and rocking herself back and forth, she finally calmed down. "Snubbull?" ( _"Are you feeling better now?"_ ) Saoirse asked, her large eyes brimming with concern.

Julia used one arm to wipe her tears away. "Yeah. Sorry, Saoirse. I'm scared of poison types. They freak me out!"

"Snubbull snubbull snub snub." ( _"We fairy types are weak against them, so I understand."_ )

She stood up and stretched her legs out before doing the same with her arms. Her green eyes stared up at the blue sky, unmarred by any clouds that came their way. "We haven't caught anything, have we?" Saoirse shook her head. "We'd best keep going. We still have another fifteen minutes left."

Leaves in a nearby bush rustled, catching both of their ears. Julia and Saoirse whipped their heads around to check. A large, bright green scyther flew out of the thicket, descending onto the sidewalk. The scyther stopped to examine its surroundings. Julia's eyes widened with delight. "Wow! A scyther!" She exclaimed, before a hand flew to her mouth. This was definitely a pokemon to catch. But she didn't want to scare it away. Using her PokeDex, she confirmed that this scyther was female, and at a very high level.

It was too risky to try and attack it, she assumed. Julia decided to be reckless for once. Take a chance. She pulled out a sports ball and threw it right at the scyther. The pokeball bounced on the back of its thorax, and scyther turned into light before being sucked into the capsule. Julia crossed her fingers, praying to the Gods that the scyther would stay inside. The pokeball wobbled side to side, with the light blinking. One, two, three...click! The pokeball stopped wobbling, and the light vanished.

"Yay!" She jumped into the air with a cheer. Saoirse did the same, rejoicing in their capture. "I got a new friend!" She ran over to grab the ball...only for it to be swiped away by another set of hands. "Wha-?! Hey!" She looked up to find a tall boy looming over her. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, with messy black hair hiding underneath a big beige hat. He was wearing a red shirt underneath an unzipped dark green hoodie, baggy black jeans, and large suede sneakers. Standing by his side were two pokemon, a sandshrew and a bird pokemon with a brown head, a pink beak, and red wings.

"This scyther deserves someone better than a wimpy little girl," The boy hissed.

"Give her back!" Julia leaped at him to take back her scyther. Unfortunately, the boy in front of her kept moving away, holding the pokeball high in the air.

"You'll have to take it from me, idiot!" The boy sneered.

"Snubbull!" Saoirse glared at the boy before ramming him on the back with her head, sending him to the ground. The pokeball fell out of his hand, rolling right at Julia's foot. She was quick to grab it and make a run for it. "Come on, Saoirse!" The pink bulldog ran right alongside Julia.

"You're not gettin' away from me, brat!" The boy growled, standing back up. "Spearow! Peck that kid and get that sports ball!"

"Spearooooow!" The spearow flapped its wings before soaring right toward Julia and Saoirse. The girl clutched the sports ball so tight in her hands that she felt as though her fingers would dig into its surface. The spearow flew close to her head and pressed its beak on a lock of her hair, yanking on it like it was a rope toy that dogs would play with.

"Ow! Owowowow!" Julia stopped in her tracks. The pain from her hair being pulled felt like someone was sucking it through a vacuum cleaner. "Get off me!"

"Snubbull!" Once again, Saoirse headbutted the bird, sending it flying at a nearby tree. They didn't stop to see if it was okay, as they took off like scared rabbits.

Thank goodness for the contest helper that was sitting on a nearby bench. As Julia ran for her scyther's safety, she couldn't help but remember the two pokemon the boy had. He had two of them, not one. As far as she knew, only one pokemon was permitted to escort you throughout the contest. Plus, he tried to take her catch by force. Julia was not going to let him get away with his blatant disregard for the rules. "Excuse me! Sir! Please help!" She cried, running right up to him.

"Goodness!" He almost dropped a half-eaten jelly donut, only scrambling to catch it before it fell on the dirt. "I see you caught your pokemon."

"Sir! Someone broke the rules!" The man gave her a quizzical look before she explained it to him. "Some boy in a green hoodie tried to steal the pokemon I caught, and he had two pokemon with him, not one."

"What does this boy look like?" The man asked as he went back to his booth, with Julia following him. She remembered he had black hair, a big beige hat, and described the other clothes he wore, along with the two pokemon he had. The man looked through the signup sheet. One name and pokemon stood out to him. "Hmm...the only trainer with a spearow that's listed here is someone named Lorenzo Moretz, and he's wearing a green hoodie and a beige hat."

"There you are!" Speak of the devil, Lorenzo and his sandshrew and spearow popped right out of a thicket. "You better gimme that scyther right-" Seeing the contest helper right there with her made him unable to complete the sentence. The contest helper saw the spearow and sandshrew right next to him. Immediately, the man approached Lorenzo with a stern expression.

"Lorenzo, is it? Only one pokemon is permitted to enter the contest with you, not two, and it is forbidden to steal another contestant's pokemon, young man," The contest helper told him without mincing words. "The evidence is overwhelming. You are hereby disqualified."

"WHAT?! That's no fair!" Lorenzo whined.

"You brought this on yourself, boy. Your blatant disregard of contest rules will not be taken lightly. Come with me," The contest helper took the boy by the arm and escorted him away from the scene.

A sigh of relief escaped Julia as she plopped down on a bench. "Phew! That was crazy!" She looked down at the sports ball in her hands. "Don't worry. You're safe now. That kid won't take you away from me," She nuzzled the sports ball against her cheek.

* * *

"Alright! Time's up, everyone! Gather round!" Another contest helper exclaimed, as the final bell rang, signaling that the contest has ended. All trainers who participated in the contest, sans those who were disqualified, gathered at the center of the park, in front of the fountain. "Today's contest was great! Now it's time for judging!" Another man handed the contest helper a paper. The helper looked it over before looking at the contestants.

"I wonder who won?"

"I hope it's me!"

"My paras is gonna get me first place for sure!"

"Awww. I know I lost. I can just feel it."

"It's okay! If we don't win, there's always next time."

"I'm definitely showing up next time!"

"Please let me win!"

The anticipation was swelling. Even Julia couldn't help but feel like she was being suffocated, trapped by the crowd of people. "Did you catch anything, Perrine?" She asked.

Perrine let out a disappointed sigh. "Nope. Not even a caterpie. I ran out of sports balls. Oh well," She shrugged. "It's not the end of the world."

"I caught me a pinsir," Caiseal showed the girls his sports ball. "I'm gonna name her Stacey, after an actress from a movie I like."

"Which one?" Perrine asked.

Before he could answer, the contest helper exclaimed, "The winners have been decided! Come forward if your name is called! Coming in third place is…Caiseal Brownstone, who caught a writhing pinsir!"

"Whooooo!" Caiseal cheered like he was at a football game. "Oh yeah!" He stepped up front in order to bask in everyone's applause. "Eh. Third place is fine," He mused to himself. Geo nodded in agreement.

"Second place goes to...Satoshi Miyamoto, who caught a wriggling butterfree!" A shy, mousy-looking boy with black hair stood up and bowed politely with a soft smile.

"And now, the first place winner of this week's Bug Catching Contest is…" Julia looked down at her sports ball. Winning didn't even cross her mind. She was never one to win any contests. Even so, she still made a new friend, so whether she won or not, that was okay. Already, she had accepted her loss.

But then! "Julia Parisa, who caught a whopping scyther!"

Pandemonium broke out within a millisecond. The roars of clapping hands and cheering contestants brought Julia back to the present. She was sure her ears were playing tricks on her. But the contest helper said she won. First prize. "Come on, Julia! Get up here!" Caiseal gestured for her to come forth. On impulse, she stood right in between Caiseal and Satoshi.

The smiles on their faces, their wild rejoicing, the joy in the air...Julia covered her ears to block out the sound, but the intense joy in her heart was overflowing. She wanted to break into song. This had never happened before in her whole life. For a moment, she thought she had entered another dimension. All of a sudden, an orange stone shaped like a sun was held to her face by a contest helper. "In honor of your glorious victory, I present you the grand prize, a sun stone."

Julia looked at the sun stone, then at the helper, then back at the stone, then at the helper. Was this sun stone really, truly hers? She thought she was mistaken at first. She wondered if she really deserved it. But she didn't want to be rude, and she did want a sun stone from the beginning, so she just took it with a simple yet quick, "Thank you," Satoshi received a yellow Sitrus berry, and Caiseal an Oran berry. The pandemonium finally stopped.

Lorenzo glared at the girl with angry eyes, brimming with hatred. Nobody even noticed him there.

"I...I...I can't believe it…" Julia mused right as she, Caiseal, and Perrine went back on the road to Ecruteak. "I...I really won…"

"Man, you're really having a hard time believing it, aren't you?" Caiseal exclaimed. "Go on and smile. Scream it out loud. Be proud!"

She took what he said literally, startling the two with a joyful yet piercing screech. "YEEEEES! WOOHOOOOOO! I won I won I won I won I won I WOOOOOOON!" She leaped in the air thrice before spinning around like a top, laughing merrily with a bright smile on her face. Even Hikaru, Tokiko, and Saoirse joined in her rejoicing.

"Jeez. Keep it down!" Caiseal hissed.

Perrine rolled her eyes. "You're the one who told her to be proud of her win."

"Good point."

Finally, Julia allowed herself to be lost in her sheer joy. Her cup of happiness was full, yet the unexpected victory was the final drop that made it completely overflow. She never expected to win, yet she won by a landslide. Unfortunately, her happiness was short lived. "Pheh! I knew you'd gloat, you stupid show-off!"

Everyone turned their heads to find the green hoodie kid from before, the one named Lorenzo. He crossed his arms, with his spearow on his shoulder. Julia stopped spinning to get a good look at him. "You're gonna give me that scyther or else. It was mine!"

"Uh, I caught it fair and square," Julia told him in a stern tone of voice. She wondered if she sounded like her mom when she would scold Amara.

"You got me disqualified!"

If there was one thing Julia knew she hated, alongside pokemon abusers, it's people accusing her of stuff that weren't her fault. At least, not intentionally. "It's your own fault for breaking the rules!"

"Jeez, who is this kid?" Perrine whispered.

"I heard he tried to cheat. Someone said his name's Lorenzo," Caiseal replied, having heard some of what happened from Julia.

The scraggly haired boy pulled out a pokeball. "How about we battle for that scyther? One on one, you and me!" Lorenzo demanded.

"Absolutely not!" Julia snapped. "First off, I don't even have my scyther with me! She's at home, and I am NOT going to just let you take her from me!"

"Oh, whaaaat? You too chicken? Or you afraid you gonna lose like a little baby?" Lorenzo taunted, using a petulant, childish voice. He folded his arms to make them resemble chicken legs, and made cursory chicken sounds. "Bok bok bok!"

"Hey! Shut it, bozo!" Caiseal yelled. Right then and there, a light shot out of one of Julia's pokeballs. Out came a very angry Tsubasa, who cawed and cooed at Julia.

"You want to battle him?!" She yelped, taken aback by Tsubasa's insistence.

"Coo coo coo!"

"Well...if you say so…"

"Go, totodile!" Lorenzo threw his pokeball, and out came a totodile, baring its large teeth. "Use Bite!"

"Wing Attack, Tsubasa!"

Soaring into the air, Tsubasa's wings glowed in a harsh white light as she threw herself at the tiny blue alligator. Twice, she rammed the totodile, enough to make him fall on his tail, giving it no chance of ever laying its large teeth on her. If there was one thing Tsubasa was proud of, it was her speed and small size.

"Totodile! Use water gun on that rattata with wings!" Lorenzo shouted.

"Hey! Stop calling names! It's rude!" Julia shouted back.

"Shut up!"

"Diiiiile!" The totodile warbled, shooting a blast of water from its mouth. Tsubasa flapped her wings twice, flying to the left, dodging the geyser. But she could feel some droplets dampening her tiny tail. She was glad her wings didn't get wet, and this wasn't vanity on her part. If her wings were wet, flying would be impossible.

"Tsubasa! You can do it! Use Quick Attack!" Julia told her reassuringly.

The tiny bird descended to the ground, her whole body shining white, sprinting right toward the angry totodile. "Use Scary Face!" Lorenzo commanded. Totodile bared its sharp teeth, and its eyes suddenly grew small, straight out of a nightmare. Unluckily for this little alligator, the brave little pidgey was not deterred, and still managed to ram right into totodile's nose, sending him rolling on the dirt.

"Dangit! You're supposed to be weak, stupid!" Lorenzo didn't mince any words, balling his fists and waving them right at Julia, like he wanted to punch her lights out.

Perrine facepalmed. "Arceus, this kid is really self-absorbed, isn't he?" Even Fukuro couldn't help but facepalm with one of his wings.

"We can do this, Tsubasa!"

"Coo coo!" ( _"I'm not losing, y'hear?!"_ )

"Use Tackle!"

Tsubasa streaked across the dirt, flying right toward the stumbling totodile. "Use Bite to stop it!" Lorenzo roared. Upon command, the totodile opened its large maw, ready for Tsubasa to fly right in. Immediately, Tsubasa and Julia knew what Lorenzo planned to do. However, since Tsubasa was flying with great speed, she found herself unable to stop. Before Julia could command that she dodge, Tsubasa flew right into totodile's maw, and the alligator clamped his mouth right on the bird.

"Coooooo!" Tsubasa warbled. The alligator's large teeth were already digging into her wings, skin, and feathers. She flailed her talons back and forth, making a futile attempt to claw at the totodile's mouth to break free. It didn't work, as they were too short.

Fright and dread immediately seized Julia, and she found herself unable to move. "TSUBASA, NO!" She screamed hysterically, horrified at the sight. Even though she suspected things like this would happen in a pokemon battle, she had hoped she wouldn't see such horrible uses of attacks. Another reason why she hated pokemon battles with all of her being. Tsubasa struggled and flailed in totodile's mouth, flapping her paralyzed wings in yet another failed attempt to break free.

"How do you like that?!" Lorenzo boasted.

"Let her go right now!" Julia cried.

A mischievous smirk touched his rugged face, as though he enjoyed seeing her suffer. "I will if you gimme that scyther. If you don't, your puny rattata with wings dies!"

Everyone's mouths fell agape. He's threatening to kill Tsubasa if she doesn't hand over her scyther? Caiseal found himself shouting, "Alright! This battle's over!" He stormed over to Lorenzo and slapped him across the face. "You're not being fair! You can't threaten to kill someone's pokemon, especially during a battle! What kind of trainer are you?!"

"Mind your own business, you goody two shoes!" Lorenzo snapped, shoving Caiseal back with one hand.

"You better let Tsubasa go right now! You're not getting Julia's pokemon and that's final!" Perrine screamed angrily, her voice seething with hatred.

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

Julia found herself falling to her knees. All she wanted to do was fly into the battle, pull Tsubasa out of there, and save her from that totodile. No battle was worth letting her pokemon die, and in such a painful manner, no less. "Coo coo coo coo!" Tsubasa warbled. Julia translated it as, _"I'm okay, Jules! I can beat him! This is...nothing!"_

"Tsu...Tsubasa…"

"Coo coo coo coo coo cooooo?!" ( _"You're not seriously gonna let this guy walk all over you, right?! Don't hand scyther over to him no matter what! If you do, I'll never forgive you! You love pokemon, right?!"_ )

Yes. She truly loved pokemon. She practically grew up with them. They were like family to her. Her equals. If she handed her scyther over to Lorenzo, she would basically be going against everything she ever learned, knew, and practiced. No. This battle was a sham. Even if she lost, no way was she going to let this self-centered kid get what he wanted. "Tsubasa! Use peck on his tongue! Bite it as hard as you can!"

"What?!" Even Caiseal and Perrine found themselves dumbfounded. What kind of command was that?

Unorthodox as it was, Tsubasa got the idea. She dredged her tiny beak deep onto totodile's tongue. The pain was enough to make the totodile spit her right out. She flew right to Julia, knowing she would want to give her a big hug. "Tsubasa! You're okay!" Like she thought, Julia took Tsubasa into her arms and squeezed her tight. Even in spite of Tsubasa's mischievous, naughty nature, she still loved this boastful little pidgey.

"Yow!" All of a sudden, Tsubasa used her beak to yank on a lock of Julia's hair. "That hurt!"

"Coo coo coo coo!" ( _"Win or lose, I'm not letting you hand scyther over to that pompous idiot!"_ ) She warbled sharply.

"I get it, Tsubasa! I never intended on handing my friend over to him!" Julia explained. This was good enough for Tsubasa, and she let go of Julia's hair. "Wanna win this?"

"Coo coo!" ( _"Of course! Battling is my raison d'etre!"_ ) Tsubasa cawed before landing back on the battlefield and shouting at Lorenzo, _"This rattata with wings is gonna send you to Arceus's doorstep!"_ She spread her tattered wings and sent the totodile and Lorenzo a glare that could easily kill him were it any fiercer.

The area suddenly turned dark. Tsubasa's wings, and her whole being, shined with a new radiance. The ordinary looking bird became extraordinary as white light consumed her whole being. Her body grew two sizes, her wings grew twice their length, looking more magnificent than ever, her talons grew a few inches, and the feathers on her tail and head increased in length. Gradually, the light faded, and Tsubasa now had a set of pink feathers crowning her head, and her tail was now pink and yellow. Her wings were about the same size as her body, her talons were sharper, and she looked to be about Apollo's size.

"Pijoooooooo!" Tsubasa announced her glorious rebirth with a fiercer, angrier-sounding squawk.

"Tsubasa! You...you evolved!" Julia shrieked after a brief moment of awestruck silence. Not even Lorenzo and his totodile could speak, as they too were speechless from the glorious evolution.

Tsubasa turned around and let out a noble laugh. "Pijoooohohohoho!" ( _"Am I awesome or whaaaat?!"_ )

"Pheh! So your lame bird evolved. Big freakin' deal!" Lorenzo hissed. "Totodile! Use Water Gun again!"

"Tsubasa! Use Gust to deflect it!" The large bird flapped her wings vigorously. However, instead of generating a simple gust of wind, her wings glowed in a purple light, and she brought forth a large, purple tornado that sucked totodile right in.

"Whoa!" Caiseal exclaimed. "That's not Gust! That's Twister!"

"You learned a new move?!"

"Pijo pijoooo!" ("It seems like it!")

The poor, hapless totodile was caught in the twister, swirling all around, unable to break free. The perfect chance. "Finish it with Wing Attack, my friend!"

Oddly enough, Lorenzo wasn't even scared. In fact, a smile touched his face, like he had something planned. "Totodile! Break out of that twister and use Ice Fang!"

' _Ice Fang?!'_ Totodile used his tail to break out of the twister. His large teeth glowed in a light blue hue, right as Tsubasa came close. As soon as she got close enough, he dug his fangs onto her body. The twister dissipated, and both Tsubasa and the totodile fell to the ground.

"Tsubasa!"

"Pichuuu!" "Choki choki!" "Snub snubbull!" Julia and her friends ran over to the fallen Tsubasa. The trainer cradled the bird in her arms.

"You okay?"

Tsubasa raised one of her wings. "Pijooo…" ("I'm not...done yet...I wanna beat him bloody…")

"Hehehe!" Lorenzo stomped over to the girl and her friends. All of Julia's pokemon adopted battle stances. Julia held Tsubasa tight, glaring at his hat with anger in her eyes. "Looks like I won! Now hand me your scyther!"

"No!"

"I SAID give it to me!"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, and NO! I am NOT handing scyther over to you and THAT IS FINAL!" Julia screamed in the loudest voice she could muster.

Lorenzo clenched his teeth together and rolled up his sleeves. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take it from you!"

Immediately, Tsubasa flew over to the pompous kid and pecked at his face repeatedly. "Ow! Owowowow! Get offa me!" Lorenzo recalled his totodile and waved his arms at Tsubasa's face in an attempt to push her off, to no avail. Tsubasa was ruthless and pecked at the boy's face non-stop. Normally, Julia would disapprove of such bad behavior. However, in this case, she felt Lorenzo deserved it, and made no attempt to stop Tsubasa. In her mind, Lorenzo wasn't a trainer she felt deserved any kind of respect whatsoever.

"Fine! Be that way! I can catch another one anyway!" Lorenzo shouted before darting off into the sunset.

Tsubasa returned to Julia's side despite her injuries. "You were awesome, Tsubasa!" All of a sudden, once again, Tsubasa pulled on Julia's hair with her beak. "Ow! Stop that! Why do you have to be such a brat?!"

"Pijooooo!" ( _"Because that's what makes me so awesome!"_ ) Not only that, she suddenly flew away.

"Hey! Tsubasa! Get back heeeere!" Julia found herself and the pokemon giving chase as Tsubasa streaked across the orange sky.

Perrine and Caiseal couldn't hold back laughter as they followed them from behind.

However, none of them realized three large pokemon watched them from behind a set of trees. Their silhouettes made them resemble large beasts, dogs, even. One of them resembled a large, yellow tiger with black marks streaking its body in all sorts of shapes. Protruding from its back was a purple, cloud-like fluff that curled at the ends, and its white tail resembled a thin thunderbolt with a spiky ball at the end. It had a light blue mustache underneath its nose, and two long fangs grew out from its mouth.

" _It is my child...my child is alright. Thank goodness,"_ The yellow beast growled under its breath.

" _Raikou...is that the shiny pichu you told us about?"_ A blue beast with a purple mane asked. Said beast had a large, crystal shaped crest on its head, with two white, streamer like tails flowing across its body.

" _Yes. Yes it is. She is doing well...and befriended a human. I'm surprised."_

" _I don't trust humans, to be honest,"_ A brownish red beast piped in. _"The trouble they have caused is absolutely reprehensible."_

" _Entei, you needn't be so cynical,"_ The blue beast growled. _"While it is true there are cruel humans in the world, there are just as many good people as well, like those children."_

Raikou watched as Julia chased after Tsubasa. However, his gaze locked onto Hikaru, who followed her trainer happily. A smile touched his large face. _"Pichu, my child...I only pray that your happiness is eternal…"_

" _We must go to the tower,"_ Entei suggested. _"Mother is awaiting our arrival."_

Raikou and the blue beast nodded in agreement, and leaped in the direction the children were heading. The orange sunset painted the sky a myriad of beautiful colors, matching the beasts' mythical leaps into the air. It was as though they were one with the scenery.

* * *

 **So...do you guys have any favorite pokemon out of everyone's teams? Hikaru? Tsubasa? Apollo? Florian? Kitsune? Mallow? Take your pick! I'd love to hear it!**

 **Random Fact: I was originally going to give Julia a shiny togepi, along with a shiny pichu, but I ditched the idea. That would have been way too convenient and made her come off as too special. I don't want her to become a Mary Sue.**

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Ladybug (Ledyba, Female, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Early Bird**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Comet Punch, Flash, and Safeguard**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Mareep, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Hoothoot, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam)**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl**


	16. Amara's In Ecruteak City?

Chapter 13: Amara Is In Ecruteak City?!

A frightened spearow flapped its wings vigorously through the thick forests. Although the sky above it was bright orange, the leaves were thick enough to block out most of the light. The spearow tried to perch itself onto a tree, but a flash of pink jumped right in front of it, headbutting the bird to the ground. The spearow looked up to find a snubbull staring down at it with an angry glare.

Stepping out next to the snubbull was Amara, holding a pokeball in her hand. Like the snubbull before her, she too was giving the spearow a glare that could kill it, had it been any fiercer. "You're mine," Amara hissed before throwing the pokeball. Once it made contact with the bird, the pokeball fell to the grass, trembling back and forth. Unfortunately for Amara, or fortunately for the spearow, it broke out of the capsule, making yet another attempt to fly away.

"Don't let it get away, stupid!" Amara bellowed. "Use Thunderbolt!"

The snubbull found itself shooting a bolt of electricity at the hapless spearow. Despite the spearow's attempts to fly away, the yellow bolt struck it, and electricity surged all throughout its body, frying it from the inside. The burning sensation numbed the bird to its core, and as soon as the electricity went away, the bird plopped to the grass, unable to move or escape. Another pokeball touched it. This time, the spearow was unable to break free. The red light disappeared, and Amara picked up the pokeball.

"That makes five now," Amara whispered to herself. Even though she caught a new pokemon, she stared down at the pokeball with nothing but scorn, as though catching this spearow was the worst thing that could happen to her. Then again, she was not one to find joy in being around pokemon. Her snubbull looked up at her with pleading eyes, like she was expecting a thank you. Amara noticed, and promptly shouted, "Don't look at me like you're all that!" She snapped. "You weren't fast enough, you useless weakling!"

Dejected, the pink bulldog looked down at the grass. With an irritated grunt, Amara put the snubbull back in her pokeball. Now, she was all alone, with nobody around but the pokemon trapped in their pokeballs. But she didn't consider them to be company. She slumped down in front of a big tree, not caring that the grass was messing up her tight blue jeans, or that the bark was scratching her skin. It didn't help that she was wearing a small tank top, so her arms and shoulders were exposed to nature.

She found herself lost in her misery. It was suffocating her. Drowning her. Pulling her in with the strength of a gyarados's whirlpool attack, and she was locked inside, unable to get out, not that she wanted to. Those awful feelings swirling around in her heart. Being the black mareep of the family. Feeling like she was nothing. Like she didn't matter to anyone. Like she was doomed to just sit in that prison her family called home, with her little sister being allowed to do what she wanted, because she was the good girl and Amara wasn't, as some said.

"So you're nice to pokemon. So what?" She hissed to herself. "Do you really think that makes you a decent person?" She wished Julia was here to hear it, so she could see her reaction.

Hatred boiled in her veins. She hated her little sister. All she felt for her was anger. Amara knew she (herself) wasn't like this years ago, but all she had in her heart was anger and hatred. She was angry. Angry at her sister. Angry at her mother and father. Angry at pokemon. Angry at the world. Most of all...she was angry at herself. She dug through her pocket, pulling out a crumpled grey newspaper clipping dated two years ago, six months after she received her original first pokemon.

The bold headline read, **'Wild Gyarados Rampages Through Cherrygrove City, Killing 14,'** along with listing the names of those who died. One name stuck out to Amara like a sore thumb.

Chanel Ramsey.

Warm tears trickled down her cheeks, dripping on her pants and leaving dark marks. She squeezed the newspaper clipping and held it to her heart. "Chanel…" Amara whimpered. "You're the only one...who understood me and loved me...for who I was…" The sadness morphed into hatred yet again.

This was the answer she created for herself: She hated pokemon. All pokemon. She used to love them before. Now, she couldn't look at one without wanting to beat them unconscious. After all, in her mind, they were responsible for Chanel's death.

(flashback)

 _Her hatred for pokemon sprung up after hearing about what happened. For a while, she kept herself locked in her room, shutting herself off from everyone. She didn't even want to go to school. Then again, she hated school. Crumpled test papers made the trash can in her room overflow, with some already on the floor. Many of them were marked with Cs, Ds, and even some Fs, all in red pen ink._

 _Not even the sound of her mother knocking on the door was enough to pull her out of her room. "Amara? Please come out! We're all worried sick about you!"_

 _Amara didn't want to satisfy her with a response. Hearing her mother's voice always bordered on annoying. She didn't want to talk to anyone. What part of that did her mother not get? Amara wished she'd take a hint and leave her alone._

" _Amara, please? You can't keep yourself locked in here forever. Do you want to talk about it? I'm here if you want to-"_

" _Oh my God!" Amara screeched. "Just leave me alone!"_

 _The week after that, Amara was sitting in her room, lost in the dream world created by her favorite hard rock music, pouring through her large white headphones. High pitched screaming, screeching guitar riffs, and bombastic drumbeats littered her mind, blocking the cruel reality she had to face._

 _She had enough. Enough of everything. Enough of Julia being a goody two shoes, enough of everyone's chirpy nagging that you go to school, do your homework, do your chores, take your mind off of Chanel, enough of your other friends being idiots and not considering your feelings valid, enough of your totodile being a happy little volcano of giggles that just refused to shut up. More than that, she had enough of people bugging her, being watched, being reprimanded for just about everything. She couldn't turn it off. She could still hear their voices in her head. She couldn't stop thinking. Listening and listening...she just wanted them to shut the heck up._

 _Leave. Me. Alone. It's NOT hard._

 _Yet, it seemed that way for everyone else. They would drag her out of her room, plague her with their inanity and stupidity, and irritate her until she was ready to kill someone._

 _The man singing the song raged all throughout, ripping her eardrums apart. Good. "Amara?" Oh great. The fun police is here. "I want to talk to you. Turn off your Ipod."_

" _I don't," Amara hissed._

 _Unfortunately for Amara, her sanctuary was unceremoniously yanked off of her head. Kassia pressed the stop button on her Ipod, and the music ceased. Amara whipped herself up, staring Kassia in the face with a wide eyed, confused yet angry stare. "MOM! Are you freaking kidding me?!"_

" _When I say turn off your Ipod, I_ mean _turn off your Ipod," Kassia told her firmly. Amara could tell by the one of her voice that her mother was in no mood for nonsense. Neither was she. She wondered if the universe loved mocking her pitiful existence. "We need to talk. Now."_

" _What?! Make it quick!"_

" _The school called," Kassia began. Immediately, Amara knew what she was talking about and yanked her Ipod back. "Your teachers say you've been skipping classes, and outright refusing to do your homework. You're already failing several classes."_

" _So? You know how much I hate school, Mom!"_

" _Not only that, what's this I hear about you punching another girl so hard you gave her a black eye?"_

" _It was her fault! She said Chanel deserved to die!"_

 _Kassia took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself down. She sat on the bed, right next to her older daughter. "Amara. I know it's hard. You miss Chanel. I know you do, and that's okay. But...this isn't the way to go about it. It won't do you any good to skip classes and get into fights and cry all the time."_

 _"Just go away!"_

 _"Would you...like to go to grief counseling? Your teachers recommended some counselors. They can help you through this. I know we've tried this before and you refused, and that's okay, but I think-"_

 _Counselors? Hearing it made Amara jump on her bed. "Absolutely not! I'm not crazy!"_

" _I never said you were-"_

" _Counselors are for crazy people and stupid idiots!"_

" _Amara-"_

" _I want no part of this!"_

" _Amara, please! Why do you keep pushing us away? Why push everyone and everything away? Everyone's worried about you. Your father and I are worried about you. You don't spend time with us or your friends anymore, or everyone else for that matter. This can't go on. I know you're upset. Believe me, I've lost friends in my life, too-"_

" _Oh yeah, like you know EEEEEEVERYTHING there is to know about me and my terrible existence!" Amara snapped back. "Oh my God! You don't get it, do you?! Just GO AWAY!" Amara screamed as she pushed her mother out the door and slammed it so hard, it could be heard all throughout the house._

 _No attempt was made to reason with her after that. Everyone tried to help her. They all did. All everyone wanted was for her to move forward. To cheer up. To live life again. But Amara didn't see it like that, nor did she want to. She thought they didn't understand, that they didn't care. In her mind, all they wanted was for her to be a little zombie for their own convenience. She hated it. She hated it all._

 _Another week after that, a year after she received the awful news, a twelve year old Amara ran into the huge meadow that was her backyard. She didn't know where she wanted to go. She just wanted to run. Run away. Run as far away as she could. Away from the sadness, away from the despair...but it always caught up with her, trapping her in its clutches, refusing to release her. Amara tripped on a big rock, falling to her knees. A tiny fist balled the grass underneath it, picking up some dirt as well._

 _Tears dripped ceaselessly on the ground, and Amara found herself bawling louder than she thought she ever could cry. Running behind her was a totodile giving chase, stopping at her trembling form. "Totodiiiile?" The blue alligator tilted its head to one side, wondering what was wrong. His trainer was clearly upset, but he wasn't sure what to do. All Amara did nowadays was either cry or snap at people angrily. Sometimes, Amara would even snap at him, her precious partner._

 _What happened?_

" _Toto toto toto toto diiiiiile!" The concerned totodile tapped Amara's arms with his tiny ones, hoping to get her attention. It didn't work, but he didn't give up._

" _Nobody freaking cares!" Amara cried and shouted at the same time. "They don't care about me! Nobody does!"_

 _The totodile found itself taken aback by Amara's statement. He shook his head vigorously and pushed on Amara's arms in an attempt to convince her that at least he cared. After all, he was there with her right now. "Toto toto toto toto!"_

" _Just go away!" Amara swung her arm at the blue alligator, but this little croc was not deterred._

 _Totodile's warbling continued, striking every nerve in Amara's body. The rage in her heart boiled all throughout, like lava pouring out from a volcano ready to erupt. All she wanted to do was erupt. Make everyone go the heck away. Even her totodile was a nuisance to her. No, she didn't see the totodile as her friend anymore. Totodile was a pokemon, the creature that took her beloved friend away._

 _A lust for revenge seized her. Before she knew it, she grabbed a rock and slammed it on the totodile's big mouth. "IT'S ALL_ YOUR FAULT _!" Two more blows. The third time, totodile managed to bite on the rock, avoiding Amara's fingers. "You all should DIE!"_

 _Green vines coiled around Amara's arms. The big rock fell out of her hands, rolling on the floor. Kassia scooped the injured totodile in her arms before commanding the meganium to bring Amara to the house. Amara kicked and screamed like she had reverted back to being five years old. It was all too much to bear. Too much. Too much. Too much._

(end flashback)

A spot of light floated near Amara's leg, pulling her back to reality. With a start, she stood up in alarm. Although it was getting dark, she could make out two human-shaped silhouettes, waving flashlights all around the area. They donned blue police uniforms. Amara made a beeline for some thick bushes, hoping to evade their sight.

' _I can't get caught! No way! I'm not getting caught!'_ She told herself, praying that the police officers would leave soon. _'I have a dream to fulfill!'_

One of the policemen wiped sweat off his forehead with one hand, his boots crushing the orange leaves underneath, making a crinkly sound. "Man, this Amara girl's a sneaky one. She's only thirteen, right? How can she evade us so easily?" He asked in an exhausted voice.

"I don't know," Another policeman replied, putting a hand on his hat to make sure it didn't fall in front of his eyes. "Her parents are probably mighty worried. I would be too if my kid ran away."

"How old is your daughter again?"

"She's turnin' nine this year. One more year and she'll be ready to get her own pokemon, if she wants."

"That's wonderful! Are you gonna let her go on a journey?"

"I'd like to wait until she's about eighteen or so, when she knows enough about the world. But in the end, it is her choice."

Amara remained silent as a pichu, even as prickly pines poked the skin on her arms, leaving little round marks. Before long, her eyes grew heavy, and everything went black. Too much walking throughout the day left her tired, and her body was begging for her to sleep, and thus, sleep made the decision for her.

* * *

The black night sky was adorned with stars by the time the children finally managed to reach Ecruteak City. Dots of yellow or white lights lit up from the windows of many houses nearby. The Pokemon Center was entirely lit up, probably to show trainers that it was there in case they were weary from traveling. It was good they came when they did, because they were tired, hungry, and covered in grass and grime. The first thing the kids did was give their pokemon to Nurse Joy so she could take care of them.

"Man, I thought we'd never get here!" Caiseal laid down on a red leather cushion, stretching his legs out. Too much walking make his legs feel like they were being pulled by a rice picker. Perrine wiped some dirt off of her white stockings, and Julia stretched her arms out.

"Indeed!" Julia added. "I'm glad we made it before seven. I need a shower. Bad," Tiny green leaves stuck out from parts of her hair, which she was quick to pull out.

"Ecruteak gym is right around the corner," Perrine mused out loud. "I can't wait to go and battle Morty!"

Julia tilted her head to one side, glancing at Perrine with a confused expression. "Morty? Is that the gym leader?"

"Yeah. His real name is Mortimer Prieto. He uses ghost types, but three of them are part poison type, too," Perrine explained.

Poison types. A shiver ran down Julia's spine. "I-I-I'm gonna go call my parents!" She walked over to the screen phone and punched in her house number. Static flickered across the screen for a moment before it materialized, projecting an image of her father's oval shaped head, thick glasses, light blue eyes, and dark brown hair. She could see that he was wearing a bright red shirt.

" _Julia! Hey there, slick!"_ Truman's merry voice exclaimed with a hearty laugh. _"It's been a long time!"_

"Hi, Dad."

" _You look well! Achoo!"_ He let out a sneeze. The cold air tickled the hair in his nostrils, and he scratched his nose with one finger to get rid of the itch. _"Excuse me. How's your journey going, dear? Your mother tells me you're going on a pokemon catching spree!"_

Julia chuckled at the sound of that. "It's been going great. I'm in Ecruteak City right now."

The chubby man's eyes widened further. _"Ecruteak! Goodness, you went that far?!"_ His mouth made an O shape as he expressed his shock. But his smile returned just as instantly. _"My oh my. I remember the days when you wouldn't go anywhere past the front or backyard."_

"How are my pokemon doing?"

" _If you mean Aqua, Papillon, and Neji, they're doing very well. They're quite happy playing in the backyard with the others,"_ Truman explained, scratching his head with a laugh. As soon as he said that, Julia happened to notice Papillon floating right past Truman, holding a salmon colored towel in its hands. _"But that scyther you caught doesn't seem to be real social. All it does is sit underneath a tree."_

"I see. She probably needs some time to get used to you."

" _Do you want me to send her over?"_

"Not now," Julia answered. "But I have decided to name her Lavinia."

" _Wow. That's really pretty. By the way, I deposited some more money into your bank account, so you should still have a hefty amount in there,"_ This is where Truman adopted a serious expression. _"Don't spend it on anything you don't need! Especially stuffed animals!"_

"I won't, Dad!"

" _Oh! That reminds me! You know the company I work for, right? Magcargo Express?"_ Truman said. _"We specialize in storing and delivering things. I figure since your new bag might not be able to hold a whole lot of stuff, you can call me by my assigned number and I can send someone to pick it up for you, then I can take it home so it'll be safe."_

"Wow! That'd be great! What's the number?" Julia pulled out her PokeGear so she could put the number in. Truman told her the number, and she pressed the buttons needed to put it in. _Bling!_ Magcargo Express, specifically Truman's number, was registered into the phone. "Thanks!"

" _You're welcome dear,"_ A friendly smile touched Truman's round face. _"I'm glad everything's been going well on your end. Your mother told me you made a friend. Is that true."_

"Yep! Her name's Perrine, and she's been nothing but great since I met her in Union Cave!" Truman's smile grew longer. Julia could see a tear creep out from one of his eyes. "Did I...say something wrong?"

Caiseal found himself walking toward the screen phone, standing by the side so her father wouldn't see him. _"No no. It's just...I'm so happy. I know you've always wanted friends but it's always been hard for you to make friends. I remember you would come home from school crying sometimes and say things like_ 'Nobody likes me!' _or '_ Everyone hates me!' _and '_ No matter what I do, nobody wants to be my friend!' _Seeing you cry always broke my heart,"_ Truman wiped the tear away. _"Now look at you! You made a friend and you're even battling pokemon gyms!"_

The brown haired girl knew why Truman only said friend. Perrine was the only friend they knew of. As much as Julia thought about it, she wasn't sure if she considered Caiseal her friend. They liked pokemon, but they just seemed too different. Caiseal was blunt, impatient, and didn't always know when to tread lightly, whereas Julia at least tried to spare people's feelings, even if it didn't always go well. The stinging feeling of being called a liar was still strong in her mind. "Mom told you that last part, didn't she?"

" _Yes, she did,"_ Aqua popped up on the screen right then and there. She beamed upon seeing her trainer's face, and squealed happily, along with waving her stubby hands. _"Marill marill!"_

"Hi, Aqua! Are you being a good girl?"

The blue mouse nodded. _"Marill mar!"_

" _By the way…"_

"Hm?"

" _Have you run into Amara by any chance?"_ Truman's cheerful smile morphed into a frown. Julia told him about her encounter with her in Goldenrod. He didn't say a word all throughout the conversation. _"I see…well, I'm glad you're both doing okay."_

"Dad!" Julia balled her fist. "I'll make sure to teach her a lesson and bring her back! She can't keep treating you guys like this forever!"

" _Actually...I don't think you should push it."_

"Huh? Why not?"

" _You know how Amara is. Stubborn, willful, thinks she knows everything when she really doesn't. I don't approve of what she's done, but...maybe this will be good for her,"_ Truman explained. _"I think we should let her figure things out on her own. We all know she's tired of our nagging. A whole lot of good that did anyway,"_ Before he could go on, he noticed the time. _"Oh! I better let you go. You're probably tired. Let me or your mother know if you need anything or just want to talk. Okay?"_

Julia nodded. Already, her heart grew warm upon hearing her father's voice. "I love you, Dad. Tell everyone I said hi."

" _I will, and I love you too, sweetie. Be careful. Eat healthy foods and use your money wisely!"_ With that, the screen turned off.

Caiseal turned around, facing the pristine tile floors beneath his feet, balling his hands into fists. A pang of jealousy shot through his heart, and he pressed his lips firmly together in order to stop himself from saying something he would regret. First Perrine, then Julia. They have good families. Parents that love and care for them, happy to even see their faces. Why couldn't his parents be like that?

" _Don't come here anymore,"_ The deep, hoarse voice of a man echoed in his mind. _"I can't have your mother know that I'm talking to you. I can't deal with her getting more upset."_

All he could do was bang his fist on the nearest wall. It wasn't so hard that it made everyone in the room hear it and turn in his direction, but it certainly made Julia whip her head around to face him. "Caiseal?" Her eyes were like saucers, and Caiseal looked down to see the surprised girl right beneath him. "You scared me!"

"Sorry. I didn't...mean to…" Caiseal muttered sheepishly. Julia could hear the remorse in his voice.

Right then, Nurse Joy paged for the three kids, as their pokemon were completely healed. Their stomachs all growled in a perfect chorus, so they figured they could grab a late dinner before crashing for the night. Truman did tell Julia to eat healthy foods, so she decided to try some chicken dumplings with broccoli, white rice, and corn. Perrine ordered lasagna, and Caiseal ordered a calzone. Oddly enough, Mallow popped out of Caiseal's pokeball and sniffed a piece of the calzone.

"You want some?" Caiseal asked.

"Bone bone!" Mallow nodded.

"Alright. It's hot, so be careful," Caiseal gave Mallow a plastic fork he could use, and the ground pokemon ate a good chunk of the calzone.

"What is a calzone, exactly?" Julia asked. "I've never seen one before."

"They're basically like pizza, only they're folded up, kinda like a taco," Perrine explained.

"Ohhhh. I get it."

"Hey, Julia," Caiseal said, catching her attention.

"Hm?"

"You said you can understand pokemon, right? Ask Mallow here a question."

Julia wasn't sure what to think. Was Caiseal interested in understanding her? Did he feel bad about calling her a liar? Or was he trying to set her up and then laugh at her? Julia wasn't sure what he wanted. As much as she wanted him to understand, she knew very well that there were people who just couldn't or refused to understand no matter what. "Like what?"

"Anything. Something about me or them that you don't know," Caiseal replied.

"Alright then," Upon further reflection, this could be her chance. "Hey, Mallow! Where is Caiseal from?"

The cubone stopped eating and told Julia. "Mallow says you're from Blackthorn City. In the Dragonmark neighborhood. He says you used to live on some street called Lanceros Avenue."

Caiseal's plastic fork slipped out of his hand, bouncing on the table, right into the tomato sauce. His mouth fell open. His blue eyes grew large like saucers, like he saw a ghost. "...That's correct," That was all he could mutter.

"Hey, Mallow! What's Caiseal's favorite food?"

"Bone bone cubone!"

"Ewww!" Julia's face contorted with disgust before turning to Caiseal. "You like mushrooms on your pizza? They're poisonous!"

"Cooked mushrooms aren't poisonous," Perrine clarified.

"I...never told you I liked pizza with mushrooms," Caiseal said.

"You didn't," Julia pointed to the cubone. "Mallow did."

"Bone bone!"

A heavy silence fell on the group after that, indicating that the conversation was over. Caiseal was the first to finish dinner. "I'm gonna take a shower," Caiseal mused before leaving with a grim look on his face. Julia could see that Caiseal ambled out of the dining area, like someone had sucked the energy right out of him.

"Did I...say something I shouldn't have?"

"No, you didn't," Perrine told her reassuringly. "He's probably having a hard time believing it. He'll come around when he's ready. But why is it that whenever something happens, you ask if it's your fault?"

Julia found herself shivering and folded her arms up right as Tokiko took a bite out of a chicken dumpling. Hikaru treated herself to some white rice. "Because usually when I say or do something that I shouldn't or something weird, they usually get mad and yell. Kids at my school used to pick on me a lot, and that teacher I told you about would yell at me for just about anything, even when I wasn't doing anything!" Julia explained. "I just...I always feel like I make people mad all the time even when I don't mean to. Mom and Dad say I tend to say or do things that are...inappropriate, I think."

"It happens," Perrine put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know you're not a bad person. If you were, I wouldn't be hanging out with you, and everyone says or does things that are kinda off the ball. Heck, when I was little, I used to pick my nose and eat the snot!"

"Ewwww! Gross!"

The pokemon got a good kick out of that and found themselves roaring with laughter. Even Kitsune couldn't hold back her giggle fit. Their merry chattering helped lighten the mood a little. With that, the kids found themselves taking showers and preparing for bed. Caiseal was the other room next door, all by himself, as he didn't want to sleep in a room with two girls. It was only to respect their privacy. He didn't want to be seen as a licentious creep or a pervert. No way.

All of his pokemon slept in the bed across from his. He had always kept them in their pokeballs. But Julia had told him that she likes to keep her pokemon out so as to spend more time with them. He wondered if maybe he could do the same. _'My pokemon...are the only ones I can trust with my whole heart. At least pokemon don't lie to you or use you for their own gain,'_ This was what he believed. With that thought in mind, the darkness creeped over him, taking him away from reality.

* * *

"Goodness…" Nurse Joy and a chansey found themselves stumped. They stood before a silver machine next to the screen phone that had a hole on the bottom. It was the Pokemon Transporter, for when trainers wanted to rotate their pokemon. But a grey spring protruded out from one part of it. "I sure am glad no trainers used it lately. I wonder when Bill will be here?"

"Chansey…"

Speak of the devil, a young man in his late teens or early twenties at best came moseying into the Pokemon Center. He had a ruffled head of brown hair that resembled a pidgey's nest, light, apricot colored skin, and small brown eyes a darker shade than his hair. He was wearing a clean white shirt with a periwinkle blue tie, green trousers, and matching shoes. Resting in his hand was a small red toolbox.

"Howdy, Nurse Joy! Lovely evenin', ain't it? I got'cher message!" The man greeted her with a very thick southern accent.

"Bill!" Nurse Joy was quick to escort him over to the machine. "Thank you so much for coming. I'm sorry for calling you this late at night."

"Ain't nothin' to be ashamed about, ma'am! So what seems to be the problem here?" He kneeled before the Pokemon Transporter and noticed the spring. Before Nurse Joy could tell him what the problem was, he was already at work, opening a panel and using a screwdriver on some part of it. Nurse Joy and her chansey weren't experts on how to fix a Pokemon Transporter, so they weren't sure how he could do it. But he did create it, so he could probably fix it, as well.

"Ahhhh. No wonder it ain't workin'!" Bill exclaimed. "This here fuse sizzled out like a candlelight!" He pulled out a small, glass cylinder and immediately replaced the other one. As soon as he closed the steel panel, a red light flashed. "Done and done! Should be right as rain now!"

"Thanks so much, Bill!" Nurse Joy shook his hand gratefully.

"Anytime, ma'am. Actually…" Bill let out an awkward laugh as he scratched his big mullet. "I have another reason for comin' here."

"What is it?"

Bill put two fingers in his mouth and made a high pitched whistling sound. Two small, fluffy pokemon scuttled into the lounge. They both had light brown fur with their necks covered with cream colored manes, large black eyes, four legs, and big fluffy tails with beige tips. "Eevee!" The two pokemon found themselves standing right next to Bill's legs.

"Goodness!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, her hand almost flying to her mouth. "A pair of Eevee!"

"Chansey!"

"I hate to burden ya with more work, but I found these two critters huddled underneath mah porch in my house in Goldenrod," Bill explained. "They dun seem to belong to any trainers, and the Pokemon Center in Goldenrod had some problems, so I wanted to see if maybe you could take'em off mah hands."

The two eevees' ears twitched upon hearing those last words, as though they could understand what he was saying. "I ain't no pokemon trainer, and I got a lot on my plate already. But I couldn't just leave'em on the street, y'know? There's been poachers lurkin' around, and since Eevee are rare, I dun want'em ta get hurt or killed, y'see?"

Nurse Joy kneeled down to the two eevee and cradled them in her arms. Their fur was cold like ice, probably from the night air. "Leave it to me, Bill. I'll see what I can do for these little friends," One eevee glared at her, while the other one simply nuzzled against her breast lovingly. With that, the two parted ways, and Nurse Joy put the two eevee in a separate room for them to rest. It was time for her to go to sleep as well.

What she didn't know was that one of the windows was open. It wasn't opened all the way, but enough for an eevee to crawl through. As soon as Nurse Joy left, one eevee fell asleep, with the other inspecting the room around them. It was dark, with no light in sight aside from the moon. But the eevee did see a set of boxes stacked against the wall, right underneath the window. He looked right at the piece of sky cut into a square.

' _I can't take her with me forever…'_ The eevee thought to himself, looking over at his sleeping friend. _'She's too fragile. She may not be able to survive in this cruel world. I'd rather her be happy, should something happen to me,'_ He told himself. This was no time to sit around. He leaped off the bed, onto the boxes, and crawled right out of the window.

What he didn't know was that a scalpel fell to the ground, its clattering sound pulling the other eevee out of her beauty sleep. Her friend was gone. Where was he? She looked out the window. With gusto in her heart, she also climbed up the boxes, clumsily knocking one down as soon as she crawled out the window.

Thus, they disappeared into the night.

* * *

"NO!"

A shout from next door pulled Julia right out of dreamland. She sat up like a jack-in-a-box. The walls were thin, so she could hear the scream clearly. It didn't help that said scream came right next door. Even Hikaru was unceremoniously awakened by the scream. She had no time to get ready for the day or adjust her eyes to the morning light. But...Caiseal was screaming. He might need someone. Something must have happened. Julia flung a robe over herself, stormed out of her room, and burst through Caiseal's room.

Caiseal was thrashing in his bed, crying loudly. Tears were streaming out of his eyes, dripping onto his pillows. "Caiseal!" Julia ran over and shook him with her hands. "Caiseal, what's wrong?"

"I thought...I thought you loved me!" Caiseal wailed to no one in particular. All of his pokemon huddled in a corner, sans Apollo and Mallow, who joined in to shake Caiseal out of whatever dream he was having.

"Cubone bone!"

"Quilava!"

"Caiseal! Come on! Wake up!"

The blonde boy's eyes flung open, and he sat up so fast, Mallow fell off of the bed. "Wah?!" Julia found herself startled by his sudden awakening, and took a step back to give him some space. Apollo and Mallow did the same. Caiseal found himself breathing heavily, like he had been drowning underwater and managed to reach the surface. Once he calmed down, he took a better look at his surroundings. "Julia? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry! I heard you screaming and thought maybe something happened," Julia told him. Mallow and Apollo nodded in agreement. "Were you...having a nightmare?"

"Sorta. Yeah," He whispered.

"What was it about? Do you...want to talk about it?"

He gave her a glare before shouting, "Mind your own business!" With that, he curled up in the blanket and buried himself in the bed.

Julia's face burned. Her worry morphed into anger. Friends looked out for each other. She worried her head off over him and this was how he treated her? "You could have said no thank you, y'know! I was worried about you, Caiseal!" She grumpily stomped out of the room with Hikaru following her.

What a way to start the day.

After the kids had breakfast, Perrine brought up the gym challenge. "We might as well get going. We might miss Mr. Morty if we get to the gym too late," Perrine said.

"How far is the gym from here?" Julia asked.

Caiseal pulled out his PokeGear. "According to this map, the Ecruteak gym is about ten blocks from here on foot."

The sun shone its light down on the old looking city, making it easier for the kids to get a better look at it. The ground beneath them was entirely made of stone, so every step they took was bumpy, not in any way smooth whatsoever. All of the houses around them were large, also made of stone, with orange roofs that didn't look as though they were made of modern tiles. Julia wasn't sure what they were made of, but she liked how they looked. Looming over the entire city was a ten tiered tower with hooked roofs, standing taller than even Sprout Tower. It seemed to be able to reach toward the heavens.

Next to it was a smaller building that was covered in black soot. Some broken wood beams protruded from the opening in the roof. It stood on a tall hill, also covered in soot, with a set of stairs leading to the entrance. There was no vegitation around it whatsoever. Some wooden beams sat on the corner, dormant. They didn't look as though anyone touched them for years. Streetlights dotted the sidewalks and corners, currently unlit since it was daytime right now. Curled up leaves in bright colors lined the areas. Orange, red, light brown.

"Awwww man!" They made it to the gym, but found themselves disappointed. A white sign hung on the door, with red marker spelling out the words, _'CLOSED. Won't be back until later. Doing important research.'_ "He's not here?!" Caiseal complained. "I can't believe this!"

"I really wanted to battle him today, too," Perrine agreed.

"It's okay!" Julia chirruped. "This means we can do some training before we can battle him!" She held up her index finger. "They say good things come to those who wait."

"Yeah, well, I don't wanna wait," Caiseal replied petulantly.

In spite of their disappointment, Julia did raise a valid point. It always pays to be prepared. As they were leaving the gym, however, the bushes next to them rustled. The kids froze in place. "What was that?" Perrine asked. Hikaru was quick to adopt a battle stance.

"Pichu!"

Out from the bush came two brown pokemon. One of them was dragging the other one by its tail, right across the street. The pokemon it was dragging had fresh cuts and scratches on its fur. There was a particularly large splotch of red blood on its cream colored mane. "Oh my goodness!" Julia ran over to the unconscious pokemon. "You're hurt!" The uninjured pokemon simply looked up at Julia with pleading eyes.

"Vee…"

"Whoa! Those are eevee!" Caiseal exclaimed. "They're super rare!"

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex, right as Julia pulled out a potion. _"Eevee, the evolution pokemon. Eevee is a particularly rare pokemon with an unstable and irregular genetic makeup that, upon mutation, allows it to adapt to any kind of environment. Because of this, it is able to evolve into at least eight different pokemon depending on its environment and circumstances. It can also evolve if it is exposed to radiation from certain stones,"_ A female sign flashed up when Perrine held the PokeDex over the injured eevee. A male sign appeared when holding it over the uninjured one.

Julia sprayed one of the eevee's wounds with her potion, and it went away within seconds. "This is my last potion," She mused worriedly.

"Pichu!"

"Vee!" The uninjured eevee squeaked. "Eevee eevee ee!" All of a sudden, it turned around and scurried away.

"Wait!" Before anyone could chase it, the eevee had already outran them. But she was quick to scoop the injured eevee in her arms. "We're taking this one to the Pokemon Center!"

Without a word, the kids ran back to the Pokemon Center and handed the injured eevee to Nurse Joy. "My! That's one of the eevee that escaped from here last night!" Nurse Joy exclaimed upon taking it out from Julia's hands.

"Escaped?"

Nurse Joy took the eevee into the back room where she could take care of her. After about fifteen minutes, Nurse Joy came out from the room with a smile. "The eevee is going to be okay!"

Julia let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

"What do you mean when you said it escaped?" Perrine asked.

"A friend of mine dropped these two off. I think they might have been abandoned by a trainer or something. I don't know for sure," Nurse Joy began. "I took them into the back room so I could let them sleep for the night. But when I woke up and went to check on them, they were gone. But it was my fault they escaped. I didn't close a window all the way down."

The chansey walked over to Nurse Joy and put a reassuring hand on her arm. "Chansey chansey!"

It was here that the female eevee walked past the chansey, cautiously approaching the kids with a curious, interested look on her face. Her long ears twitched upon meeting Julia face to face. The brown haired girl kneeled down to the eevee's level. "Hello. Are you feeling better?" She asked in a low, soft voice so as to not scare the little thing.

"Eevee…" The eevee sniffed Julia's hand for just a moment.

"You were hurt really bad. Want to tell me what happened?"

Immediately, the eevee began squeaking. Julia nodded a few times so she could listen. "So...you and your best friend escaped from Team Rocket after you got kidnapped. Your friend tried to leave you here but you went with him, and some girl with a croconaw and a bunch of other pokemon attacked you," She translated.

A girl with a croconaw. Could it be…?

Two young men suddenly scrambled into the Pokemon Center. One of them was Bill. His hair looked more disheveled than ever, with strands flying out of place, like someone tried to pull his hair out. His tie had come undone, there were fresh tears in his white shirt, and a fresh scab was on his arm. The blonde haired man behind him didn't have a scratch on him. His big purple headband held his hair back, but his brown eyes were brimming with surprise, like he had seen a ghost. He was wearing a black sweater with purple bracelets on his wrists, a scarf painted red at the ends, white pants, and purple and red shoes.

"Arceus almighty! We're safe!" Bill wailed.

"Bill! Pull yourself together, man!" The other man told him, holding him up by the arm.

"Bill!" Nurse Joy ran over to the disheveled Bill. "What happened to you?"

"It was awful, ma'am! Mighty awful!"

The blonde haired man stood up and did the talking, seeing as Bill was in no condition to do so. Caiseal whispered to Julia, "That's Morty, the gym leader."

"Seriously?!" Julia yelped, but kept her voice at a low level. Nurse Joy put Bill on a chair so he could calm down and regain his composure.

"A female trainer came and attacked us out of nowhere. She had a croconaw and other pokemon, too," Morty explained in a calm, collected voice. He sounded as though he were nearing thirty. "She was trying to catch an eevee that Bill left with you. We tried to stop her, as we know she's on the Blacklist, but she defeated us in no time flat."

The blacklist. That only further confirmed it.

"Do you know where she went?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I saw her...heading to Brass Tower…" Morty replied. "But it's too dangerous over there! Not only that, the legendary beasts are there! If she hurts them-"

"Hey! Julia!" The girl, her pichu, and the eevee suddenly raced out of the Pokemon Center. Caiseal lurched forward to try and grab her, but she had already outrun him. "Come back!"

* * *

 **Uuuuugh. I am sooooo angry at myself. I studied for my Japanese midterm, but...I got a 32! A freaking thirty two! I NEVER get grades that low! I even studied, too! Oh well. My grade is still decent overall, so I can bring it back up if I put in the effort. I hate school.**

 **And yes, there's gonna be another point 5 chapter. I always plan chapters out, only to end up making them into two chapters so I don't feel like I'm dragging said chapter out. Sorry, guys! Then again, some people did say my pacing is a bit brisk, so maybe this'll help.**

 **Random fact: I'm giving the Gym Leaders last names so as to make them feel more human. For example: Falkner Uccello, Tsukushi "Bugsy" Morimushi, Whitney Blanche, Lance Cipris, Mortimer "Morty" Prieto. I kinda make sure to give them surnames that associate them with their type preferences, or something about them in general to make them feel more alive.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Ladybug (Ledyba, Female, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Early Bird**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Comet Punch, Flash, and Safeguard**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Mareep, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Hoothoot, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam)**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl**


	17. A Legendary Encounter In Brass Tower!

Chapter 13.5: A Legendary Encounter In Brass Tower!

Julia and Hikaru found themselves racing out of the Pokemon Center, with determination rushing through their veins. But Julia did make sure to check her PokeGear and see where Brass Tower was. As it turned out, it was the burnt tower standing right next to the much taller tower. As much as she wanted to learn its history, there was no time for that now. Amara might be in there, and if she even so much as laid a hand on those legendary pokemon, whatever they were...she didn't want to think about it.

Hikaru leaped off of Julia's shoulder and sniffed for Amara's scent. The eevee did the same. "Do you smell anything?" Julia asked. Hikaru's ears twitched, and she pointed to what remained of Brass Tower.

"Pichu pichu pichu!" ( _"She's in there! I can smell it!"_ )

"Eevee eevee!" ( _"Me too! Me too!"_ )

Quietly, the three of them walked up the steps, reaching the entrance to Brass Tower. Its blue walls were completely covered in soot, with some paint either chipped off or completely burnt off, leaving large holes. Some roof tiles had fallen off, scattered around the floor, broken in half or into pieces. Some of the railing had been burnt in half as well. Julia could smell the smoky scent of soot. Already, the bottom of both her sneakers turned black upon ascending the steps.

Looking inside, Julia was quick to pull Hikaru and the eevee back. A huge hole the size of a snorlax was right in front of them. It was as though a huge rock had been thrown on it, falling right down into the basement. Julia was glad she saw it in time, or else she might have fallen down the hole, along with her pokemon. Slabs of wood, covered in black burns, lay across what was left of the first floor. Julia found herself coughing as one piece of wood fell on the ground, bringing forth a cloud of smoke. The roof was completely gone, so she was able to see the sky just fine.

"Ugh!" She covered her mouth so as to not inhale any smoke.

"Pichu!"

"Eevee!"

She did look down to see three silhouettes residing in the basement. One of them was blue and had a long, flowing purple mane. The other one was yellow, and had a thin white tail. The last one was a reddish brown color, with a white mane that looked like a cloud. She couldn't make out any more details, as it was rather dark down there despite the light coming in through the big hole in the roof.

"Water Gun!" A blast of water suddenly came right out of a croconaw's mouth, flying right toward Julia and her friends. Thankfully, Hikaru was quick to let out a thundershock. The lightning bolt cut through the geyser, shocking the blue crocodile into submission.

Julia looked up once it was safe. "Amara!"

There she was, standing on one side of the hole, surrounded by her pokemon. Sitting on her shoulder was a spearow. Julia saw her croconaw and beedrill with her as well, but this time, there were more pokemon with her, two of them being a snubbull and a large, bell shaped pokemon with two leaves and no visible body. Amara simply shrugged. "Wow. I'm impressed. I guess you're not a whiny little crybaby after all if you managed to come into a scary place like this."

"Weepinbell!" The bell shaped pokemon added.

"Shut up, you!" Amara hissed.

"Don't talk to your pokemon like that!" Julia yelled.

"I can talk to them however I want!"

"Amara, please!" Julia pleaded. "Let's just go home! Together!"

Her older sister looked down at her shoes. "I refuse to go back there! I'm done sitting around like a couch potato and not getting what I want!" She roared. Immediately, all of her pokemon adopted battle stances. How their combined weight didn't make the wooden floor beneath them cave in, Julia had absolutely no idea. Amara then noticed the eevee standing next to her sister's leg. "Hey! When did you get that eevee?!"

"Just now!" Julia answered, her voice adopting an angry tone. "She told me you attacked her and her friend! Where's the other eevee?!"

Amara shrugged again. "How should I know?! That furry piece of trash escaped before I could catch it! Spearow, use Peck!"

"Spearooooow!" The bird pokemon let out a shrill cry as it lurched right toward the girl without hesitation. Like before, Hikaru electrocuted the bird with a quick Thundershock. The jolt was strong enough to completely knock the bird out.

With a groan, Amara recalled her spearow. "Hmph! Stupid, pathetic weakling!"

"Don't call it that!"

"Don't you ever shut your flabby mouth for two seconds?!"

"Pichu pichu pichuuuu!" ( _"How can you be so horrible?!"_ ) Hikaru cried.

Julia's blood began to boil in every corner. Where had this cruel person come from? This was not the Amara she knew and loved. The Amara she knew loved pokemon. Even if they squabbled sometimes, they were still sisters. Julia wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "Why are you even on a journey? You don't even like pokemon, but you catch them anyway!" Julia exclaimed. "Why would you catch them when you hate them so much?!"

Right then and there, all of her pokemon popped out of their pokeballs, all adopting battle stances. Amara simply stood there and balled her fists, unable to answer her question right off. In a way, Julia was right. She hated pokemon with all of her being, yet she caught them anyway. To her, they were her outlets for her anger. Scapegoats for the anger she thought she was forbidden to express at home. But…

"I...I have a dream to fulfill! I'm doing this for Chanel!" Amara pointed a finger at her sister. "I am GOING to do what I want, and you're NOT going to stop me! Not anymore! Beedrill, use Poison Sting!"

The beedrill flew into the air as its stingers glowed in a white light, shooting purple spikes at her sister and her pokemon. Once more, Hikaru used Thundershock to deflect them. "Saoirse! Use Ice Fang on beedrill! Blossom and Hikaru, use Mega Drain and Thundershock on croconaw! Tsubasa, use Wing Attack on weepinbell!"

"Razor Leaf! Fire Fang! Pin Missile! Make them regret ever challenging us!"

Beams of light, flames, and white stingers were flying all around the tower. Tsubasa, being bold and battle happy as she was, managed to use her Wing Attack to bash the poor weepinbell into unconsciousness, and would have yanked on Amara's hair gleefully, had croconaw not headbutted her. Blossom managed to suck some life out of croconaw with Mega Drain after it got electrocuted a second time. Ladybug used Comet Punch on beedrill, hoping to keep it from coming any closer to her trainer. Unfortunately, beedrill managed to strike Tokiko with poison sting. Although the stingers didn't poison her, since she was a fairy type, she took more damage than usual.

"Tokiko! Use Dazzling Gleam to throw them off!"

Not deterred by the injury, Tokiko did as asked, and a blinding white light lit up the entire remnants of the tower. The three beasts down below looked up with awestruck eyes, rendered speechless. Tokiko's light was so bright, it looked like a second sun. Amara's snubbull tried to headbutt Tokiko, but Saoirse managed to hold her off with her own headbutt. The two snubbull were careful not to fall down the big hole, lest they get hurt and potentially die.

"Quit slacking, you idiots! Weepinbell, use Acid!"

Weepinbell vomited a torrent of pukey green acid. The smell was repulsive, and it almost hit Blossom and Ladybug. It came so fast, they weren't able to evade it in time. Oddly enough, the eevee that accompanied Julia threw herself in between them. A black and purple sphere of light appeared in front of her mouth before she threw it right at the putrid acid. An explosion of light blinded the two parties. But Julia saw the whole thing.

"That was Shadow Ball…" She mused to herself. None of her pokemon knew Shadow Ball. But the eevee did. "Eevee...you want to help, too?" Julia asked.

"Eevee!" ( _"Yes, please!"_ ) The little eevee's large eyes were ablaze with flames of determination. Both human and pokemon nodded in unison.

"You won't beat me!" Amara roared. "I've beaten you before and I can beat you again! Croconaw, use Water Gun! Weepinbell, Razor Leaf! Snubbull, use Fire Fang!"

The snubbull's teeth became consumed by red flames as she ran toward Blossom, who leaped out of the way, into Ladybugs arms. Tokiko threw herself at the snubbull's body, sending her rolling on the burnt wooden floor with a single headbutt. Tsubasa tackled the snubbull twice, rendering it unconscious. Amara recalled her snubbull with a groan.

Julia held her PokeDex over the eevee to see what her attacks were. The PokeDex listed the following: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball. "Perfect! Eevee, use Helping Hand on everyone!"

"Eevee!" The enthusiastic eevee's body glowed in a white light that spread to all of Julia's other pokemon. Their bodies felt as though a new kind of energy surged through them, encouraging them to go on.

Down on the bottom floor, the three beasts watched as the battle raged on. _"Why are they battling here?!"_ Entei growled. _"Mother is deigned to arrive at any moment! I must put a stop to their shenanigans-"_

" _Wait!"_ Raikou bit on Entei's cloud colored mane, holding him back. _"Don't interfere. This battle is their business. I sense that there is great tension between both humans."_

" _Raikou! How can you let this go on?!"_ Entei bellowed.

" _Raikou is right, my friend,"_ The blue creature added. _"The girl with the pichu has good intentions. I sense she intends to protect us from her sister."_

" _Suicune?! You're agreeing with him?!"_ Entei found himself taken aback. _"Today is the 150th anniversary of our rebirth! If Mother sees this battle going on, she won't-"_

" _I highly doubt a pokemon battle with deter her from visiting us,"_ Suicune replied calmly, right as Saoirse bit deep into weepinbell's skin, freezing it into unconsciousness. Now, it was just Amara with her croconaw and beedrill. All of Julia's pokemon were still standing, eevee included. Amara simply looked down the big hole, unable to face her sister. Defeat was near, and Amara, being the stubborn girl she is, couldn't picture herself conceding defeat.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Amara whimpered. Both her croconaw and beedrill looked at her with sympathetic eyes, worried. Ladybug flew onto Julia's back, holding on tight.

"Because I'm your sister. Sisters look out for each other and make sure they stay on the right path," Julia told her in a calm voice. Truth be told, the scent of soot was assailing her nostrils, her legs were trembling from so much running, and her insides were doing backflips. She wanted to leave this awful place, nothing more. But Amara was here, and she couldn't let her escape this time. Most of all...she needed to take this chance to speak with her. To understand her. What kind of sister would she be if she didn't at least make the effort to understand her?

"Amara...I just want to know why you're doing this," Gradually, her pokemon began to let their guard down. "You don't have to do all of this. It's not gonna make you happy."

"Oh, like you know anything!" Amara snapped. "The only person who made me happy is gone now! Gone because of your so-called precious friends!" She roared. Her croconaw tried to put a reassuring hand on her leg, but Amara swiped at it with one hand, forcing him to back off.

"Wait…" Finally, it clicked. "Is this about Chanel?"

"What else could this be about?!"

Julia was about to cover her ears, but Hikaru hopped on her head and put her tiny hands on them instead. Although they weren't big enough to block out the sound, Julia did appreciate the kind gesture. Still, memories came flooding back into her mind. When they were young, Amara would always bring friends over. Almost every week, she would come home to a gaggle of girls either playing dress up, talking about boys, or watching movies in the living room eating popcorn and candy. One of them was a mousy, skinny girl with brown skin, jet black hair tied into two fluffy pigtails, and shining eyes. Out of all of Amara's friends, she was by far the nicest.

" _Is this your little sister?"_ The girl asked upon their first meeting. She had a nice, clear voice, even though she had a very thick accent that gave her voice a distinct drawl. A six year old Julia hid behind a big pillow, wanting to hide. _"Hey there! Mah name's Chanel! Your big sistah told me all about'cha! You like pokemon, right?"_

"She was really nice," Julia said. "I liked her."

Finally, the anger in Amara's heart gradually began to dissipate. "Yeah. I liked her, too. When everyone ditched me...she was the only one who...stayed with me."

"I...I had no idea…" Julia stammered sheepishly. "...She was so important to you."

The croconaw and beedrill shrugged in agreement. They held the same sentiment. As much as Julia liked Chanel, she didn't know how deep their friendship was. All Julia knew was that she liked pokemon, came from a poor family, and that she and Amara were always together, like peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes they would go outside the house and spend hours upon hours wherever they hung out, much to the chagrin of their parents. Julia always wondered what they talked about whenever they would leave the house. Probably secret girl stuff they wouldn't dare disclose.

"...WHAT?!" Immediately as it disappeared, Amara's anger came back in full force. "You had NO idea?!" She looked at Julia like she committed worldwide genocide. Julia recoiled from the harsh, wide eyed stare, averting her gaze. Amara found herself running her spindly fingers through her hair. "Seriously?! My God, you're so freaking stupid! You don't understand ANYTHING!"

Creaking noises came from underneath Julia's soot covered sneakers. One of the floorboards broke out from underneath her. With a wail, she managed to grab onto another wooden floorboard with both hands. Immediately, Amara's anger morphed into worry. "Julia!" She lurched forward, grabbing the younger girl's arm. Another floorboard snapped from underneath her.

Beedrill and croconaw flew over to the girls, wrapping their arms around them to try and pull them up. Julia's other pokemon did the same. Unfortunately, the girls' combined weight was too much for the pokemon to handle. Before long, both girls, along with Hikaru, slipped out of their grasp, and they found themselves screaming, falling down the big hole.

"Chokiiiiiiii!"

"Eeveeeeeee!" Overcome with fear and remorse, the pokemon could only watch as the two sisters, clinging to each other for dear life, fell into the darkness to their impending deaths.

Or did they?

All of a sudden, they stopped in mid-air. Julia opened her eyes to find that she and Amara were surrounded by a purple light. Completely frozen. "Amara, look! We're not dead!" Julia exclaimed. Amara opened her eyes to see what she meant. Her fear intensified.

"Oh my God! Are we floating! This can't be true!" Amara found herself waving her arms and legs up and down. "Get me down get me down get me down get me doooooooown!" She whined like a five-year-old who still believed in the monster in the closet. Julia simply shrugged as they found themselves floated softly down on what remained of the bottom floor.

This time, the girls managed to get a better look at the three beasts. All three of them were quite large, enough to carry both girls on their backs and take them for a ride. One of them had bright yellow fur with some black, stripe-like markings on its back and legs. Flowing from its back was a curly purple mane that curled up at the ends. A thin, light blue tail shaped like a lightning bolt waved back and forth, with a round, spiky tip at the end. Sitting underneath its nose was what appeared to be a light blue, X-shaped muzzle, with two large teeth protruding from its mouth. Balls of white fur surrounded its fierce red eyes, with the black crest on its face making it look vicious.

Standing on its right was a beautiful, light blue beast with a large, crystal shaped crest resting on its forehead, with a small hollow cavity inside it. Flowing from its back was a shining violet mane that seemed to sparkle under the sunlight, flowing right along side the thin white streamers surrounding both sides of its body. Spots of white fur, shaped like diamonds, dotted its body, and the creature gazed at them with red eyes, only they had a gentler, softer sheen to them.

On the yellow creature's left was a beast completely covered in reddish brown fur, with a smoky, greyish white mane flowing from its back that resembled smoke. Protruding from both its back and the cream colored fur on its neck were jagged silver plates. One that was less jagged covered its muzzle, held into place with red plates on its cheeks, and a yellow crest resting on its forehead. The creature also had red eyes, and black ankle bracelets on its ankles.

"Whoa…" Both girls were speechless. Their beauty was a sight to behold. Even Hikaru found herself unable to say a word. Julia did pull out her PokeDex to examine them, starting with the yellow creature.

" _Raikou, the thunder pokemon._ _It is said to have descended to earth on a bolt of lightning, and embodies the speed of lightning as well. Its roars send shock waves shuddering through the air and ground as if lightning bolts were crashing down. This rough Pokémon stores energy inside its body, then sweeps across the land, shooting off electricity."_

" _Suicune, the aurora pokemon. Said to be the personification of the north wind, it travels the world and purifies tainted, polluted water wherever it goes, sailing on the direction of its namesake. Embodying the compassion of a pure spring of water, it runs across the land with gracefulness. This divine Pokémon blows around the world, always in search of a pure reservoir."_

" _Entei, the volcano pokemon. When Entei barks, a volcano erupts, and it's said that a new Entei is born every time a volcano appears. A proverb claims that the warmth of summer is created by Entei racing through the clouds. This brawny Pokémon courses around the earth, spouting flames hotter than a volcano's magma. Volcanoes erupt when it barks. Unable to restrain its extreme power, it races headlong around the land._

"So these are legendary pokemon…" Julia whispered to herself.

"PICHUUUUU!" All of a sudden, Hikaru let out a happy wail and bounced out of Julia's arms, racing right toward Raikou without any hint of fear or hesitation.

"Hikaru! Come back!" Julia lurched forward to try and grab her, but Amara pulled her back.

"Don't! They could be dangerous!"

"You don't know that!"

"Have some common sense, will you?!"

Instead of attacking Hikaru like Amara feared, Raikou simply kneeled down to the shiny pichu's level, letting the happy mouse nuzzle its muzzle. Sparks of static electricity crackled and flickered between the two. Both Julia and Amara found themselves speechless. Hikaru just ran right up to that Raikou, and the two of them were displaying affection as though they had known each other their whole lives.

Even more surprising was what Julia heard Hikaru say. _"Daddy! You're safe! I'm so happy you're okay! I missed you soooo much!"_ Daddy? Did Hikaru...know Raikou? Tears came streaming out from Hikaru's eyes. Tears of joy.

Before long, a rainbow appeared in the sky. A beautiful arch painted in seven distinct colors. Everyone could see it from the bottom floor. A winged silhouette, darkened by being so close to the sun, flew over the remains of Brass Tower. All three beasts bowed before it, as though it were a queen with whom they had an audience. Julia, Amara, and Hikaru simply stood there, awestruck by the beautiful sight. Soon, the rainbow and the winged silhouette disappeared.

Not only that, the three beasts leaped out of the burnt tower. "Pichu!" Hikaru's cry stopped Raikou from leaving right away. Raikou simply turned to Hikaru with a sympathetic expression. "Pichu pichu pichuuuu!" ( _"Why are you leaving? We only just met again!"_ )

Raikou left out some soft growls. _"I have duties to perform, my child. Knowing you're safe and well has eased my worries. Now be good,"_ He made eye contact with Julia, who shivered upon meeting the yellow tiger's red eyes. Amara just backed away two steps. _"Young trainer. My child seems to trust you with her whole heart,"_ Raikou growled. All Amara could here were barks and growls. _"Take good care of her for me,"_ With that, Raikou leaped out of the tower.

"Pichuuuuu!" ( _"Daddyyyyy!"_ ) Hikaru wailed as the yellow tiger disappeared.

"Julia!" Perrine, Caiseal, Bill, Morty, and the other pokemon arrived on the scene. Caiseal was the first to take Julia's arms into his own. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" The shock of it all rendered her speechless, and all she could do was nod. Caiseal flashed a soft smile. "Thank goodness. Your pokemon were really worried," All of Julia's pokemon huddled around her.

"Ah! Amara! She's here! She-" Julia whipped her head around to find Amara...only to find that she wasn't there anymore. "...Amara?"

* * *

The kids regrouped back at the Pokemon Center. They heard something on the news about the police managing to arrest at least 20 Team Rocket members, taking them into their custody. The names Margeaux and Yannick were two of the grunts who were mentioned. The news also talked about the kid named Lorenzo Moretz being put on the Blacklist as an alternative to being thrown in jail for multiple attempted thefts. Bill had already called the Ecruteak police, letting them know that Amara was in what was left of Brass Tower, but by the time they got there, she was already gone. Still, the city was swarming with police.

All Julia did was sit on a leather chair, taking time to let everything she saw sink right in. Hikaru sat on her lap, also lost in thought. Caiseal and Perrine stood in the lounge, wanting to give their friend her space. "I wonder what happened in there?" Perrine asked.

"I saw some pokemon leap out of the tower," Caiseal added. "And did you see that big bird in the sky? I couldn't see it too well, but it looked like a pokemon."

"Yeah, I did, too."

"What you saw was Ho-Oh," The two kids turned around to find Morty standing before them with a frown on his face. "One of the legendary pokemon of Johto. Every year, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune meet at the burnt tower to greet Ho-Oh as she travels the skies. They had once perished when the tower burnt down 150 years ago, but Ho-Oh brought them back to life," He explained calmly. Caiseal could tell there was a twinge of anger in his voice, like he was trying hard to repress it but failing to do so. Morty looked over at Julia, who still held Hikaru in her arms.

Perrine opened her mouth to ask a question, but Morty had walked over to Julia before she could say anything. A shadow loomed over the girl, and she looked up to find the gym leader staring down at her with a cold expression. She tried to focus on something else to avert his gaze, like his scarf. "Are you the girl who saw the three beasts?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yes…" Julia murmured.

Both Perrine and Caiseal could tell the atmosphere was tense, and ran over to them in case something happened. Morty balled his fists before shouting, "How could you let them get away?! Do you have any idea how hard it is to observe them every year?!" Morty shouted. Immediately, Julia's hands flew to her ears.

"Morty, sir! Calm down!" Bill threw himself in between his friend and the cowering girl. "'Twas an accident! I'm sure she didn't mean nothin' by it!"

Morty didn't listen. "And what's this I hear about that girl who attacked us being your sister?! Did you put her up to this?!" Caiseal and Perrine had told him about this earlier, right as Julia left to go after Amara. They felt he had a right to know what happened.

"NO!" Julia shouted, making him take a few steps back. "I did NOT put her up to it! In fact, I've done nothing but try to stop her and teach her a lesson! That's all! Look, I'm sorry she attacked you and your pokemon and ruined everything! It's my fault she's behaving this way! Believe me, I don't like it anymore than you do!" She had no idea what gave Morty the idea that she made Amara attack him and Bill out of nowhere. Why would he even think that? Did people think she was really that bad of a person? Just hearing that insinuation made her feel like a criminal.

Finally, Caiseal stood in between the two. "There's no need to yell. This is a Pokemon Center," He told the older man firmly. "There are other people here, and Julia's autistic. You're scaring her more than she already is."

Although Caiseal was successful in calming Morty down to the point where he stopped yelling, his angry expression didn't fade. "Tch. That explains a lot."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Caiseal exclaimed. He didn't like the sound of that last part. Neither did Julia.

"Now now! Calm down, everyone!" Bill piped in, interrupting their conversation. "The pokemon are gettin' healed, the police are lookin' for this Amara gal, and nobody's hurt!"

Julia bowed before Bill apologetically. "I'm sorry my sister hurt you and Morty, and your pokemon. She shouldn't have done that," Although she knew in her heart that Amara should be the one to take responsibility, she felt they were entitled to an apology.

"It's alright, dearie. It's not like ya wanted all this to happen, right?" Bill replied sheepishly. Julia shook her head.

After that, Bill left the Pokemon Center to go back home. Morty sat down to regain his composure, away from the kids. Losing his temper wasn't the best thing he did, so he figured he could sit somewhere and wait for his pokemon to get healed. Caiseal was right. Julia didn't deserve any of that. He just wished the police would catch Amara already. How did she even manage to evade capture for so long? He wondered if she was a skilled enough trainer that she uses her pokemon to evade the police? No other explanation came to mind.

Julia found herself looking over at the eevee she saved. The eevee was still there, sitting right next to her on the couch. Immediately, the sight of the furry, fluffy friend gradually made her anxiety dissipate. The eevee's soft fur, gleaming eyes, long ears...everything about her just looked so perfect. It was good that they were able to save her from Amara, but another question lingered in her mind: what happened to her friend? Julia secretly hoped that Amara didn't catch him, nor Team Rocket. "Eevee?"

"Vee?"

"Thanks for helping me and my friends back there. Sorry we couldn't find your friend, though," Julia apologized.

She expected the eevee to be sad, drooped ears and all. Instead, the eevee smiled and licked Julia's cheek with her wet, prickly tongue. "Eevee eevee!" ( _"That's okay! You tried!"_ )

The brown haired girl could no longer resist the urge to ask. "Ummm...would you...like to be my friend? My friends seem to like you, and if we travel together, we might be able to find your friend. If...you want…"

"Eevee!" The little eevee smiled brightly and snuggled on her lap, right next to Hikaru.

"Awesome! Can I give you a name?"

"Eevee!" ( _"Sure!"_ )

"Oh! I know the perfect name for you: Lucretia!" For a long time, Julia had told herself that if she ever got a female eevee of her own, she would name her Lucretia. She found the name in a book once, and something about it just resonated with her. It just sounded so beautiful, so serene, so ladylike. She had always wanted to use it, but never had the chance. Now, she got to fulfill a childhood dream. "Do you like it?"

The little eevee-now Lucretia-nodded happily, taking a liking to her new name. Julia pulled out a pokeball and gently tapped Lucretia's forehead. Lucretia turned into light before being sucked into the pokeball. It only wobbled twice in her hand before the click sound confirmed the capture. The pokeball then glowed in a white light before disappearing, teleporting right back to her house.

"Hey there," Caiseal sat down next to her. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Thanks for helping me."

"No prob. So...what did you see down there?"

"You'll never believe this!" Julia told Caiseal, and later Perrine, about seeing the three legendary beasts, and how they supposedly saved her and Amara from certain death by using some psychic power on them. Julia couldn't tell if it was Telekinesis or Extrasensory, but she was sure they saved her and Amara, probably out of kindness. Then she told them about the rainbow and seeing them bow before Ho-Oh.

"Whoa. You saw legendary pokemon?!" Perrine exclaimed. "Lucky!"

Julia clasped her hands together as she stared at the ceiling, her green eyes glimmering like stars upon reminiscing. "They were absolutely beautiful, like they popped right out of an ancient painting! Suicune was definitely the prettiest! It's long mane flowed like a smooth-running river, and I swear it shined in a bunch of rainbow colors, like an aurora! True, I've only seen pictures of auroras, not a real one, but it was still a luminous sight to behold! Oh! That reminds me!"

Hikaru's ear twitched as Julia looked down at her. "Hikaru! You were really happy to see Raikou. You even called him Daddy. Do you…" She finally popped the question. "Do you know Raikou? Personally?" The pichu nodded and didn't beat around the bush. Julia almost fell out of her seat. "WHAT?! Raikou's your adopted father?!"

"Pichu!" ( _"Yep!"_ ) Hikaru replied with a vigorous nod.

"How come you never told me this?"

Hikaru's ears drooped downward. "Pichu pichu pi…" ( _"It was too sad. I didn't think I'd see him again..."_ )

Julia flashed a small smile and rubbed Hikaru's ear with one hand. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. You can tell me when you're ready."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Perrine ran over to Morty, who continued to sit on another couch. Julia and Caiseal did the same. "Umm...Mr. Morty?"

Morty looked up to see the kids next to him. "Yes? What is it?" He looked calmer and a bit more collected now. The stern, angry look on his face vanished.

"We're sorry to bother you," Perrine began. "But the three of us were wandering if, after your pokemon are healed, we could battle you at the gym," Julia couldn't help but note how polite Perrine was. Then again, her parents might have drilled those good manners into her. They certainly came in handy.

As polite as she was, though, Morty simply stood up. "Unfortunately, I can't battle you three right now. I have some things I need to take care of at Brass Tower," He replied. "But I will be available tomorrow at noon, so feel free to stop by. I can only battle one of you, though."

"How come?" Julia asked curiously, tilting her head to one side.

"I have a meeting with a friend at five tomorrow," Morty explained calmly as he readjusted his scarf. "But after that, my schedule should be more flexible."

"Thank you, sir!" Perrine bowed before him gratefully. "We really appreciate it."

"There's no need to be so formal," Right then, Nurse Joy paged him. He approached the front desk as Nurse Joy held out a tray with four pokeballs on it. Her smile was as radiant as sunshine.

"Good news, Morty! Your pokemon are perfectly healthy!" Nurse Joy chirruped.

"Thank you for your hard work. We really appreciate it."

After that, Julia called the house again with the screen phone. This time, her mother answered the call. Julia was quick to tell her about her encounter with Amara, and her conversation with her father the night before. Understandably, her face contorted into an angry expression, and her eyes got so wide they almost popped out of her head. _"Goodness! I knew I should have done something sooner!"_ Kassia shouted to the point where Julia pulled the phone away and covered one ear. _"And Truman actually said that?!"_

"Y-Y-Yeah…"

"Pichuuu…"

" _Sorry, dear,"_ Kassia immediately calmed down. _"I have a friend who's a new police officer. I'll ask her if she and I can drive up to Ecruteak and find her ourselves. I know the police are doing their best, but…"_ Her mother looked down at her knees, letting the sentence drift away without conclusion. Just thinking about her older daughter made a breathy gasp reverberate through the phone.

"Mom...I'm sorry…"

" _Julia. This isn't your fault. It's mine. I should have done more for her. I should have tried to understand her,"_ Kassia confessed. Julia could hear the despair in her voice. At one point, Kassia choked on the word understand. _"It'll take me and Sherry about two days to get to Ecruteak. I'd love to see you."_

"Me too," Upon finishing that conversation, Julia let Ladybug out of her pokeball to see Kassia. "Ledy!"

"Hey, Ladybug. You remember my mom, Kassia, right?" Julia pointed to the screen. Her mother waved at the two of them with a soft smile. Her daughter could tell it was forced, as she still had sad eyes. Ladybug didn't notice, and just waved back. "Ladybug? I want to spend some time with our new friend Lucretia the eevee. Would you like to hang out with everyone at home? Aqua, Neji, and Papillon are there."

Ladybug didn't hesitate. She simply nodded without a word. With that, Julia exchanged Ladybug for Lucretia. Not just to spend more time with her. Perrine told her that Morty used ghost type pokemon. Ladybug only knew normal type moves, and they were absolutely useless against ghost types. Since her new friend happened to know moves like Shadow Ball and Bite, a ghost type move and a dark type move, and was a normal type on top of all that, she could have an advantage over them. If she was going to battle Morty, she'd need to study his battling style and make up her own strategy. She could wait a day to battle him. In her mind, it was better to be prepared than to risk it all.

After some more talking, both mother and daughter hung up. But more questions lingered in her mind. This time, they were about Hikaru. How did she become Raikou's adopted daughter? How did they get separated? Did Team Rocket try to capture them and she escaped? That seemed like a plausible explanation, considering Hikaru was a shiny pokemon. As much as she wanted to ask, Hikaru didn't seem ready to tell her anything yet, and her parents drilled it into her that friends always respected each other's boundaries.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder. There was so much about Hikaru that she still didn't know about.

* * *

 **So! Julia caught an Eevee! Yeah, I posted a poll and the majority of you said yes. It's funny you all said you wanted her to catch an Eevee, because I had been planning on giving her one from the beginning! (Also, Lucretia is about at the same level as the other pokemon. You know how in the old Gold and Silver games that the Eevee Bill gave you was at level 20? I don't know why HGSS changed it to level five, but oh well. I'm not complaining.)**

 **Also, my friend and beloved reviewer Canada Cowboy (who is awesome) pointed out some problems that I might have run into regarding law enforcement. I'll try to address those when I can, and did so a little bit here. I hope it helps! Then again, I'm not really good with describing law enforcement or how they work even though I watch so many cop/law shows, namely Criminal Minds and Law and Order SVU. There's also the thing about dragging out Julia chasing Amara. Sorry guys, but they won't properly reconcile until the Kanto arc (And yes, I will in fact be writing about other regions as well. I have grand plans for this story, as it's my passion project!).**

 **Random fact: The surname I gave to Morty, Prieto, is a Spanish surname meaning "dark," often used to describe a person with dark hair or skin. I only used it since ghosts are usually associated with darkness and night, and Morty uses ghost types. Plus, I couldn't think of anything better.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Mareep, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Hoothoot, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam)**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl**

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Croconaw (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Bite, Ice Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Weepinbell (Male, Modest Nature**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Growth, and Sleep Powder**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Twineedle, Fury Attack, Tackle, and Pin Missile**

 **Snubbull (Female, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Run Away**

 **Attacks: Fire Fang, Tackle, Lick, and Thunderbolt**

 **Spearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Peck, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Leer**


	18. A Ghostly Battle!

Chapter 14: A Ghostly Battle!

"Chirin! Thundershock!"

"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!"

Mother nature painted the sky in an array of mystifying colors as the sun set on the horizon. An ocean of orange with a few pink, purple, and blue streaks spread out all over. But Julia and Perrine were on the battlefield behind the Pokemon Center training for their battle with Morty tomorrow. Although he said he could only battle one of them tomorrow, the kids decided to prepare for it by doing some training. Chirin, Perrine's fluffy sheep pokemon, brought down a bolt of yellow thunder down on Julia's new friend. Lucretia, being agile as she was, easily leaped out of the thunderbolt's path before firing a black and purple sphere at the sheep. Chirin had no time to dodge, as the sphere came too quickly for him to outrun it.

"Good job, Lucretia! You're getting better at this!" Julia exclaimed.

Lucretia turned around and squeaked gratefully. Wrapped around her neck was a dark purple ribbon with a fake jewel encrusted on it in the same color, but a lighter tint. Julia had bought it for her a few hours earlier to symbolize their new friendship. Her large, fluffy tail wagged back and forth happily.

On the other hand, Chirin stumbled back on his feet. "It's okay, Chirin! You're doing just fine!" Perrine told him reassuringly. Encouraged by her kindness, Chirin shook the remnants of Lucretia's Shadow Ball off of him. Electricity crackled across his wool.

"Mareeeeeeep!" Chirin growled. All of a sudden, the sheep's body was glowing in a brilliant white light that brightened the area around them. Everyone covered their eyes with their hands. Even Caiseal and his pokemon, who sat on a bench watching the girls battle, had to do so. Chirin grew at least one foot, and stood on two feet instead of four. Some wool came off of his body.

When the light dissipated, out came Chirin. This time, most of his wool was gone from the neck down, with white, cloud-like wool only covering his head and neck. His body was a light pink instead of dark blue. His round eyes and ears remained the same in terms of their shape. A shiny, sky blue orb tipped the end of his tail, which in itself was covered in black stripes. "Flaaaaaffy!" Chirin squealed, announcing her glorious rebirth.

"Awwww! A flaaffy! So cute!" Julia cooed, her eyes twinkling at the sight of Chirin's new evolution.

"Awesome, Chirin!" Perrine exclaimed before pulling out her PokeDex.

" _Flaaffy, the wool pokemon,"_ The PokeDex said in its usual robotic voice as Lucretia went over to Chirin to congratulate him on evolving. _"Flaaffy are able to use their soft wool to trap electricity easily, building it up for whatever uses it has for it. It's body is covered with a rubber-like layer that prevents flaaffy from being electrocuted. However, as a result of storing too much of it, the rest of its body is unable to conduct electricity or produce wool, not even downy wool. If_ _its coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. It fires hair that zaps on impact."_

Once Perrine put her PokeDex away, she ran over to Chirin and flung her arms around him. Chirin returned the kind gesture by hugging her back. "You evolved! You're so great!" Perrine rejoiced.

"Flaaaaffy!" Chirin's cute voice hadn't changed one bit. The pink sheep's wool was warm to the touch, like he had spent a lot of time next to a campfire. His pink fur felt rubbery, like the rubber on a car tire. Perrine and Chirin giggled and cheered and spun around happily.

"You two are doing great!" Caiseal called out, holding a hand next to his mouth. Mallow stood next to him, throwing his bone up and down, spinning it as though it were a baton.

"Should we call it a day?" Lucretia leaped into Julia's arms. "We don't want to wear them out before the gym battle."

Perrine stretched her arms out. "Sure. By the way...who's going to battle Morty tomorrow?" She asked.

"Oh, right!" Caiseal exclaimed, running over to the girls. "There's three of us, and he said only one of us can battle him tomorrow," He crossed his arms, losing himself in thought. "How do we decide?"

"How about rock paper scissors?" Perrine suggested.

"Yeah! That'll work!" Julia exclaimed.

"Eevee!" Lucretia added.

Caiseal shrugged. "Good enough."

"Ready?" Everyone held their hands out on Perrine's command.. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" All three held their hands into fists. "Again! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Their hands were flat this time. "One more try! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Caiseal and Julia held their hands out with two fingers sticking up, whereas Perrine's was in a fist. "Ha!" She whacked their hands with her fist gently. "Rock crushes scissors! That means I get to battle Morty tomorrow!"

"Awww…" Julia whined. "I wanted to battle him."

"Oh well. This'll give us more time to train, plus we can watch Morty and observe his battling style," Caiseal told her reassuringly. "That way we can come up with our own strategies."

"Good point."

Julia was the first to run back into the Pokemon Center for the night. Her legs were aching from too much time on her feet. Before Caiseal and Perrine could follow her, Caiseal whispered, "Perrine. Would it be okay if I borrowed that autism book you have?"

"Sure. Just don't wreck it, okay?" Perrine handed him the book, although with a dubious look.

True to his word, Caiseal spent most of the night reading it with interest. All of his pokemon had gone to sleep on another bed, but he kept a lamp on so he could read. Perrine had told him about Julia and her autism. He figured it was about time to understand his friends and quit snapping at them at every little thing. _'Come on, Caiseal! Don't be such a scaredy-cat! They're not like her!'_ He told himself. _'You have to trust people again. They haven't lied to you so far. They're not gonna just throw you to the streets like she did!'_ He reasoned silently.

Immediately, a sense of fear came over him. Only for a brief moment, as he shook it off the minute he felt it. This was no time to be thinking of the past. After all, his pokemon were here with him. Seeing their content, sleeping faces made a smile touch his face. His hazel eyes turned back to the book. Before long, his eyes wouldn't stay open. Knowing what this entailed, he turned off the lamp and allowed his body and mind to drift off to dreamland.

The girls in the next room did the same. However, unbeknownst to everyone else-Perrine and the pokemon-Julia found herself still awake. Darkness turned the room pitch black. There was no sound other than Perrine and the pokemon breathing in their sleep. She found herself staring at the wall with blurry eyes. Tears escaped, trickling down her face. A trickle turned into a downpour. She tried to hold back her sobs, but was unable to do so, only managing to keep them to a whisper.

' _I had no idea...a pokemon journey was so hard…'_ She thought. Memories of everything she went through since the beginning of her journey hit her like a freight train.

Amara stealing the totodile and running off. Almost getting killed by beedrill. Returning to the Pokemon Academy, confronting her bad memories of Mrs. Amoretto. Walking through a dark, wet, sticky cave full of zubat. Fighting off burglars who could have easily killed her right then and there with their guns, all whilst protecting a child younger than herself. Trekking through a dark forest full of pokemon, with some being poison types. Trapped in a huge city that was far bigger than other towns she had been to combined, complete with the possibility of getting lost. Bearing the brunt of Amara's uncharacteristic anger and hatred. Some random kid attempting to steal her pokemon for a reason she couldn't fathom. Falling through a dirty, burnt tower almost to her death. All the times she feared for her life, got hurt (both physically and emotionally), dirty, hungry, thirsty, tired, lonely, needed to go to the bathroom desperately...

Everything overwhelmed her right then and there. A torrent of tears came storming right out, leaving a big dark mark on her pillow. Julia had no idea she had that many tears in her. The faces of her parents and sister flashed through her mind-Amara before her sudden transformation-already, the girl found herself yearning for their love and warm hugs. Her father's silly yet corny humor, her mother's kind, reassuring words when she was troubled, the sister who used to love pokemon and help her with her homework, the pokemon on the ranch she would play with...her soft, comfy bed, her favorite food, her nice clothes. The love from her family. Her old, peaceful, ideal life.

' _How did I even get this far on my own?'_ Julia asked herself, wiping her tears away. She hoped she didn't wake Perrine or her pokemon.

It hit her right there. She never had any interest in going on a pokemon journey. While it was true she wanted to see the world, make friends, and meet lots of pokemon, she thought it wouldn't be until she was much older. She had only gone on a journey on impulse. To catch Amara and bring her to the police all by herself. Perhaps her parents were right in not wanting to send her out on her own at first. Going on a journey was hard. She knew it would be, but none of what she went through crossed her mind when she used to think about pokemon journeys. Now she knew. A twinge of regret cropped right up, complete with a spring of doubt. She was traveling with no real destination, other than wherever Amara was going. Chasing her sister all throughout the land. Even Julia came to think that what she was doing was crazy.

Perhaps it was hopeless. No matter how much she chases after Amara, her sister has no intention of connecting with her. The bleak reality finally hit her right then and there. Talking to Amara didn't work. Calling her out on everything she did didn't work. Even attempting to understand her didn't work. She kept telling herself she went on this journey to find Amara, bring her to the police, and hold her accountable for her actions...but she wondered if she was lying to herself. Chasing her would only make things worse for herself and her sister. So far, she had failed to even so much as catch Amara. That pretty much told her that her reason for going on a journey was rendered moot.

Chasing her didn't work. She wondered if the police would find her. Where was the police station in Ecruteak? She needed to report Amara. Her sister needed to take responsibility for her actions. The week before she left on her journey, the memory of a police officer visiting her parents flashed through her mind. Seeing her poor mother bury her hands in her face and her father hugging her left a deep impression on her. Her family had fallen apart, and now, Amara was doing whatever she wanted. This couldn't go on.

Soon, the quiet darkness consumed her, pulling her to sleep.

* * *

At least Julia had decent shelter and a bed to sleep in. Amara didn't even have that luxury. She found herself sleeping beside some bushes, inside a big, purple sleeping bag she purchased with money she got from defeating other trainers. She might have slept in what remained of Brass Tower, had she not managed to escape through that big hole on the wall as Julia was distracted by those legendary pokemon. Had she remained, the police might have caught her. She couldn't afford to get caught. Not like this.

"Ugh! I hate this!" She groaned, pushing her skinny legs against the bottom of her sleeping bag. "People call this comfortable?"

The sound of hoothoots cooing echoed on the night wind. Frigid air made Amara's whole body shiver. Not even zipping the sleeping bag up entirely could block out the cold, her lack of warm pajamas not helping. The bush she slept next to rustled in the breeze, constantly keeping her awake. Sometimes, she would look around cautiously, wondering if a pokemon was going to come out and attack her. She was too far from any Pokemon Centers right now, so traveling in the night wouldn't bode well for her.

Twinkling stars reflected off of fresh puddles on the dirt paths nearby, turning them into pools of jewels. The illusions cracking with the occasional pokemon running their feet through the puddles, turning the water into mud as it seeped into the dirt. Amara thanked her lucky stars that she stayed away from the dirt road. Mud in her hair and clothes was the last thing she wanted to deal with. However, she did notice her long hair being wet. She stroke her cheek to find a stream of tears pouring right out.

"Mom...Dad...Julia…" She found herself whimpering. She thought she was happy to get away from them. To be able to do what she wanted despite being pursued by police. But she was constantly on guard, being forced to take care when someone would inspect her essentials and notice she was the pokemon thief. She barely had time to just sit down and have a break. Her legs would ache from walking many miles to the point where she would take her boots off to find her skin peeling off of her feet and toes, leaving red marks. Her long fingernails would have dirt sneaking inside whenever she gripped just about anything.

She pulled her hand out to examine her fingernails. It was dark, so she couldn't see very well, but she could make out some chunks of paint, with the rest of it having been chipped off, her fingers weary from travel. Her mind went back to the days where she and her friends would flock in her bedroom and giggle, painting each other's nails, putting hair up, and dressing up like the girls they'd see in model magazines. A sigh escaped her mouth. Happy days, indeed. If only she could go back to those days, where she wasn't constantly angry and brooding.

Once again, her body begged for sleep, so sleep she did. Perhaps she wasn't alone in her situation.

* * *

Perrine and Morty stood on both sides of the battlefield, with Caiseal and Julia watching their friend from the bleachers. A referee stood on the side of the battlefield, with a purple flag in his right hand, and an orange flag in his left. "The battle between Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City and Morty, the gym leader, will begin briefly! Only the challenger will be able to substitute her pokemon and use her entire party. The gym leader will only use three pokemon!"

The blonde haired man gave the younger girl a confident expression, like he wasn't intent on losing. "Good enough for me."

"I really hope Perrine whoops his butt. Really hard, too," Julia mused.

"You sound pretty irritated," Caiseal said. "Is this about him yelling at you? Don't worry. Perrine will beat him."

"She better," Julia hissed. As much as she hated it when Morty yelled at her last night, she tried to understand why. She knew she and Amara unknowingly got in the way of his business and got to see the legendary pokemon when they weren't supposed to, and she had to admit, it was their own fault for going to Brass Tower without proper preparation. But still, he was a gym leader, a grown up, an adult. He could have at least lightly scolded them in a calm manner instead of yelling about it and insinuating that she got in the way on purpose. She was glad she got to call him on it somewhat. If her parents were here, they'd tell her to let it go, as it's not appropriate to yell at someone in public and to let the adults handle it. So what? Like letting adults handle it did any good before.

Perrine sent kitsune out, and Morty sent out a ghost pokemon. A black sphere floated in the air, with a purple, gas-like substance surrounding it. It flashed a wide smile at the little fox, flashing its two sharp fangs, and its large eyes didn't give it a friendly air. "Gaaaaastly!"

"Urk!" Julia shivered and pulled her PokeDex out. _"Gastly, the gas pokemon. They usually appear in deserted, decrepit buildings, and prefer to remain invisible. They have no real shape as their body is made completely of gas. When exposed to strong wind, their gas-like bodies can dwindle away, but they can envelop an opponent of any size and cause suffocation,"_ Reading that last part made Julia shiver once more.

The referee raised his arms in the air. "Battle begin!"

"Gastly! Use Night Shade!"

"Gaaas!" A black and purple aura shot out from its gas-like body, flying right toward the orange fox.

"Dodge it, Kit!" On command, Kitsune leapt to the left to avoid the attack. "Use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire escaped from the fox's mouth. Since the ghost pokemon was airborne, it easily dodged the attack, and any others that came with it. Morty crossed his arms, flashing a confident smile.

"You don't have much restraint, now do you?" Morty said.

Julia squinted her eyes at him angrily. _'Yeah, you're one to talk!'_ She thought.

"Use Lick!" On command, gastly wrapped itself around Kitsune using its gas. The fox flailed her legs back and forth to escape, but they just passed right through its body. Before she could launch an attack to free herself, a sticky pink tongue pushed her face up, slathering her fur with a huge glob of saliva.

"Ewwww…" Caiseal looked away, disgusted. "I like getting licked by my pokemon and all, but that can't be pleasant."

"Indeed," Julia added.

Once gastly was finished, it released Kitsune, who simply plopped to the ground. "Are you okay, Kitsune?!" Perrine exclaimed. The fox's body felt heavy and numb. Even attempting to stand up made her whole body feel as though thousands of pins and needles were piercing her whole being.

"I appreciate your determination," Morty piped in. "But you're going to need more than that to win this battle."

' _He's right,'_ Perrine thought to herself. _'That lick attack must have paralyzed Kitsune, and gastly's a ghost and poison type. She won't be able to hold out for much longer...I got it!'_ An idea hatched in her head, and she figured she might as well put it in motion. "Kitsune, use Confuse Ray!"

Struggling to get back on her feet, Kitsune's eyes glowed in an eerie, pale blue light. Thick energy circulated all throughout the battlefield. Despite gastly attempting to dodge the attack, it's mind was suddenly overwhelmed with shock. Before long, gastly found itself flying in circles. Morty's eyes turned wide for just a moment. "I had forgotten vulpix could use confuse ray."

"Finish it off with Extrasensory, and give it all you've got!"

The blue glow in the fox's eyes changed to purple, as gastly was trapped in a purple light. Losing control of its body, Kitsune threw gastly right at Morty to the point where he fell on his rear. "Whoops," She said, wondering if maybe that was a bit much. Julia smiled at the scene, thinking he deserved it.

"Gastly is unable to battle! The winner is Kitsune the vulpix!" The referee announced. Morty put gastly back in it's pokeball. Perrine did the same with Kitsune out of consideration for her well-being. There was no way she was going to put a paralyzed Kitsune out on the battlefield and risk getting her hurt.

"I'm impressed," Morty told her. "Most trainers aren't able to defeat my friend gastly. I can see a bright future ahead of you."

Perrine pulled out another pokeball. "Flattery will get you nowhere! Hey, Chirin! This is your cue!" Chirin the flaaffy came spiraling out of the pokeball, striking a pose as he descended on the battlefield. "Flaaaaaaaffy!"

"Haunter! Let's test the fruits of our training!" With a swing of his pokeball, another ghost pokemon came out. This time, a deep purple pokemon with purple teeth and floating hands floated out of the pokeball. It had the same eyes as gastly. "Hauntaaaah!"

This time, Caiseal held out his PokeDex to examine it. _"Haunter, the gas pokemon, and the evolved form of gastly._ _Its tongue is made of gas. If licked, its victim starts shaking constantly until death eventually comes. Haunter is a dangerous Pokémon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. In total darkness, where nothing is visible, Haunter lurks, silently stalking its next victim."_

"I don't wanna die from getting licked by a haunter!" Julia complained.

"Me neither."

"Battle begin!"

"Haunter, use Lick!" Morty commanded. Haunter immediately flew toward the pink sheep upon command.

"We're not falling for the same trick twice!" An idea hatched in Perrine's head, and she didn't stop tp think whether it could actually work or not. "Chirin! Grab its tongue!"

"What?!" Everyone's eyes widened at the command, even Morty's. Before Haunter could pull its tongue back, Chirin wrapped his stubby arms around it, enduring the sticky saliva. "Thundershock!" Haunter couldn't escape as electricity ran all throughout its body, frying it to its gassy core. Once the electrocution session was over, haunter pushed Chirin's arms off of his tongue and flew a few feet in the air.

"Wow. I haven't been that surprised in a long time," Morty said after he calmed down. "But don't think you've won yet! Shadow Ball!"

"Use Cotton Spore to block it!"

The pink sheep shook his body wildly to produce huge balls of cotton. The cotton balls floated aimlessly around the battlefield as the haunter fired an array of black spheres. Chirin dodged them all, using the cotton as a shield. Haunter could barely see Chirin, as he practically blended into the cotton field. "Thundershock again!"

"Sucker Punch!"

Chirin didn't even dodge as he took the time to let his body completely charge with electricity. Haunter's left fist was covered in a black light as it descended toward the pink sheep. An explosion of smoke consumed the battlefield, swallowing up almost everything. Everyone in the room covered their faces with their arms in the hopes of not inhaling any smoke. When the smoke dissipated, both Chirin and haunter were lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle!"

With a sad smile, Morty recalled his haunter. "You were wonderful, my friend."

"One more to go," Perrine mused to herself.

"Yeah, Perrine!" Julia shouted as she jumped on one of the bleachers. "You get'em, girl! Kick his butt!"

"You can win this!" Caiseal exclaimed.

Perrine flashed a thumb's up and a smile radiating confidence. Morty sent out his final pokemon: a deep purple, almost black, pokemon with small arms, legs, and lots of spikes on its back. It's eyes were a bloody red color, and its pearly white teeth curled upward to form a smile that didn't look human. This time, neither trainer pulled out their PokeDex. The tension in the air was thick. With this, the battle resumed.

The orange haired girl sent Kitsune out in the hope that she might have overcome her paralysis. Unfortunately, Kitsune was still numb, making it laughably easy for Morty's gengar to defeat her with two Shadow Balls and a Sucker Punch attack. They didn't even give Kitsune time to attack. Baloo and Florian fared no better. With this, Perrine was down to two pokemon only. Her confidence began to waver.

' _This is bad...he's really good,'_ Perrine thought to herself. _'But I can beat him! I won't lose here!'_ She pulled out a pokeball and threw it. Fukuro came flying out.

"Hoothoot!"

Morty didn't say a word. He just kept his arms crossed. Gengar continued to flash it's creepy smile. "Battle begin!"

"Sucker Punch."

"Confusion!"

Fukuro's eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Gengar found itself unable to move briefly, as Fukuro froze him in place, leaving him incapable of landing the first punch. "Break through it and use Sucker Punch again!" Gengar broke through the confusion and attempted to punch Fukuro square in the beak. Since Fukuro could fly, he was able to easily evade the attacks.

"Peck!" The little owl found an opening and pecked gengar's eyes incessantly, causing the sentient shadow to cry out. With a reckless slap, gengar sent Fukuro flying onto the battlefield. He would have landed had he not flapped his wings in the nick of time, giving him a graceful landing.

"Hoothoot!" ( _"I'm smarter than you give me credit for, bub!"_ ) Fukuro boasted in a regal manner.

"I suppose you know that ghost type moves won't work on hoothoot," Perrine said, crossing her arms to give off a confident air. "You're in quite a bind."

"Smart girl," Morty mused. "But don't get cocky! Gengar, use Hypnosis!"

"Don't look at it, Fukuro!" Perrine shouted. Gengar's eyes glowed in a red light. Fukuro, being agile and capable of flight, was able to dodge the hypnosis fairly easily.

Then it happened. Fukuro's body glowed in a white light, brightening up the entire gym. As usual, everyone had to cover their eyes with their arms, it was that dazzling. Fukuro grew at least a foot, his wings tripled in size, and his round body grew long and lean. Once the light dissipated, out came Fukuro, reborn. His wings stretched to about two feet long, and a large set of cream colored eyebrows kept his round, red eyes in place. Six black, upside down triangles covered his long belly, and his talons remained the same. His tail was a darker shade of chocolate brown, along with his back and the back of his wings.

"Toooohh!" Fukuro exclaimed.

"Holy…! Fukuro, you're a noctowl now!" Perrine rejoiced, pulling out her PokeDex. _"Noctowl, the owl pokemon, and the evolved form of Hoothoot. This highly intelligent nocturnal pokemon is capable of twisting its head roughly 180 degrees when it is thinking about something, which can sharpen its intellectual power. Noctowl never fails at catching prey in darkness. This Pokémon owes its success to its superior vision that allows it to see in minimal light, and to its soft, supple wings that make no sound in flight."_

"Awesome!" Caiseal stood up on the bleachers.

With this, the battle resumed. Despite gengar's attempts to land sucker punches on Fukuro, the large owl adeptly flew all over the place, dodging every attack. Finally, Fukuro landed two more confusion attacks on gengar, sending the shadow falling to the ground, unable to move. "Gengar is unable to battle! The victory goes to Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City!"

"Yay!" Perrine leaped into the air, jumping for joy. Fukuro flew over to wrap his wings around her, trapping his trainer in a hug. Julia and Caiseal leapt from the bleachers and tackle-hugged their friend.

"You really whooped his butt, Perrine! You did it!"

"Way to go! You totally won!"

Morty's confident smile morphed into a frown as he recalled his gengar and walked over to the girl. "You're a good trainer, Perrine," He noticed the glare Julia was giving him, but he didn't think anything of it. "Here, this is the Fog Badge," He handed Perrine a small black badge with two red semi-circle eyes on it. "As for you two, I'm free all day tomorrow, so we can battle then," He said. It was here that he finally took notice of Julia glaring at him. _'Why is she looking at me like that?'_ He asked himself.

With this, the kids left the gym. "I hear there's some pokemon on Route 38," Caiseal said, pointing to the left side of the city. "How about we do some training there?"

"Sounds great. But I want to heal my pokemon first," Perrine told him.

"Sure. That's fine. How about you, Julia?"

"That'd be great. But…" She paused briefly. "I want to do something else first. You can go on ahead."

Both Caiseal and Perrine headed to the Pokemon Center. Julia, on the other hand, found herself in front of the police station. She remembered the things her mother and Caiseal said to her regarding Amara's actions.

" _Julia. Calm down a little. This is a matter the police are more than capable of handling."_

" _You should only go on a journey for yourself, not for someone else! If you spend your whole life chasing someone, you'll only think you exist for other people! You're basically chasing her all over Johto! You saw how that girl treated her! She doesn't look to be one to listen to reason! I say forget her! It's not worth it!"_

Her parents had tried to dissuade her from her desire to go on her journey, but Julia didn't listen. She thought she could find Amara and turn her into the police by herself. That was what she decided. They said they didn't want her to get hurt, but...perhaps they knew that Julia wouldn't be able to catch her. The cold reality of the situation hit her like a freight train. She couldn't catch Amara, and no matter what she tried, Amara refused to own up to her actions, nor was she willing to listen to reason. Perhaps she should have let the police handle this from the beginning. True, her parents and Professor Elm had reported her already, and for all she knew, the police all over Johto might have received many reports from other people.

As for why she herself didn't call the police, that was because she knew her parents already did that. After her hospital stay, she heard Kassia call someone and tell them about Amara. All the other times Amara had attacked her, Julia hadn't called anyone because she assumed someone else did. She saw tons of policemen walk around, searching for Amara. All this time, she wanted to understand Amara. But understanding her and chasing her wouldn't change a thing. Perhaps it was time to stop playing nice. No more chasing after Amara. This was a journey for herself. Let the police do their job. Her mother and father were right. The police were more than capable of catching her than she could ever be. Her job was to live her life for herself.

Julia walked through the revolving doors of the police station. "Excuse me! I'd like to report my older sister, Amara Parisa, for crimes of pokemon abuse and multiple assaults on civilians, gym leaders included!"

* * *

"Whew!" Perrine stretched her arms out as she sat on a stump. Laying next to her was her PokeGear, which was on the radio section. A sentimental love song played through the phone, a suave, rich male voice being somewhat muffled by the low quality audio. "That battle felt great!" Kitsune stretched her legs out, her back arching backward as she pushed herself back and forth.

"Jeez, that song is so cheesy," Caiseal groaned, brushing Apollo's fur with a brush. Once again, Mallow twirled his bone around like a baton as though he were a cheerleader. Baloo found herself dancing to the sound of the music from the PokeGear, bouncing back and forth, waving her stubby arms around.

"Baloo likes it."

"Jiggly!" ( _"Oh yeah! The Golden Boys are my jam!"_ )

"Perrine! Caiseal!" The kids whipped their heads up to find Julia scurrying down the dirt road, white fences lining it right up so she wouldn't stray from the path. "Sorry about that!" She apologized once she caught up to them.

"No worries," Perrine told her once Kitsune curled up on her lap. Julia sat down on another nearby stump. Soon, the song on Perrine's PokeGear ceased. Baloo donned a sad expression, and her body bloated up to the point where she looked like a large balloon. How she didn't float away was anyone's guess. "So what did you need to do before?"

The brown haired girl was quick to let her pokemon out of their pokeballs. Saoirse and Hikaru found themselves playing pretend ballroom dancing, spinning each other around like they were dancing to the waltz. Tsubasa simply began poking Flippy on the head with her beak, the latter being completely unbothered by the pesky bird's pecking. Lucretia tickled little Tokiko with her large, fluffy tail. Viole was making a failed attempt to woo Blossom by giving her a daisy he picked out.

"I...needed to think about some things," That was Julia's only response. "My mom's coming to visit with a friend."

"Your mom?" Perrine asked.

Julia nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen her in a while. She said she'll come sometime tomorrow," At this point, Blossom hopped on Julia's lap and sat down, begging for her trainer's affection. A smile touched the girl's face as she held the little oddish in her arms. "I'm starting to miss my family…"

"You have good families. Lucky," Caiseal mused. His voice took on a twinge of contempt peppered with sarcasm. Not toward the girls. "I'm happy I'm away from those brain dead idiots. They don't care about me, so I don't care about them."

Not once had any of the girls ever heard someone talk like that about their parents before. Caiseal did say he was an unwanted child, and they wanted to press him on it. But it seemed to be a sore subject for him, and their parents had drilled it into their heads that they shouldn't ask someone about their personal lives, especially their private stuff, as it's their business only. Both girls silently dropped the subject, feeling they had no place to comment on it or press him further.

"So who's gonna battle Morty tomorrow?" Julia asked, changing the subject.

"Another round of rock, paper, scissors, Jule?"

"Sure!" Both Julia and Caiseal stood up and held their hands out in front of one another. "Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Two rocks. Again, two scissors. "One more time! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Julia held her hand out flat like a paper, but Caiseal held out two fingers. "Ha! Scissors cuts paper! I battle Morty tomorrow!"

"Awww…" Once again, Julia lamented her loss. Then again, it would be another chance to prepare for her own battle with him. Defeating him would be very satisfying, indeed.

After that, Julia and Caiseal found themselves in a faux pokemon battle, with Julia using Lucretia and Caiseal using Ravenclaw. The other pokemon just did their thing, and Perrine laid down on the grass, listening to the music channel on her PokeGear. The faux battle went on for about an hour before Julia decided to pack it in. Perrine was still lost in the music, her eyes closed, her head bobbing back and forth. Some grass blades intermingled with her flowy orange hair, with some breaking off from the rest of the grass.

Right as Julia rummaged through her bag, she found herself pulling out a sketchbook. The cover was hard like cardboard, and a bright, sunny yellow color, just like Hikaru's fur. She flipped through the pages, discovering that she still hadn't drawn anything in it. It was a good thing she brought mechanical pencils with her. As soon as she pulled it out, the inspiration to draw suddenly struck her like a thundershock attack, and she found herself lying face down on the grass, drawing on a blank page. She didn't mind that the grass blades tickled her arms.

Before long, she had gone through at least three pages already. None of her pokemon bothered to pull her away from her drawing, feeling that she didn't want to be disturbed, so they respected her privacy. Caiseal, on the other hand, noticed Julia lying on the grass by herself. Just like Perrine. He ambled over to the girl, kneeled down to her level, and glanced at the drawing. It was a pencil drawn picture of Hikaru, complete with the pink ribbon on her right ear. Caiseal was speechless, as the drawing looked almost exactly like Hikaru.

"Wow. That's amazing," Caiseal mused out loud.

His voice pulling her out of reality, Julia looked up to see her friend right above her. "You...think so?" Her cheeks turned pink. "Thanks. I'm not all that good, though."

"You're a heck of a lot better than me at it," Caiseal sat down so he could talk with her better. Plus, his legs were hurting from standing in one position for so long. "I can only draw stupid little stick figures."

Julia failed to stifle a laugh. "That's what my dad says."

"Can I...see?"

"Sure. Just don't rip it," Julia handed him the sketchbook. "I only filled out three pages, so there isn't much."

Caiseal flipped through the pages that Julia drew on. The first page showed a pencil drawing of Tokiko and Lucretia lying down on the grass as the sun shined down on them with its warm rays. Both had their eyes closed, and Tokiko's Soothe Bell was dangling from her neck, or what could be interpreted as a neck. The second page showed a similar drawing of a flock of butterfree flying in the air, with their large wings catching the wind underneath them. He could barely make it out, but among the butterfree was a small pokemon with a large, cornet shaped head with two antennae, large eyes, tiny, transparent fairy wings, two toeless feet, long arms, and a bright smile on its face.

"I didn't know you draw. You're really good," Caiseal mused.

As much as she appreciated the compliment, she found herself scratching her hair with one hand. "There are plenty of others who are way better than me, though."

"Don't be so modest."

"Hey...Caiseal?"

"Hm?"

Julia's sweet smile suddenly turned into a frown. She found herself staring down at the grass she was sitting on. Some blades of grass were bending over, limp, swaying in the breeze. "Remember back in Goldenrod when you said I was only chasing Amara around, and that it was a stupid reason to go on a journey?"

The blonde haired boy looked down, averting her gaze. "Yeah...I guess I could have put it in better words. You didn't deserve my yelling."

"No," She shook her head. "You were right. I've been doing a lot of thinking since the last time I saw Amara back at Brass Tower," She began, looking down at her hands. "If I ever caught up to her, I wanted to take her to the nearest police station by force and make sure she didn't hurt anyone else, the pokemon she stole and caught included. I wanted to be the one who...would make her take responsibility for what she did to everyone…" She let the sentence drift away.

"I see…" The regret that attacked Caiseal right then and there was instantaneous. He had apologized for snapping at her that time, yes, but now that he understood her reasons better, he wished he hadn't done it at all. Perrine was right. She did have her reasons for going on her journey, and they were just as valid and his own.

"But...I see now that...I haven't even been able to so much as catch her," Hikaru snuggled onto her lap and begged for pets. Julia smiled and gave in, stroking Hikaru's head gently with one hand. "Now don't get me wrong, I still want to understand why she's doing all of this, and why she's become so...angry. She wasn't like that before. But...as it stands now, I'm not living my life for myself. My parents even talked to me about this before…"

That was when she was ten years old, about six months before her birthday. She had come home crying because some kids bullied her, and despite the interference of some kind teachers she liked, the pain in her heart hadn't subsided. Her mother calmed her down, but she did have something she wanted to say to her.

" _Julia. This'll be hard to say, but while I am happy you tell me when things aren't going exactly well in school, crying and cowering in fear all the time isn't going to solve your problems. It's okay to be scared and cry when you want to, and you can always talk to someone if something bad is happening, like us or your teachers or your friends...but there will be times when you need to be brave and stick up for yourself, when no one is around to protect you. When you get older, things will only get harder. Your father and I won't be around forever, so you'll need to stand up for yourself when someone's being cruel to you. Don't live your life constantly being scared, nor should you let other people walk all over you. You need to live life for yourself and make sure nobody can take it away from you."_

"I never understood what she meant back then," Julia went on before looking up at the sky. It was a bright blue, unmarred by any clouds. A small flock of butterfree flapped their wings as they flew toward some big trees. "But now I get it. Amara isn't the only reason I went on this journey. There's so much I want to do!" She looked at Caiseal with a serious yet still soft expression on her face. "I want to meet lots of pokemon, make friends, write books, draw comics, make cartoons, help people when they're sad or hurt...all that stuff!"

Even Lucretia, Tsubasa, Saoirse, and Tokiko stopped to listen in on their conversation. Tsubasa pecked at her feathers, scratching off some itches. "I know I'm not the best trainer in the world. I hate loud noise, I cry when I get overwhelmed, I never know what to say in certain situations, sometimes I say and do stuff that's...inappropriate...and I'm autistic and a weirdo! I get that! But...I'm sorry. I sound like a brat, don't I?"

Caiseal stretched his arms out. "No you don't. I get how you're feeling. You really want to get through to someone and understand them, and you try and try and try…" A wistful look appeared in his hazel eyes, like he was about to take a walk down memory lane. "...but in the end, they just refuse to budge. I've been there. Actually...I have some confessions to make myself."

"Like what?"

"I...I never really gave you the time of day when I first met you and Perrine," Caiseal began, meeting Julia's eyes for a brief moment. She looked away, focusing more on his hair. "I only followed you around because I kinda got a little crush on Perrine. We had similar family issues, and I thought we could be friends. But when she made up with her dad, I did get a little mad. Now, I don't really have the crush anymore. But…" This was when he frowned. "When I first met you, I hated you. I always thought you were some spoiled, sheltered, naive kid who got in the way and dragged us down. I even tried to make Perrine ditch you so we could go on a journey together."

Caiseal shivered when he saw Julia glare at him. He didn't blame her. "Yeah, I know. That was stupid of me. I get that now. I don't like trusting people. I've been betrayed by people I thought loved me, and I thought you would do the same. I didn't…" He looked down at the grass once more. A black silhouette shaped like a woman standing at the entrance of a house flashed through his mind for a brief moment. "...want to go through that pain again. But I see now that you really aren't the bad person I thought you were. In fact, you've been nothing but kind to both me, Perrine, and the pokemon out of the goodness of your heart. Your autism had nothing to do with it. Both you, Perrine, and the pokemon kinda made me realize, probably indirectly, how much of a jerk I've been. For all that, I'm sorry."

A smile returned to Julia's face. "I...I appreciate your honesty," She replied. "And it's okay. I'm kinda used to people telling me I'm stupid or annoying or dumb or retarded or a bad kid. I didn't have any friends my age when I was in school. I was too different from the other kids, and they picked on me...so I believed what they said...that nobody would ever want to be friends with someone like me."

"Well, they're wrong," Caiseal said, standing up. "If you really were a bad kid, or all those things you said, Perrine and I wouldn't be hanging out with you, and I'm sure your pokemon wouldn't love you like they do, either. So that's gotta mean something, right?"

Julia nodded in agreement. For once, she actually felt sure of herself. No longer did she believe the things the bullies and Mrs. Amoretto said about her. It wasn't as though she ever believed what angry Amara said to her. "And the thing is, my sister used to be nice. I used to look up to her. She'd teach me stuff, yell at bad kids when they were being mean, play with me, help me with my homework, all that stuff. She'd even let me play with her and her friends when they'd come over," She explained. "I just wish...there was some way I could help her."

"I'll bet," Caiseal sat back down. "By the way, what's that little pokemon hanging out with the butterfree?" He pointed to the fairy pokemon in her drawing.

"This? Well, that's-" Before she could explain it to him, she saw light blue and pink blurs with long ears run right past her. They ran so fast, she could barely make them out. She did catch a red and black dog-like pokemon running after them. Growls echoed in the air. Her eyes widened with horror once she translated the growling. _"I'm gonna kill you, you vermiiiiin!"_

"Whoa! That was a houndoom!" Caiseal exclaimed, standing up right as Julia did. "I wanna catch it!"

Perrine finally walked over to her two friends, having grown bored from listening to so much music. "What was that about? Do you think it's chasing some pokemon?"

"Let's go see!" Julia suggested.

* * *

 **Yeah, gonna have to make another 0.5 chapter. I hate having school and not having inspiration enough to make just one chapter instead of splitting it into two. Oh well. Some people have said I need to slow down a little and give my characters time to breathe and make the world a bit more vivid, so perhaps this'll be a good way to do so. You might not see me much, though. I have a lot of homework and projects to work on, so updates will be slow. I don't like giving specific dates for updates, as I'm one who tries to keep my word, but I fear that giving dates for things when I'm not sure I'll be able to complete them gives my readers false hope, and I don't want to disappoint you guys with promises I may not be able to keep. So please be patient!**

 **Random fact: While I will use established PokeDex entries for most pokemon, for others I'll make my own, as some entries are too repetitive, or don't have enough good information, such being the case for pokemon such as Manaphy. I plan on REALLY exploring certain pokemon and giving them better backstories and personalities than what the anime and even the games establish so as to make the world more interesting.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Take Down**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude**


	19. I'm Friends With My Worst Fear!

Chapter 14.5: I'm Friends With My Worst Fear!

A young policeman dressed in a blue uniform watched as inmates dressed in orange jumpsuits sat in their jail cells. Keeping a watchful eye, he didn't take his eyes off of some prisoners for even a moment. He smiled at some of them, knowing they were Team Rocket members his friends had apprehended. Good thing they're off the streets, otherwise, who knows what kind of crimes they could commit next.

"Hey, Roger!" A black haired fellow policeman exclaimed, walking right into the row of jail cells. "You need to see this!"

"What is it, Steven?" Roger barely had any time to properly respond before Steven took him by the arm and pulled him out of the room. A grey newspaper was suddenly pushed in front of his face, obscuring his vision. "Hey! Get that thing out of my face!"

"Look! See the headline?" Once Roger pulled his face out of the newspaper, he took a closer look, adjusting his glasses as he examined the article in question. The large headline read, **'Potential Suspect Found For Cherrygrove Gyarados Rampage, Investigation Continues.'** There was a picture of a woman in her mid-forties right underneath the headline. Since the newspaper was printed in black and white, the color of her eyes and hair were obscured, not helped by the fact that the woman's eyes were covered by a pair of black visor glasses.

"Ohhh! I know what this is!" Roger exclaimed. "Is this about that gyarados suddenly blowing Cherrygrove to smithereens some time ago?" He ran a rugged hand through his hair. "Good Arceus, those poor people…"

"I know!" Steven exclaimed. "I have a friend who's been investigating this since it happened. He got some eyewitness reports saying a woman riding some airship was observing the attack and doing nothing to stop it," He pointed to the woman in the picture. "That's her! Some even said to him that they heard her talkin' about it like she was the one behind it!"

Roger raised an eyebrow, noting the woman in the picture. "Who is she, exactly?"

"I hear she's a notorious pokemon hunter. She's on the world's national most wanted list, and holds the number one spot on the blacklist. All we know for sure is that she goes by J, nothing else," Steven explained. "I heard that she's been on the run for years, and despite the police going on huge man hunts for her, nobody's managed to catch her. Not even close."

"She's probably a smart cookie if she's capable of evading the police for so long," Roger mused. "Speaking of which, isn't there some manhunt going on for this Amara girl?"

Steven shrugged. "I've seen police search everywhere, but as usual, they're coming up empty. False tips, leads going nowhere, it's a mess!" He adjusted his police hat to make sure it didn't obscure his vision. "How does this girl do it?"

"Sorry Steve, but I gotta get back to my post," Roger handed the newspaper back to his colleague. "I gotta make sure the Rockets don't escape."

"Can I come take a look with you? Maybe I can help. You're probably bored out of your mind."

As the two policemen walked down the corridor, Roger noticed one cell was empty. Wait, what? He and Steven stopped in their tracks. A cell was completely empty. No sign of human life was in there. One of the bars on the tiny window had been cut, and all that was left was a bundle of white bed sheets tied to the bar like a rope. "Oh no! Margeaux's gone!" Roger screamed. "I gotta let everyone else know!"

"She's not the only one!" Steven shouted. "That Yannick guy's gone too!"

The two policemen were quick to inform their bosses of what happened. Two Team Rocket grunts had escaped! Arceus only knows what kind of trouble they were potentially going to cause...

* * *

Roars and growls echoed in the forest, allowing the kids to get a good idea of where that houndoom from earlier was. It helped that Saoirse and Hikaru tracked its scent, since they had hypersensitive noses that could pick up any scent. Soon, the kids saw the black, horned canine growling in front of what appeared to be a hole at the root of a big tree. Julia could hear cries of "Ni ni ni niii!" inside, as loud as the houndoom's growling was.

The large pokemon was a large, black furred canine that stood as tall as the kids, with two grey, curled horns protruding out from the back of its head. Its red eyes gleamed like those of a vicious beast out for blood, with an orange snout and underbelly offsetting the rest of its fur. Wrapped around its neck was a greyish white band, with similarly colored and shaped ridges on its back. Resting on its collarbone was an oval shaped crest that resembled a skull pendant, and four bands that resembled ankle bracelets wrapped around its ankles. It's thin tail wagged left and right, with a black triangle right at the tip.

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine it. _"Houndoom, the dark pokemon, and the evolved form of houndour. Houndoom's eerie howl is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear._ _Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper. In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply towards the back serves a leadership role. These Pokémon choose their leader by fighting amongst themselves. The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever,"_ A pink female sign flashed as the PokeDex hovered over it.

"Sweet!" Caiseal exclaimed as he pulled out a pokeball. "I am so catching it!"

"Wait! Don't catch it just yet!" Julia held her arm out to keep Caiseal back. Soon, she turned toward the growling beast and shouted, "Hey! Leave them alone!" Saoirse and Hikaru stood in between the two, adopting battle stances, should the situation get out of hand.

The angry houndoom turned to face the kids, its long snout scrunched up and contorted with anger, baring its shiny white teeth. Julia immediately shuddered, but the houndoom growled once more. "Oh...is that why you're growling at them."

"What's it saying?" Perrine asked.

"She says, _'It's their fault for stealing my Oran berries! My children are starving!'_ " She translated. Immediately, an idea hatched in Hikaru's head. She leaped onto Julia's bag, unzipped it, and rummaged through it. "Hey! Hikaru! What are you doing?" Hikaru popped out of the bag, approached the houndoom with a smile, and showed it two Oran berries.

"Pichu pichu!" ( _"You can have these!"_ ) Hikaru held the Oran berries out to the houndoom with a beaming smile. The sight calmed the houndoom somewhat, as her face softened. She kneeled down to sniff the Oran berries to make sure they were safe. Hikaru didn't move a muscle, but continued to smile, wanting to pacify the large canine. Before long, the houndoom took the berries into its mouth.

"Gar gar gaaaar…" The houndoom growled with the berries still in its mouth. With that, the horned canine trotted away, leaving large footprints in its wake.

"Hikaru! Why'd you give it the Oran berries Mr. Pokemon gave us?" Julia asked, confused by her friend's actions. But she had to admit, Hikaru's actions did prevent a disaster, so it wasn't a total loss. "I kinda wanted to save those for emergencies."

"Pichu pichu pichu!" ( _"We can always find more! There's lots of them everywhere!"_ ) Hikaru reasoned, flapping her arms up and down.

"Snubbull snubbull." ( _"She does have a valid point."_ ) Saoirse added.

Julia let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. But you should ask me first before you do stuff like that!" She told them.

"Pichu!"

"Sorry, Cash," Perrine said. "You wanted to catch that houndoom."

Caiseal crossed his arms. "It's okay. I don't want to break up a family," Perrine gave him a quizzical look. That was a quick recovery.

This time, Hikaru trotted over to the hole in the bottom of the tree. "Pichu pichu pichu!" ( _"Houndoom's gone! You can come out now!"_ )

"Nyu nyu nyuuu?" ( _"Really? We can come out?"_ )

"I wonder what pokemon are inside?" Julia kneeled before the hole, but made sure to stay on the side so as to give the pokemon some space for them to come out. "You can come out! It's okay!"

Seeing that it was safe, the two pokemon popped right out of the hole. Julia's content, warm smile immediately morphed into a big frown. Her eyes became so wide, they looked as though they were going to pop right out of her head. She suddenly let out a high pitched scream and ran right behind Perrine, like she couldn't run fast enough. The two kids looked at each other with confused expressions, right as Julia shivered behind her orange haired friend, wondering what the heck just happened. They looked down to get a better look at the pokemon.

One pokemon was a deep, pinkish purple rabbit-like creature, with large, spiny ears bigger than its head, almost shaped like diamonds, with the insides being a teal green color. Many spikes, large and small, shot up from its back, and its red eyes had a curious, friendly look to them. Some darker spots dotted its body, and a sharp horn protruded from its head. The other pokemon was rounder and plumper than the other one, with smaller ears that were both teal and dark blue on the inside. It's body was a periwinkle blue color, and two whiskers came out from each cheek. Its horn was smaller than the purple pokemon's, and dark blue spots dotted its body.

"They're...Nidoran…" Caiseal mused.

The two nidoran smiled cheerfully, greeting a happy Hikaru with coos and squeaks. Hikaru shook hands with them like she had known them her whole lives. Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine them. _"Nidoran, the poison pin pokemon. Because their genders, physical attributes, and evolutionary lines are so drastically different from one another, they are classified as different species. They are relatively docile, mild mannered pokemon who don't like to fight, but their horns can secrete a vicious venom that can easily kill if strong enough. The poison in their horns are extremely potent to a point where even a tiny scratch can result in a fast death. Their horns developed as a means of protection against predators. Because their ears are so large, they can pick up even the smallest sounds, allowing them to be prepared for any danger."_

"Awww, they're so cute!" Perrine cooed.

The two nidoran noticed Julia hiding behind Perrine, and cheerfully walked over to her. As soon as she saw them, she yelped once more and ran to hide behind a tree. The two nidoran just stood there, staring at her with a confused, dejected look. "Are...you okay?" Caiseal asked.

"NO! No I am not!" Julia screamed.

"Ohhh!" Perrine facepalmed, chastising herself for forgetting. "I forgot! You're scared of poison types, aren't you?"

Both nidorans' ears twitched at the sound of that. The two rodents stared down at the dirt beneath their feet with dejected eyes. Hikaru couldn't help but pity them. "Yes! Yes I am scared of them! Poison types are evil! They're vicious, and they kiiiiill!" Julia wailed like a scared child.

"Really? I didn't know you were scared of poison types," Caiseal asked. "Dare I ask why?" He kept his distance to give her some space.

"When I was seven, a venomoth and three other pokemon went crazy and tried to attack me!" Julia screamed. The memory of being trapped in that building while those four pokemon battled each other uncontrollably ran through her mind. "When I was eight, a beedrill stabbed me on the arm and I almost died! When I was nine, I stepped on an Ekans's tail by accident and it tried to kill me, and it would have if dad and his blastoise didn't make it go awaaaaaay!" Once again, the horrible memories ran through her mind like a film strip, and just thinking about them made her shudder. Tears had already come trickling right out.

"Nyu nyu ni ni!" ( _"We're not gonna kill you!"_ ) The purple nidoran reasoned.

The blue nidoran nodded in agreement before chirping, "Ni ni ni ni! Nyu nyu nyuuuu!" ( _"Yeah! You saved us! We wanna be friends!"_ )

Once more, when they tried to approach, Julia let out a scream and sprinted away, like she couldn't run fast enough, leaving everyone else alone. The two nidoran drooped their heads down dejectedly, their hearts broken by her rejection. Seeing their sad expressions, Hikaru kindly patted them on their heads and told them, _"I'm sure she knows you're not mean. Just give her some time! She'll come around!"_

At least Julia didn't go too far. She made sure she was within the group's vicinity. A good friend wouldn't just leave their friends behind, and she needed to do some training before her gym battle. Once the kids caught up with her, she calmed down and had another faux battle with Caiseal. However, the nidoran couple didn't seem to want to leave, and she found herself stiffening as soon as they would come close. Saoirse would gently shoo them away and make them give her some space. Some of the other pokemon occupied them by playing tag with them, so they'd run around all over the place.

"Whew! That was great!" Caiseal exclaimed, motioning for Ravenclaw to roost on his shoulder. "Thanks, Jule! Ravenclaw and I just might be able to beat Morty tomorrow!"

"Murkrow!" Ravenclaw added.

"Glad to hear it," Julia brushed some hair out of her face and sat down in front of another tree, watching as her friends played tag with the nidoran. She pulled out her sketchbook and began drawing again. Drawing was like her escape from reality. She could just stare at a paper, make pictures with a pencil, and completely block out the world around her.

"Nido nido?" Of course, the nidoran's squeaky voices pulled her right back to reality. She yelped and was about to run, but stopped when she saw the sad looks in their eyes. As much as she hated poison types because of the dangers they could pose, she didn't see dangerous pokemon this time. She saw sad little rodents, looking up at her with dejected expressions, like they were asking if they hated her just for existing. Their sad faces broke her heart.

' _Uuugh! Come on, Julia! They're just nidoran! They're not gonna kill you! They even said so!'_ Julia told herself. She wished she wasn't so afraid of poison types. _'They just want to be friends! You'll hurt their feelings if you keep this up!'_ Chastising herself for being so fearful, she wondered if this was what her mother meant when she said she needed to face her fears. If these two nidoran really were vicious, they would have attacked her by now, and they didn't. She knew that much.

Perhaps...it was time to stop being so scared. After all, she wasn't afraid of oddish, who were part poison types, but were for the most part friendly. Blossom was certainly a nice little oddish who stayed out of trouble and was quiet most of the time. Blossom hasn't attempted to kill her, so that had to mean something. She had faced her fears before. She feared going to Violet City, but went back anyway, and wasn't afraid of it anymore. If she could go someplace where bad memories were strong and come out stronger because of it, then perhaps she could stop being afraid of poison types.

With resolve in her heart, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a large, chocolate chip cookie. It was still fresh, as she had bought it after she had come out of the police station. But she had lost her appetite, so perhaps the nidoran would like it. Her body trembling, she broke the cookie in half and presented the halves to the two nidoran. "W-W-W-W-Would you...like s-s-s-s-s-some?" She croaked, barely managing to get two words out. At first, the nidoran simply sniffed the cookie, taking care not to touch Julia's fingers. Soon, they used their teeth to pull the cookie out of her hands and gobbled them up.

"Nido nido!"

"Nyu ni nyuuuu!"

The smiles on their faces told Julia all she needed to know. Soon, she found herself smiling, and the tension in her body finally relaxed somewhat. It was a step forward. Perhaps she could go further. Slowly, she held her hand out. "I...I have nothing against you two. Honest," She told them, no longer stuttering. "I...I don't want to be afraid…"

The nidoran couple could sense the lingering fear in her body. Pokemon can sense the feelings of people around them, both wild and trained. Happiness, sadness, anger, hatred...in Julia's case, fear. Julia squeezed her eyes shut but kept her hand held out. She wanted to believe in them. To believe that poison types weren't all dangerous, and were no different from any other pokemon. The two nidoran sniffed Julia's hand with their noses before the blue one gently licked her finger. The purple one soon did the same. Taking care not to scratch her with her horn, the blue one took the initiative and rubbed herself against Julia's finger.

Her body was hard and spiny, like a rock. There was no softness or smooth skin anywhere. Gradually, Julia opened her eyes and found herself shocked. The blue nidoran was happily rubbing herself underneath her hand, basking in her soothing touch. No poison, no pain, nothing. The fear lingering in her body was gradually leaving. She had expected it to hurt, but it didn't. Perhaps these two little rodents weren't vicious after all. She held her hand out to scratch the purple nidoran's ears. Like its best friend, the purple nidoran smiled, basking in the girl's touch.

"Now that I look at you…" Julia mused. "...You are pretty cute."

"Nido nido!" The purple nidoran chirruped.

Caiseal and Perrine crossed their arms, watching as Julia opened her heart to the two rodents. "She's getting there. I guess it works better to just let her deal with it on her own."

The blonde haired boy simply nodded, looking away. _'I'm kinda jealous. I wish I could get over my fear that quickly,'_ He ruminated. An image of a cave filled to the ceiling with ice and icicles flashed through his mind. A small, frightened child curled up in a ball near a frozen rock, surrounded by shattered icicles, which had fallen from the ceiling. Simply recalling the memory made him shiver as though he were back there again.

A large teal pine cone suddenly caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, it was a pineco. Caiseal kneeled down to its level and took out his PokeDex to examine it. _"Pineco, the bagworm pokemon. They like to make their shells thicker by adding layers of tree bark to them, and the additional weight doesn't bother them. Pineco don't particularly move around much on their own. Pineco hangs from a tree branch and patiently waits for prey to come along. If the Pokémon is disturbed while eating by someone shaking its tree, it drops down to the ground and explodes with no warning. Their hard shell is able to protect them from bird pokemon."_ A blue male sign flashed in the PokeDex.

"Pineco!" The pine cone shaped pokemon exclaimed, staring at Julia, Hikaru, and the two nidoran. All of a sudden, a white light consumed it before... _BOOM!_ An explosion consumed the area, and a grey cloud of smoke billowed all over. Nobody could see a thing, and the kids were reduced to coughing fits. Thankfully, the bird pokemon (Tsubasa, Fukuro, and Ravenclaw) flew out of the smoke cloud and flapped their wings vigorously.

The smoke in front of Julia's eyes began to clear. The first thing she saw was a woman in black Team Rocket garb with two pokemon underneath her arms. One of them was Hikaru, the other the blue nidoran. Fear immediately morphed into anger, and it seized her faster than she could comprehend it. How dare this woman take her pokemon?!

"LET MY FRIENDS GO!" With a scream, Julia lunged at the woman and sent her rolling to the ground. She recognized her as Margeaux, the brown haired grunt from the Ruins of Alph who tried to steal Saoirse and Tokiko. Hikaru and the blue nidoran crawled right out from underneath Margeaux's arms as soon as she fell.

"Get off me, you brat!" Margeaux rolled over and grabbed a chunk of Julia's hair.

"OW! Caiseal! Perrine! Call the police NOW!" Julia yelled, slapping the woman across the cheek.

Caiseal already had his PokeGear out. "Baloo, use Wake-Up Slap on that man!" Perrine yelled as she noticed Yannick with the purple nidoran in his arms. The balloon pokemon hopped before the white clad man and slapped him across the face multiple times, losing his grip on the purple nidoran. Both nidoran scurried toward the kids, kicking dirt into the grunts' faces so as to deter them further.

"Grrrr!" Yannick growled. "We'll show you who's boss! Machop, go!" Yannick called forth his trusty machop. "Use Karate Chop!"

"Baloo, Disarming Voice!"

"Jiggly!" As the machop charged toward the pink balloon pokemon with his palm flattened, ready to pound on the little thing, Baloo let out a shrill cry, and pink and red hearts flew at the machop's face. The machop swiped his hand at them to try and force them away, but the impact was too strong.

"Hikaru! Nidorans! Are you okay?" Julia kneeled to their level to see if they weren't hurt.

Hikaru smiled, flashing a thumbs up. "Pichu!" ( _"Not a scratch on me!"_ )

"Nido nido!" The two joyful nidoran jumped up and down, thanking Julia for saving them a second time despite her fears.

"I thought the police caught you already!" Perrine exclaimed.

Margeaux rubbed her eyes to get the dirt out, not that it did any good. "We escaped! You better hand that shiny pichu over to us or else-"

A crack of Yannick's whip shut her and everyone else up. He raised his large whip at the kids. Julia shivered, but tried to keep her cool. Tokiko, Baloo, Saoirse, Kitsune, Mallow, and the two nidoran all adopted battle stances, completely unafraid. "Hand over the shiny pichu. Unless you wish to endure great pain."

"We're not afraid of you!" Julia shouted. "Tokiko, use Dazzling Gleam!" The spike ball pokemon wasted no time shining a bright light in the Team Rocket grunts' faces. "Saoirse, use Headbutt on both of them!" Saoirse rammed her head into machop, sending him rolling on top of the TR grunts. _'I wish Papillon were here so she could trap them with String Shot, but I can try and make do without her,'_ Julia told herself. Once again, the adrenaline surged through her body. Just like in battle.

"Kitsune, use Confuse Ray!" Perrine commanded. The orange fox pokemon stared them in the eyes. As soon as the two made eye contact, their minds were thrown asunder, and they found themselves unable to even so much as stand.

The pokemon surrounded them until the police arrived. They took Margeaux and Yannick back as soon as they had arrived, and before they knew it, the police cars had scattered. Julia felt something nudge her legs. It was Hikaru and the two nidoran, rubbing themselves against her gratefully. With a laugh, Julia kneeled down to their level and stroke them.

"I'm glad you're all safe," She told them.

"Pichu pichu!" ("Thanks for saving us!") Hikaru was quick to give Julia a peck on the cheek. The dark yellow mouse never doubted her trainer one bit.

"Those nidoran really seem to like you," Caiseal told her, crossing his arms. "I think they want to be your friends, and you don't seem scared of them anymore."

It hit her right there. Caiseal was right. She wasn't running away or screaming in terror as the nidoran got close. They were even rubbing themselves against her, and she wasn't dying. Perhaps...she could be friends with them after all. "Nidoran? Would you two...like to come with us?" Julia asked.

The two nidoran didn't hesitate. They chirruped joyfully, their ears twitching back and forth as they rejoiced. They stood completely still as Julia tapped them with two PokeBalls. As the blinking disappeared, so did the PokeBalls. They teleported back to her house without a hitch. "Rino and Rina. Those'll be their names."

As soon as she said that, she saw a kakuna clutching a tree right next to her. With a yelp, she ran behind Perrine and shivered. Caiseal and Perrine let out some sighs. "Well, you're not completely over your poison fear, but it's a start," Caiseal said. "It's okay."

"Cubone!" Mallow agreed.

Rumbling roars echoed from Caiseal's stomach. He turned red like a tomato as Julia and Perrine were unable to stifle their giggles. Soon, he joined in on their laughter. If you can't beat'em, join'em. "I'm getting hungry. Want to go grab something to eat?" Caiseal suggested.

"I hear there's this cool cafe around here called Tin and Brass Taverns, and they serve really good vegetable pot pies," Perrine looked through the map function on her PokeGear, zooming in on Ecruteak, and noting the restaurant near the pond.

"What's a pot pie?" Julia asked, leaning in to get a closer look.

Instead of telling her, Perrine showed her some pictures in some books she had. The kids recalled their pokemon and stopped for a bite to eat, since it was almost dinner time anyway. Both Julia and Caiseal couldn't wait for their battles with Morty tomorrow.

* * *

Morty let out a deep sigh as he laid down on his desk, having finally finished pouring over yet another ancient book on legendary pokemon. His gastly and haunter circled around him, wondering if he was okay. His hands cramped from holding a pencil for three hours straight. He couldn't even grip a cup of coffee if he wanted to. The bottoms of his eyelids were being bogged down by bags, like he hadn't gotten any sleep. His headband had fallen off, messing up his already scraggly blonde hair.

If he could, he wished he wouldn't have to battle Caiseal tomorrow. Envelopes containing bills that needed paying piled up next to him. He had paid most of them off, but there were still more to do. Already, his phone beeped, begging to be answered. Haunter grabbed the phone with one hand and gave it to Morty. The tired gym leader smiled weakly and took the phone.

"Thanks, buddy," Morty scratched his friend's chin before answering the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Morty. Yes. Yes," His smile faded, morphing into a frown. "I see. I have some time after eleven, so after I finish a pokemon battle, I'll come by and pay it then, if that's okay. Yes. Thank you. Bye. Uuuuugh!" He laid his face down on the desk again. "Bills, bills, bills! Goodness! I'm never this disorganized!"

"Hauntaaaa," The concerned haunter stroke his trainer's head with one hand, hoping to reassure him somewhat.

Morty put his headband back on and swished his scarf around his neck. "Well, a gym leader can't back out from a battle, so I better get this stuff done and over with," He pulled out a to-do list he had written. The corners of the paper were bent, the list itself had many creases and crumples from being folded about a thousand times, and everything was hastily written in black pen. Some lines had been crossed out, such as paying the gas and electric bills, both for his house and the gym.

 _To-Do List_

 _8:00 PM: Email Gym Leader Association regarding incorporating new battling styles_

 _8:30 PM: Take a shower_

 _9:00 PM: Organize documents to mail them out to Eusine and take sleep medicine_

 _Tomorrow:_

 _9:00 AM: Battle Caiseal Brownstone_

 _11:00 AM: Go to City Hall and pay water bill_

 _11:30 AM: Mail documents to Eusine at the post office_

 _12:00 PM: Email badge maker regarding shortage of Fog Badges_

 _12:30 PM: Grocery shopping_

 _3:00 PM: Do research on newly revealed ghost type pokemon for future plans for the gym_

"Gengah gengaaaahh," Gengar leaned over Morty's shoulder, marveling at how much his trainer has to do in such a short amount of time. Gengar handed his tired trainer a plate with a sandwich on it that contained meat, cheese, and lettuce. Morty's smile briefly returned.

"You're the best, gengar," Morty took a bite out of his sandwich as he opened his laptop and typed out the email. He noticed a medication bottle being placed next to his laptop. Haunter looked at him with a concerned expression. "I know, haunter. My insomnia's not getting any better, but it's because of you guys that I can get all of this stuff done on time."

"Hauntaaah!"

"Gengahh!"

 _Ping!_ Morty finished the email and clicked the send button. Gastly took a pen with his mouth and crossed out the eight o'clock slot on today's part of the to-do list. Morty stretched his arms out, walked to the refrigerator, and pulled out a cup of yogurt, along with a spoon. He opened his medication bottle, put a pill inside some yogurt, and swallowed it. He always hated the bitter taste of pills. It was a good thing a friend suggested he take them with yogurt. He never even tasted the bitterness, and it really helped. Already, haunter and gengar were organizing old papers. Warm feelings of gratitude enveloped the ghost gym leader's heart.

"I'll be in the shower, guys. Thanks for helping me out," With that, Morty shut the door, hoping he could get some good sleep tonight. He heard that sometimes dealing with stress could help him sleep better, but for all he knew, it could turn out to be a lie. At least he got a lot done today, and he was going to need some sleep in order to deal with tomorrow's tasks. Haunter took a pen and crossed out the rest of the tasks for today. A job well done.

* * *

 **Yeah, a short chapter, I know. Maybe I should have combined it with chapter 14 after all. Oh well!**

 **Random Fact: Julia's last name, Parisa, means "like a fairy" in Persian.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude**


	20. A Light In The Ghostly Fog

Chapter 15: A Light In The Ghostly Fog

The new day had arrived, and Caiseal and Morty stood on different sides of the battlefield, firm and ready for battle. Julia and Perrine sat on the bleachers, observing the battle. The referee stood in his usual position. "Hey, Julia?" Perrine whispered, leaning closer to her friend. "You said your mom's coming to visit, right? What time is she gonna be here?"

Julia took a brief moment to think before answering, "I remember her saying she'd come at about ten, so after the battle. But for all I know she might come late. She did say it takes two days to come here by car. Although maybe she might come by plane or use one of her pokemon to come by. She didn't say how she was getting here, though," She explained further.

"Pichu!" Hikaru added. It had been a while since Hikaru had seen Julia's mother. Although the time they had spent together was short, Hikaru found herself liking Kassia. She clearly liked her pokemon, and was kind, too. She could tell Julia was missing her mother. Perhaps the two of them could catch up on some lost time, especially so she can see how much Julia has changed since leaving New Bark Town.

Once the referee gave his obligatory speech, Morty sent out his gastly. Once again, Julia shivered. Caiseal sent out Ravenclaw, who flapped her wings as she descended to the battlefield. "A dark type," Morty said, scratching his hair with one hand. "Smart choice," He kept a smile on his face, but in his heart, doubt swirled around like a raging gyarados. _'This is bad. None of my pokemon know any moves that are effective against dark types.'_

The referee raised his flags. "Battle begin!"

"Ravenclaw! Knock'em dead with Dark Pulse!" Caiseal exclaimed.

"Murkrooooow!" Ravenclaw swooped into the air, firing a beam of black and purple rings. Gastly tried to fly away, but the energy blast hit it to the point of throwing him against the wall.

"Gastly, don't give up! Use Smog!"

"Gaaaastly!" The ghost pokemon swirled around the battlefield before spitting out noisome clouds of purple smoke. Perrine and Julia pulled the tops of their shirts over their mouths and noses so they wouldn't inhale it. Thankfully, Ravenclaw flew upward and flapped her wings vigorously, blowing it away.

"Use Night Shade!"

"Lick!"

As gastly floated over to the raven to lick her face, Ravenclaw used the chance to let him come close, then unleashing a black and purple explosion of energy. Gastly tried to dodge, but the energy blast came so quickly that he was unable to react quickly enough. It didn't help that ghost was super effective against...well, ghost types, and since gastly was so close, he fell to the ground.

"Gastly is unable to battle! The winner is Ravenclaw the murkrow!"

"Awwww yeah!" Caiseal cheered, jumping once before throwing his fist in the air.

"Murkrow murkrow!" Ravenclaw joined in the rejoicing, even though both knew this challenge was only getting started. With a sad smile, Morty called back gastly.

"You did the best you could," Morty whispered.

"Whoa," Both girls' eyes were wide and their mouths agape. "That was quick," Julia said. "You couldn't defeat his gastly that quickly!"

"I know," Perrine agreed. "I know dark types are strong against ghost types, but jeez, either Ravenclaw's really strong, or Morty's gastly never had to deal with dark types."

"Haunter, come forth!" This time, Morty's haunter descended onto the battlefield. "You may have defeated gastly with ease, but don't think you can defeat the rest of my team!"

"Hauntaaaaah!" Haunter hissed. Julia shivered and clutched Perrine's sleeve. The orange haired girl didn't say a word, keeping her eyes on the battle.

"Can you keep going, Ravenclaw?" Caiseal asked.

"Murk murkrow!" ( _"Of course I can!"_ ) Ravenclaw replied.

"Battle begin!"

"Haunter, use Hypnosis!" Morty commanded.

"Don't make eye contact with it! Use Wing Attack to keep it from putting you to sleep!" Caiseal exclaimed. As haunter floated toward the bird with glowing eyes, Ravenclaw kept staring at its hands. Her wings glowed in a harsh white light as she sped toward the ghost with blinding speed. Once she got close, she threw herself right into haunter's face, sending him rolling in mid-air. "Great job!"

"Use Shadow Punch!" Morty exclaimed. _'I know it won't do any good...but haunter has to do something!'_ His body tensed up. Haunter's fist glowed in a black light as it was surrounded by energy.

"Block it with your talons, and then use Dark Pulse on it like before!" Haunter came toward Ravenclaw so fast that he couldn't stop himself. On cue, Ravenclaw grabbed his fist with her talons and spat out black rings that hit haunter on the face. He quickly let freed himself and tried to shake off the attack.

"You can do it haunter! Use Payback!" Morty yelled. Haunter lunged right at Ravenclaw, hitting the small black crow with a million purple fisted punches. Ravenclaw could barely dodge, as the ghost came too quickly for her to react. _'What can I do? That murkrow can easily defeat haunter, especially since haunter doesn't know any...wait!_ ' A realization hit Morty like a raikou's thunderbolt. _'I remember now!'_ His worry morphed into confidence. Why had he forgotten about this before?

"Ravenclaw! Finish it with Night Shade!"

"You haven't won, little boy!"

"Huh?!"

"Haunter! Dazzling Gleam!"

This time, everyone's mouths fell agape. "WHAT?!" On cue, Haunter let out an eerie howl as a bright light shined from its body. Ravenclaw was blinded, using her wings to cover her eyes as she fell to the ground. "Since when can ghost types learn fairy type moves?!"

Morty crossed his arms and flashed a smile. Haunter did the same. "You'd be surprised at what moves pokemon can learn."

' _Oh no! Caiseal's gonna lose!'_ On impulse, Julia found herself standing up from her seat. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Caiseal! Don't give up! You can beat him! This isn't the first time pokemon know moves you don't expect them to! You have to think!"

Caiseal nodded. She was right. Whitney's meowth threw him for a loop back in Goldenrod City. He needed to think on his feet and find a way to defeat that haunter. Then, an idea hatched in his brain. "Ravenclaw! Use Haze!" On command, the black raven pokemon spit out a cloud of inky black smoke that covered the entire battlefield.

"Hauntaaaah?" Haunter tried to navigate through the smoke, but it was so thick he couldn't see a thing.

"Now! Use Dark Pulse and finish it off!" A blast of black rings bombarded the ghost pokemon. He couldn't react quick enough, and found himself unable to continue battling. The smoke cloud finally dissipated, and haunter fell to the ground, unable to move.

"Haunter is unable to battle! Once again, Ravenclaw is the winner!"

"You go, Ravenclaw!" Caiseal and the murkrow high fived each other, rejoicing in their victory. "One more to go and we'll get the Fog Badge!"

"Murkrooow!"

Morty recalled haunter and pulled out another PokeBall. "I'm quite impressed, Caiseal. You trained your murkrow very well. But do you think you can defeat my last pokemon?" He called forth his gengar.

"Gengaaaah!" Gengar made an eerie expression, but the raven pokemon wasn't deterred one bit.

"Murkrow!" ( _"I can beat you with my wings tied behind my back!"_ ) Ravenclaw cawed.

"If you're tired, you can come back! Don't push it, Raven!" Caiseal warned his friend.

Perrine balled her fists. "If he defeats gengar next, he'll win for sure!" She exclaimed.

"But Ravenclaw's gotta be getting tired, right? She might not last for much longer," Julia told her worriedly. As much as she wanted Caiseal to win, she knew that two straight battles would leave any pokemon tired.

"Battle begin!"

"I won't fall for the same trick twice!" Morty exclaimed, holding his hand out. "Sucker Punch!"

Gengar flitted toward the bird pokemon and punched her at least twice before she could even so much as react. "Ravenclaw! Dark Pulse! Hurry!" Ravenclaw shot dark rings at gengar. Even though gengar took some damage, he acted as though he weren't bothered by it one bit.

"Finish it with Shadow Ball!" Gengar formed a black sphere of energy in his arms before throwing it right at the murkrow. She couldn't dodge, as her wings had become tired from too much flying. Soon, she descended to the ground with a thud.

"Ravenclaw is unable to battle! The winner is gengar!"

Caiseal facepalmed. "I knew I should have switched her out!" He chastised himself before calling Ravenclaw back into her pokeball. "Sorry, girl. You were great, though. Go, Geo!" He threw another pokeball, and out came Geo.

"Geodude!"

"Hmm. A geodude. I haven't battled one in ages," Morty mused. "Sucker Punch!"

Once again, gengar flitted toward the rock pokemon with a punch. Unlike before, since geodude is a solid rock type, the attack didn't do much damage. "Use Rock Polish, Geo!" On command, Geo rolled around in the battlefield to smooth out some of his more bumpy areas. "Now use Rock Throw!" Large rocks materialized out of thin air, and Geo threw them at gengar like he was playing dodgeball.

Gengar, being a ghost type, was able to evade most of them with ease, flitting all over the place like an annoying fly. "Use Shadow Ball!"

"Defense Curl!" Geo curled himself into a ball as gengar threw a black sphere at him. Like before, not a scratch was on Geo's body. "Rock Throw again!" Once again, Geo threw rocks at gengar. Thankfully, this time, two of them were able to hit gengar's body.

"It's good to maximize your defense, but it seems your offense is rather lacking," Morty told him.

Caiseal clenched his teeth together. "Don't give up, Geo! You can do it!" He told his friend. However, in his heart, doubt was swelling up, increasing exponentially by the second. _'Aw man! I can't use magnitude because gengar knows levitate, and it won't work at all, and Tackle's no good either! What do I do?!'_

His prayers were answered right as a white light consumed Geo's body. The rock pokemon increased in size before becoming as big as gengar himself. Two pairs of arms grew out, along with a set of legs. When the light dissipated, out came a brand new Geo, with a smaller face this time. "Graveleeeeeer!" Geo roared, announcing his glorious rebirth.

"Woohoo!" Caiseal jumped in the air twice. "You rock, Geo! You're a graveler now!"

"Awesome!" Julia exclaimed, pulling out her PokeDex. _"Graveler, the rock pokemon, and the evolved form of Geodude._ _Graveler grows by feeding on rocks, as those are its favorite food. However, graveler prefer to eat rocks that are covered in moss. This Pokémon eats it way through a ton of rocks on a daily basis. This Pokémon will climb a mountain from the base to the summit, crunchingly feasting on rocks all the while. Upon reaching the peak, it rolls back down to the bottom, unable to slow down. It rolls on mountain paths to move, as they are slow walkers. Once it builds momentum, no Pokémon can stop it without difficulty. With a free and uncaring nature, it doesn't mind if pieces break off while it rolls down mountains."_

Upon checking Geo's information, she noticed something else: a new attack titled Steamroller. "Caiseal!" Julia exclaimed. "Geo's learned a new move! Steamroller! Try it out!"

"Evolving during battles isn't going to become a trend, is it?" Morty asked, scratching his head.

"Gengaaaah?" Gengar agreed, mimicking his master's movements.

What none of them noticed was that a woman walked right into the gym, sitting at the very edge of the bleachers, wearing a large purple hat. She was also wearing a maroon sweater, blue jeans, and white and red sneakers. She kept herself silent and didn't disturb the battle one bit. Caiseal nodded and faced the battlefield once more. "Hey, Geo! Show me your new Steamroller attack! Go!"

Geo rolled into a ball and began rolling fast across the battlefield, dredging up sand as it did so. Gengar dodged the first attack, but he unknowingly put himself in the way of some sand. As a result, most of it flew right into his eyes, blinding him. "Now's your chance, Geo! Knock'em dead! Steamroller!" Increasing his momentum, Geo rolled right into gengar. Once, twice, thrice, finally stopping at five. Gengar was unable to dodge the attack. Soon, with another sixth attack, gengar was thrown against the wall, falling unconscious.

"Gengar is unable to battle!" The referee pointed an orange flag in Caiseal's direction. "The winner is Geo the graveler, and the victory goes to Caiseal Brownstone of Blackthorn City!"

"Awwwww yeahhhh!" Caiseal ran over to hug his rocky friend. Geo broke into laughter as he embraced his smaller trainer friend. "You rocked, Geo! You're awesome!"

"Graveleeeer!" Geo agreed.

"Caiseal!" Both girls ran over to congratulate him. Even the woman, whom they still didn't notice, smiled in his victory. "You won! You really won!" Julia cheered, trapping him in a hug.

"Congrats! You totally whooped his butt!"

"Indeed you did," Morty interrupted before handing out a badge. "In honor of your victory, here is the Fog Badge."

Impatient as usual, Caiseal swiped it from Morty's palm. "Thanks! See this, Geo? We got the Fog Badge!" Geo let out a growl and raised his arms up to rejoice.

"So that means I get to battle you last, Mr. Morty!" Julia exclaimed, looking right at Morty's headband. As soon as she looked at him, his smile morphed into a frown. She found this to be rather unsettling.

"Oh. Actually...that's not necessary…" Morty said, rummaging through his pocket.

Julia found herself dumbfounded. "Huh?" Gengar floated over to his master, looking just as confused as the other kids were. The woman stood up.

Morty took Julia's hand and put a Fog Badge in it. Everyone's mouths fell agape. "Here's your Fog Badge, miss," He said in a low voice before turning on his heel to leave.

"Wait...what?!" Julia yelped. She ran over to him with a surprised expression. "You're just giving me a badge?! We haven't even battled yet!"

"Gengahh gengaaah?"

"I'm...not battling you, miss."

"Right now? I know that! I can wait a few hours, especially since your pokemon got hurt and all-"

"No," Morty hissed, donning a serious tone of voice. "I'm not battling _you_. Period."

If he had told them that he managed to catch the legendary Ho-Oh, they wouldn't be any less surprised. Everyone's mouths fell agape. Julia couldn't believe what she was hearing. He just up and said that he refused to battle her. Something inside her told her that this was wrong. Yelling at her was one thing, but this? She couldn't quite get it. But she did read some books about pokemon gyms and how they worked, and one of the rules was that gym leaders had to accept any and all challenges from trainers, and that they could only give badges to trainers who defeated them in battle. She knew this much.

"Wait a minute! Stop!" She ran right in front of Morty to stop him from going further. "You can't just give me a badge! You're only allowed to give a badge to someone if you're defeated in battle! Isn't it against the Pokemon League rules to just give a badge to someone when they haven't even battled you?! And why won't you let me battle you?! If this is about what happened at Brass Tower, I'm sorry! Okay?!"

"Gengah gengah gengaaaaah!" ( _"She's right, y'know! You can't just do that!"_ ) Gengar flapped his arms up and down.

Morty looked away, not making eye contact with her. "Your friends...said you're autistic. Right?" Then he turned back at her, with an expression Julia wasn't quite able to read right off. He looked sad, but sad in an angry way. What was it again? She had seen it sometimes before, but still never figured out what it was. But something about it gave her a bad feeling she found herself unable to describe. "I... just think it would be better this way. I'm sorry, I just...it doesn't feel right."

 _'Doesn't feel right?'_ The words made Julia feel cold. What didn't feel right? The fact that she was autistic?

"Dude! Do you have any idea what you're saying right now?!" Caiseal yelled.

"I gave her the badge," said Morty. "Just...you can go now, alright? I'm not in the mood for any tantrums."

Tantrums? Her friends continued to shout at Morty, but Julia couldn't hear them. The Fog badge felt heavy in her hand. She closed her fingers around it and realized she was shaking. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair.

He made her feel small and worthless, just like Mrs. Amoretto did. At least she was upfront about it, inexcusable as it was. But a gym leader? He shouldn't do that. She didn't deserve it. Why did adults always assume the worst in her without even trying to understand her? She had no idea what Morty was thinking. Then again, she didn't know what anyone was thinking. She wasn't a mind reader. Nobody was. But one thing did go through her mind: was being autistic really so bad, as some people seem to think?

Julia began to act even before she knew what she was doing. Some part of her, deep down, was determined to do right for her. Without saying a word, she calmly walked towards Morty and held out the badge. "Take it," she said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Take it!" She shook her hand slightly, rattling the Fog Badge around on her palm. "I don't want it! I'm a Pokemon trainer and I want to win the badges fair and square, not get them for free because you think I'm gonna throw a tantrum!"

The gym was dead silent. Julia could feel everyone staring at her and it made her cheeks heat up and her eyes prickle with tears, but she refused to back down.

Morty glanced at the badge and then at her, his eyes wide. "I didn't mean -"

"But that's what you said!" Julia shut her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose, willing herself not to cry. "Well, I'm not. I went to the other gyms and won my badges through fair Pokemon battles! Ask Falkner, Bugsy, and Whitney! They can confirm it!" Anger was surging through her body. She had no idea she could get angry over this. "I don't need _you_ to just give me this and not even let me try to win it! If that's how you're going to do it, I don't want your badge!"

"You go, Jule!" Caiseal swung his fist in the air, cheering for his friend.

"Gengah gengah gengaaaahhh!" ( _"She's right! Please, Morty! Don't break the rules! You'll get in trouble!"_ ) Gengar begged, bowing up and down like he was apologizing for something.

"See?" Julia pointed to Morty's gengar. "Even your gengar gets it, and this is coming from someone who's terrified of poison types!"

All throughout the yelling, Morty didn't say a word. His shock gradually morphed into guilt. Not once did he try to contradict her or stick up for himself. He had to admit, she was right. About everything. Swallowing his pride, he let her yell at him without complaint. But she still wasn't finished. "I really don't appreciate you acting like you know me when you really don't, and you're a grown up! Shouldn't you be better than this?!"

"I...I've been stressed out lately. There's just been a lot going on," Morty sputtered, adjusting his headband. "But...you're right. I was wrong to behave the way I have been."

Julia was about to talk more, but someone else interrupted her, and it wasn't Caiseal or Perrine either. "Indeed. That kind of behavior is very unbecoming of a gym leader, especially since that's my _daughter_ you're degrading!" The woman took off her hat. Julia's green eyes widened with shock as soon as she saw her.

"Mom?!"

"Huh?!" Caiseal and Perrine turned to their friend, looking just as shocked as she. "She's your mom?!"

"When did you get here?!" Perrine asked. Julia's mother didn't hear, and focused her gaze on the stupefied, blonde gym leader. Gengar backed away, hiding behind his trainer.

"Hello, Morty," Julia's mother said with a low voice. The blonde haired man could hear the austere tone in her voice. "I'm Kassia Parisa, owner of the Parisa Pokemon Ranch in New Bark Town. Listen here," She pointed her finger at Morty, the same way she would when she would scold Amara for doing something bad. "I know how it feels to be stressed out and to have a lot on your plate. I've been there. I've spent years raising hundreds of pokemon and two daughters. Even so, that doesn't give you the right to behave in such an immature manner and treat my daughter like she's some kind of nuisance, especially when she hasn't done anything to you!"

Julia shivered. When her mother raised her voice and wagged her index finger at someone, she knew she meant business. She silently took Caiseal and Perrine away from the scene so she could give them some space. "I can easily report this to the current champion, and he can report it to the Pokemon League Board of Directors, and I'm sure you wouldn't want them to revoke your gym leader, status, now do you, sir?"

Once again, Morty didn't say a word. He knew in his heart that she was right. "No, I don't," He looked at Julia with a face full of remorse. "I'm sorry, miss. I should not have treated you the way I have been, no matter the reason," Julia simply huffed and looked away. "I'm free after five o'clock tonight, so you can battle me then."

Julia's ears perked up upon hearing that. _'Ohhh! A chance to kick his butt!'_ She thought. She clasped her hands together and said, "Thank you, Mr. Morty!"

After that, Morty left the gym to finish whatever else was on his to-do list. Kassia looked down at Julia. "I'm sorry, dear. I know I told you to stand up for yourself sometimes, but I just couldn't ignore this," Kassia told her before wrapping her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Oh, how Julia had missed her mother's warm, comforting hugs! She wanted to cry right then and there, not just from being treated like she was a nuisance by a gym leader of all people, but because she had yearned for her mother's warmth and kindness ever since she left. But she held her tears back.

"It's okay, Mom," Julia told her. "But...when did you get here?"

"About a few minutes before that battle ended."

A revelation struck Julia like Hikaru's thundershock attack. If she had been there the whole time, then that means...she saw Julia yell at him! Already, her face turned red like a cyndaquil's flame. She went from feeling comforted to mortified. "Awwwww maaaaan! Now I wish I had kept my mouth shuuuuut!" She whined.

"Are you kidding me?" Caiseal exclaimed, confused by her sudden change in demeanor. Already, she was regretting calling him out? "That guy totally deserved everything you gave him!"

"Yeah, but Mom says it's not appropriate to yell at people!" Perrine and Caiseal turned to face each other. That's what she was worrying about right now?

"Julia," Her mother put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Don't fret. I'm proud of you. You were right to call him on his behavior," She told her in a kind, soft voice. Her smile widened further when she saw Perrine and Caiseal. "Oh! You must be Julia's friends!" She took their hands into her own and shook them up and down. "It's so nice to meet you all!"

"Same here, ma'am," Perrine mused.

"You're Perrine, and you're…"

"Caiseal. Caiseal Brownstone," The blonde boy muttered sheepishly. Geo and Hikaru couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's sudden shyness.

"We'd best go back to the Pokemon Center for now," Kassia suggested. "Tell me about your adventures, Julia!"

Her daughter wasted no time telling Kassia everything that happened, from helping Perrine in Union Cave all the way to her and Amara's battle in Brass Tower. Her mother listened to their tales intently, without interrupting them even once. The more she heard, the more serious her expression became. Julia and the kids talked all the way to the Pokemon Center, where Caiseal went to heal his pokemon. Kassia finally sat down on a chair and said, "Wow. It sounds like you kids went through a lot in almost two months."

"Definitely!" Perrine said, brushing her orange curls with a red brush. "We even battled some Team Rocket goons! It was pretty fun!"

"Don't forget dangerous!" Julia added, wagging her index finger at her friend in the same way Kassia did just moments ago. "Oh! Where's your policewoman friend?" She asked, looking up at her mother.

Kassia placed her hands on her lap like a proper lady. "You remember Sherry, right? She's who I'm talking about. She has some duties to tend to here in Ecruteak, but she's looking for Amara, too."

"Are you gonna watch Julia battle Morty later tonight?" Caiseal asked.

"Oh!" The woman clasped her hands together with eagerness peppering her voice. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Julia's face turned red at the praise as she found herself looking down at her mother's feet. She was wearing small, black leather shoes. The soles had some brown dirt spots dotting them, probably from walking a lot. The fluorescent lights from the Pokemon Center still reflected off of them, so they still kept their leathery shine.

This time, Julia had a question. "Are you going to report Morty like you said?"

Her mother shook her head. "He seemed remorseful, so I don't think I'll go that far," She said in a soft voice. Her stern expression returned instantaneously. "But if he ever tries to pull that crap again, I definitely will! He's lucky I didn't sue him like I did with Amoretto!"

Julia cringed at the sound of her name. Did she really have to bring her up again? Caiseal leaned closer to Julia and whispered, "Jeez, your mom's pretty scary when she's mad."

"Anyway!" Her soft smile returned like it had never disappeared, her voice adopting an eager tone this time. Before she could say anything more, Hikaru suddenly leaped onto her lap, happy to see a familiar face. "Hikaru! Hello! How are you?" Kassia took the tiny mouse in her hands and nuzzled her cheek against her fur. The yellow mouse giggled happily, basking in Julia's mother's warmth and affection. "Oh! Julia! Want to show me your pokemon?"

The kids went outside to do some training, and Julia introduced her whole team to her mother, even though Kassia had met most of them before. After about a while, Julia found herself asking, "Mom? Can I...battle with you?"

Her mother's eyes widened for a brief moment. Never had she ever expected to live to see the day where her own daughter would ask to battle with her. Even Perrine and Caiseal found themselves speechless, staring at each other with confused faces. Kassia's hands flew to her chest, as though her heart was exploding with love. She always knew that Julia hated battling with all of her being. Just what had her journey put her through to make her ask that?

An answer immediately came to her mind, and she didn't hesitate in replying, "Yes! It's a good thing I brought my friends with me," She pulled out one of her PokeBalls. Soon, mother and daughter were on the battlefield.

"Vaporeon, go!" Kassia threw a pokeball, and out came a pokemon Julia knew all too well. She recognized it, but for Perrine and Caiseal, it was a new sight. Vaporeon was a light blue pokemon with four long legs, with three toes on each foot, with round, dark blue fins stretching from its neck all the way to the tip of his split tail fin. A white ruff larger than its head coiled around its neck, with three yellow fins protruding from both cheeks and his forehead. Its black eyes gleamed with determination, combined with happiness from seeing a familiar face.

"Vaporeon!"

"Hi, Vaporeon! It's been a while!" Julia waved a welcoming hand at her friend.

"I've never seen a vaporeon in person before!" Caiseal exclaimed right as Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine it.

" _Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokemon, and can evolve from Eevee with a Water Stone. Vaporeon love fresh, clean water, and the composition of their cells are similar to water molecules, allowing it to melt and vanish into any kind of body of water, from puddles to oceans. They are usually found resting by lake shores. When Vaporeon's fins begin to vibrate, it is a sign that rain will come within a few hours, and it uses the fins on the tip of its tail to swim. Vaporeon underwent a spontaneous mutation and grew fins and gills that allow them to live underwater. They have the ability to freely control water,"_ A blue male sign appeared.

Julia looked down at Hikaru. "Do you want to battle vaporeon?"

"Pichu!" Hikaru darted onto the battlefield, eager to show off her skills.

"Use Thundershock!"

"Dodge with Agility!"

Electricity shot out from Hikaru's red cheeks, crackling all over the place. None of them landed so much as a scratch on the aquatic cat, as he gracefully ran across the battlefield with blinding speed. The blue cat's body seemed to glow in a white light in every direction he ran. "Wow! Vaporeon's fast!" Julia's mouth fell open, in awe of her mother's friend's agility. She shook her head to force the thought out. No distractions. "Hikaru! Use Sweet Kiss to confuse him!"

On cue, Hikaru held her mouth shut with her paws, then blew a kiss. Cute pink hearts floated from her mouth right toward Kassia's vaporeon. "Bubblebeam!" A barrage of clear, blue bubbles shot out from the cat's mouth, breaking the hearts into nothing. "Now use Aqua Jet!" Kassia announced confidently. As the blue cat ran across the battlefield, a coat of water completely covered him from head to toe. Hikaru tried to run so as to evade the attack, but vaporeon came too fast. Vaporeon lunged right at Hikaru, ramming her so hard that she fell right across the dirt.

"Hikaru!" Julia yelped. "Are you okay?!"

"Wow," Perrine's eyes were glued to Kassia and her vaporeon. "Julia's mom is really strong."

Hikaru, being the tough little pichu she was, hopped right back on her feet and shook the water off. "Pichu!"

"Vaporeon! Bubblebeam!"

"Block it with Disarming Voice!"

The bubble jet pokemon shot a barrage of clear blue bubbles at the tiny mouse. The bubbles reflected the sunlight as they sprinted across the air. Hikaru let out a shrill cry as a tornado of pink hearts spiraled toward the bubbles, holding them off and popping them in mid-air. "Use Thundershock while Vaporeon's distracted!" Wasting no time, Hikaru dropped a thunder jolt down on Kassia's vaporeon. The attack was brief, but that didn't stop it from landing some damage.

"Wow. I'm impressed, Julia," Kassia crossed her arms, flashing a proud smile. "Before, you'd scream like crazy if we even so much as thought about having pokemon battles. Look at you now!"

Julia found herself basking in her mother's praise, but wondered if she really deserved it. All she did was let out a sheepish laugh and scratch her head.

"We're not done yet, though! Vaporeon, Acid Armor!"

Vaporeon stepped into a large puddle that it had created through Aqua Jet and...melted inside it, leaving absolutely no trace of itself. "Pichuuu?" Everyone found themselves tilting their heads in confusion and awe. Hikaru ambled over to the puddle, wondering if vaporeon was still there. "Tackle!" The puddle burst into a tiny explosion as vaporeon materialized. Hikaru turned around and tried to sprint, but vaporeon caught up and rammed her so hard the mouse rolled across the battlefield.

"Hikaru!" Julia was quick to lurch onto the battlefield and catch Hikaru, preventing any injuries. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Pichuuu…" ( _"I don't wanna battle anymore…"_ )

Julia nodded, cradling her friend in her arms as she stood up. "You don't have to. Mom kinda won this battle anyway," She told her reassuringly, giving her a soft kiss on her wet forehead.

"You battled very well, Julia," Kassia ambled over to her daughter, pulling her into another warm hug. "You've really grown up since you've left on your journey," The changes were subtle, but Kassia could see them plain as day. A new kind of eagerness and determination gleamed in her daughter's green eyes, instead of the reticent, shy expression she would always have when around new people. The smiles she would flash were far more radiant, more Julia, than the fake smiles she would have when she would have her picture taken. Just the fact that she seemed to smile more was enough to make Kassia's heart grow warm. She looked less fearful, more eager to try out new things. Not even the loss from this battle was enough to deter her, when usually just about anything that didn't go well would deter her from ever trying anything new again.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Pichu!"

Soon, Kassia let go, and Julia held Hikaru snugly in her arms. "Hikaru seems kinda tired. You want Nurse Joy to take a look at you?" Julia asked her yellow friend.

"Pichu!" Hikaru chirruped, already looking forward to the nice nurse taking care of her.

"We'll be back!" With that, Julia darted into the Pokemon Center with Hikaru in her arms, leaving her mother with Perrine and Caiseal. She handed her pokemon to Nurse Joy and waited in the lobby. However, a familiar yet unwanted sensation rolled over her. She was having a hard enough time holding back her tears. When Nurse Joy came back with her pokemon, she thanked her before going out to lean against a small tree, far away from Perrine and the others, letting herself cry. She felt strangely liberated by it. She didn't have the Fog Badge, but she still felt like she won.

"You were awesome, Mrs. Parisa!" Perrine exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with joy, in awe of the older woman's battling prowess.

Kassia chuckled. "There's no need to be so formal, Perrine. Call me Kassia or Kassie," She told her kindly. Vaporeon rubbed himself against his trainer's leg, vying for her affection.

"She's right, y'know," Caiseal piped in. "You're really strong."

"Thanks, kids," Kassia found herself letting her guard down. She gazed at the two kinds with a soft expression. "And...thank you for being Julia's friends," Her voice trembled somewhat. Perrine could sense some melancholy peppering her voice. "She's autistic, as you probably know. She's wanted to make friends her own age for a long time, but...nobody ever gave her a chance. You two are the first friends she's ever made."

"We are?" Caiseal asked. Perrine didn't say anything, as Julia had already told her such. Still, it didn't make the revelation any less surprising. On the other hand, Caiseal wasn't sure what to make of this. He and Julia didn't start off on the best of terms, but they gradually became somewhat friends, even if it was somewhat awkward. Sitting on the bench were Julia's pokemon, resting in their PokeBalls. Despite residing in round capsules, they could hear everything going on around them, even Kassia's words.

A hand covered Kassia's mouth, like she was trying to stop herself from crying. "She was never much of a fighter. She's always been a quiet girl who loved to read and draw and play with pokemon, just so sweet, never wanting to fight. You'd be surprised at the amount of people I had to deal with who thought she was either a nuisance or a bad kid," Kassia explained.

' _And my mom told me I'm a bad kid,'_ Caiseal remarked sarcastically. As much as he hated to admit it, Julia was lucky. He could see this woman clearly cared about her daughter. Why couldn't he have someone like Kassia in his life?

"Ummm...my aunt Mao's autistic too," Perrine began. "She was the champion of Johto for a while. She always told me that everybody has a place in the world, and that everyone around me are people. People with dreams, strengths, flaws, all that stuff, and that's what makes the world wonderful. Yeesh! I sound so cheesy!" She found herself laughing at her aunt's philosophy. Soon, both Kassia and Caiseal laughed alongside her. A warm and loving glow enveloped the three, increasing exponentially the moment Julia came back, wondering what they were laughing about.

* * *

Morty slumped down on a chair and laid his head down on his desk. "Uuuuugh. I really screwed up this time," He grumbled, his voice muffled by his face rubbing into the surface of his desk.

A bluish green pokemon suddenly materialized from thin air, floating over to the tired gym leader with red eyes brimming with concern. The pokemon's hairy head of hair had pink ends, with a body that resembled a tiny ruffled dress, devoid of arms or legs. Around its neck was a necklace that resembled one made out of red pearls, or orbs in this case. "Misdreavus?"

"Hey, misdreavus," Morty pulled his head up to stroke his friend on her head. "Sorry you can't battle in the gym yet. There's still a lot of training you need to do."

"Miss miss?"

"Yeah. You'll get there soon," Morty told her kindly.

The mahogany shelves in his study were filled to the brim with books, small and large, old and new. Some haven't been touched in weeks, accumulating dust, while others he had pulled out were piled on the floor, sitting right on top of a small oval rug next to a big red chair. A visual phone sat on the wall, right across the room, with a smaller chair right in front of it.

The blonde gym leader found himself lost in his mind. He had to admit, both mother and daughter were absolutely right. His behavior was definitely uncalled for, and giving Julia a pity badge instead of battling her fair and square, if she won, was against the league regulations. He was surprised they didn't report him right then and there, as they had enough reason to do so. Maybe they wanted to see if he could realize the error of his ways on his own. In his heart, he was at least glad they didn't go that far. Maybe they understood that he was stressed out from so much to do. Still, that wasn't an excuse. He needed to own up to his mistakes. His parents drilled it into him that he needed to take responsibility for his own actions instead of blaming others. But managing the gym, doing research late into the night, paying bills...it was all too much. He felt as though bricks were being duct taped to him.

 _Ring ring ring!_ The phone on the wall blared a jolly jingle, pulling Morty back to reality. He stumbled from his desk, sat down on the chair, and picked up the phone. The static on the screen soon materialized to form a picture of a pink haired woman waving at him with a radiant smile. Immediately, a smile of his own touched his face.

" _Hey hey heeeeeey!"_ Whitney greeted him in a loud, elated sing-song voice. _"So you finally decided to take your nose out of those dusty old books, huh?"_

A chuckle escaped Morty's mouth. "Ha ha, nice to see you too, Whitney," He remarked sarcastically. "What's going on?"

" _You are NOT going to believe this!"_ Whitney exclaimed in her usual cheerful voice, her reddish pink eyes intense with cheer and joy. _"You know the softball team I play for, right? The Goldenrod High School Miltanks?"_

Morty nodded. "Yes. You're a senior at the high school, right?"

" _Bingo!"_ Whitney wagged her index finger back and forth. _"Guess what? My team and I got to face the Mahogany High School Dewgongs yesterday…"_ She pumped her free hand into a fist and threw it into the air. _"...And we totally won! We're going to the finals!"_

"Wow!" For the first time in a while, Morty found himself genuinely surprised and happy at the same time. "Congratulations, Whitney."

Whitney found herself giggling. _"Thanks! It's been suuuuuch a long time since the Miltanks got to go to the final playoffs, and I've been telling pretty much everyone I know about it for the past two hours! My parents saw me play, and I've already told my boyfriend, my girlfriends, my cousins, aunts, uncles, Falkner, Bugsy, grandma..."_ Her index finger pointed right at the screen. _"You're the 16th person I've told about this!"_

Sixteenth? Morty found himself dumbfounded. He heard the stories about her being an unstoppable chatterbox-namely a permanently erupting volcano of giggles and words-but spending two straight hours telling people about her achievements? As much as he liked her enthusiasm, that seemed like overkill. Even so, it didn't hurt his own happiness for her any. "Well, I hope you and your team win the playoffs. The Miltanks will be well known all over Johto."

" _I know, right?! We're going off against a Kanto team in the next two weeks! The Celadon City High School Vileplumes! They're the best softball team in all of Kanto!"_ Whitney exclaimed, her enthusiasm continuing to pound on his ears. _"I can't wait until we beat their butts!"_ As soon as it had appeared, her smile suddenly morphed into a confused frown. _"What's wrong, Morty? You look like you had a rough day."_

The blonde gym leader ran a hand through his hair. "That's because I did have a rough day."

" _Wanna talk about it? I'm all ears!"_

As much as he wanted to get it off his chest, he found himself at an impasse. If he told anyone about what he had done in the past few days, especially the other gym leaders, they were sure to really lay it on him. If there was one thing he always hated, it was being scolded. True, he always faced it without complaint, but he always felt as though he had disgraced himself as a trainer if called out on something, like he was being judged as a person on his actions alone. It wasn't like he felt he didn't deserve it. In fact, he knew he deserved a good scolding. Whitney, on the other hand...she was younger than him. Perhaps she could hear him out without judging him.

"Actually...I've done some things that I'm not happy about," Morty began sheepishly. His voice quivered, like that of a kid who got caught stealing candy from a store. "I...broke two important league rules," He explained the situation to Whitney in detail.

Before he could finish, she wasted no time shouting, _"WHAT?!"_ Her eyes widened to the point of looking like saucers, and her mouth fell agape. Morty wasn't surprised that she would look so aghast. Of course she would. She always was an emotional girl. _"You did that?! This really isn't like you, Morty! I get that you're busy with a lot of stuff, but...still! You usually follow league rules religiously!"_

Morty cringed at the sound of that. "I know. I'm sorry. I…shouldn't have done what I did."

" _Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, those were bad moves on your part,"_ Whitney told him without mincing words. Once again, Morty cringed. _"Refusing to battle someone, just giving them a badge, and hating a kid because she's autistic? That's not exactly professional behavior, y'know,"_ The blonde gym leader didn't try to contradict her, because he knew she was right in every way. It was better to face the music than try to make excuses. There were no excuses to be made. _"Can I...can I ask why you don't like autistic people so much? I want to understand,"_ She asked, in a calmer voice this time.

"Well...I had to deliver some papers to a friend…" Morty began sheepishly. "But I came when his son was having a meltdown. As soon as he saw me, he lunged at me and bit me on my arm."

" _Ouch."_

"He apologized to me profusely, but I wound up snapping at him about disciplining his son. I didn't know his situation well, and he told me a little bit, but I was in a bad mood after that."

" _I can imagine that,"_ Whitney piped in. _"If it helps you to know, my boyfriend is autistic and he's not like your friend's son. In fact, I'd love to introduce you to him,"_ Her friendly smile returned like it had never left. _"He's really into legendary pokemon myths and doing research on history, like you do! You could teach him a lot. He's super sweet, too!"_

A smile touched the blonde man's face once more. "I'd like that. Thanks," Morty mused gratefully.

" _Forgive me if I sound rude, but...maybe you should report yourself."_

"Huh?" Talk about out of the blue.

" _I won't lie, you did break some important rules and behaved in an unprofessional manner, so it's only fair that you face the consequences,"_ Whitney told him in an authoritative voice, sounding nothing like the cheerful teenager she usually is. However, she immediately turned back into said cheerful teenager. _"At the same time, I know your jobs and life can be pretty stressful, with managing the gym and talking with your researcher friends and your studies. If you're honest about it and tell them everything, I'm pretty sure they'll go easy on you. Maybe a 30-day or two month suspension of your gym license at best. Who knows? Maybe time off from being a gym leader will be good for you,"_ She suggested.

Morty hadn't thought about it like that. In a way, it made quite a lot of sense. The higher ups in the League Board of Directors knew him well, and he always followed the rules religiously. Perhaps some time off from the gym would do him some good. He could get lots of his other duties done, spend some time with his pokemon and friends, and try to do some research on the side. Plus...he could take time to learn more about autism and change his views on it. His smile grew wider.

"I hadn't thought about it like that," Morty whispered. "I'll try that. But...I want to see if that girl can defeat me in a battle first, before I do that," He immediately waved his hand at her. "Don't think I'm trying to run away or anything! I want her to show me her true self and see if maybe she can help me change a little. I want to learn more about her."

Whitney fired a stern glare at him. _"Promise me you'll at least do it, right? No running away, Mortimer!"_

"I will, Whitney. I will. I don't like breaking promises," He exhaled a big sigh of relief. "I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for hearing me out."

" _Don't mention it! I'll always be here if you wanna vent or just talk! Oh! I gotta run. Just got a text from Tyler! I'll talk to you later, okay?"_

"Sure."

Whitney smiled once more and waved at him happily. _"Bye-beeeeee!"_ With that, the screen flashed and turned completely black. Morty hung the phone up. He went back to his desk and typed on his computer. This time, he wasn't researching legendary pokemon. He typed the word autism in the search engine. He had some time before his battle with Julia, so perhaps this was a start.

* * *

"I really hope Amara goes to jail," Julia said aloud as she and Kassia sat in the Pokemon Center together. Caiseal and Perrine were on the battlefield training their pokemon for their next gym battle since they both won their Fog Badges already. Kassia was brushing vaporeon's fur with a brush, and Julia's other pokemon were out and about, playing. "Stealing a pokemon from a lab, hurting other people with them, and abusing her other pokemon...it's wrong! Completely terrible! If your friend finds her, she should send her to jail right away."

"Julia…" Kassia began as she stopped brushing her friend's fur. "That's not quite how that works. You have to remember that Amara's only thirteen. In the eyes of the law, she's a minor. If she does get caught, she'll be sent to juvie, not jail. Jail is for adults eighteen and older. Or if they're lenient, they can send her to a correctional facility that'll help her deal with her problems in a healthier manner," She explained calmly.

Tokiko hopped on vaporeon's back, begging for the blue cat to carry her around. The blue cat walked around the lobby with Tokiko on his back without protest. Hikaru and Saoirse followed them around to make sure Tokiko didn't fall off. "But Mom! You've seen what she's done!" Julia protested in a loud voice. Kassia held a finger to her (Kassia's) mouth, gesturing for Julia to lower her voice. Her younger daughter got the message. "Animal abuse and assault are criminal acts, right? Why else do you think there's a manhunt out for her?"

"Yes, I know, and none of that is okay," Kassia replied, keeping her composure. "But it's not as though she's some murderer or a criminal mastermind. Personally, I think the whole manhunt is excessive. They should be saving that for hardened criminals, like that pokemon hunter J we've been hearing about."

As a mother, there was a lot she knew about her daughters, and some things she figured out later as they grew up. One thing she definitely knew about Julia was that she had a somewhat black and white view on the world. No person in this world is truly good or truly bad. Even good people can do bad things, and it's usually for a good reason or out of genuine ignorance. People who have done bad things can change for the better if they want to or if they let others help them. As far as Kassia knew, Julia had a lot of trouble seeing the grey areas and subtle nuances in people and life. If she was going to be a responsible adult, she was going to have to learn about those things, even if she did have some subtle grasp on it in other areas.

"Amara's still grieving her friend, Julia," Kassia explained kindly. "It's okay to grieve, but Amara's expressing her grief in an unhealthy manner. That's the reason I wanted to send her to grief counseling, so she could express herself in a healthier manner and face her problems instead of running away from them. Plus, I know how much she hates dealing with me and your father, so I thought it'd do her some good if she could talk to someone other than us," She looked down at her shoes, frowning.

Julia knew that look well. It was regret. "I know I haven't done a very good job of being there for Amara. I've done everything I could to help her, but you've seen how she shuts us all out. I don't blame her. I haven't exactly been the best mother, and in a way she's right. I haven't tried to understand her or why she feels the way she does," She buried her face in her hands. "Maybe...if I had been a better mother, none of this would have happened," Her shoulders hunched up and down.

Immediately, Kassia felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She looked up to find Julia's head resting on her shoulder, her skinny arms wrapped around her mother. It wounded the girl's heart to see her mother sad like this. Not only that, she had seen her mother attempt to help Amara long before her sudden transformation. The memories were strong in her mind: seeing Amara coming home in tears. Her mother embracing her, attempting to console her, and whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Amara bawling into her mother's arms like she had never done before. Her mother trying to help Amara through her grief, and being heartbroken when Amara would either shut her out or snap at her. Amara misconstruing her mother's attempts to help as wanting her to forget about Chanel. Her mother asking her to do chores as a way to take her mind off it but Amara snapping at her. Kassia's frustration when Amara refused to come out of her room after four whole weeks.

It clicked right then and there: what if...Amara was letting Chanel's death control or define her entire life, completely blocking out everything else?

"Sorry, Julia…I wish I wasn't so stupid…"

"You're not stupid, Mom. I know how hard you're trying. At least you're not one of those moms who hates their kids or beats them for even wanting to talk."

"That's true."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too. You and Amara, both. You're both my precious girls. I wouldn't trade either of you for anything in the world."

Julia could hear and feel her sincerity with ease. "By the way...I just remembered: doesn't Amara carry her phone with her a lot?"

Her mother's eyes widened so fast it was like someone had flashed a camera. Julia let go as Kassia stood up fast, like a jack-in-a-box. Kassia whipped around and took Julia's hands into her own. "Oh my goodness! You're right! She is obsessed with her phone! Why didn't I think of that before?!" She yelped cheerfully. Her loud voice made everyone's heads turn in their direction. "Julia Carol Parisa, you're a genius!"

"Uhhh...no I'm not," Kassia didn't hear that last part, as she had pulled her PokeGear out and dialed Amara's number.

"Amara?" Kassia's voice caught in her throat. She didn't get anything but the answer machine. But she needed to try to reach out. "It's Mom. Listen...I know you're angry at me, and I get it. I know I'm not the best mom in the world. I'm sorry I didn't always listen to you. You don't have to come home if you don't want to. But...no matter what, I'll always love you. All I want is for you to be happy. I don't think Chanel would want you to be sad all the time. She would want you to live life to the fullest and fulfill your dreams. It's okay to be sad. But...there are people out there who can help you face your problems. Everyone's worried about you. I am, too. Julia misses you. We all do. Just...be safe, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt or killed. Please be safe. Just remember...that no matter what, you'll always have a home with me, your father, and your sister. Treat your pokemon well and give them love. Please, do the right thing. That's all I ask."

Never before had Julia ever heard her mother sound so sad. Was that was it was like to worry about a child? Julia wondered if she'd sound like that if she were a mother. But she had no plans on having kids anytime soon.

* * *

Later in the evening, Julia's battle with Morty arrived. Perrine, Caiseal, and Kassia all sat on the bleachers, watching as Morty sent out his trusty gastly, and Julia sent out Papillon. She contacted her father and sent Blossom to him, switching her for Papillon. Julia was sure Blossom wouldn't be able to handle a ghost and poison type pokemon, as her attacks wouldn't be effective.

"Gastly, use Lick!"

"Evade it and use Confusion!"

The ghostly sphere of poison gas stuck his tongue out, ready for licking. Since Papillon could fly, she was able to evade the attack flawlessly. Once gastly was distracted, Papillon's red eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Gastly suddenly found itself unable to think straight. "Keep using Confusion!" Papillon continued to bombard the helpless gastly with her psychic powers. Soon, the sphere of gas fell to the ground, unable to continue.

"Gastly is unable to battle! The winner is Papillon the butterfree!"

"Freeee!" Papillon flew into Julia's arms, rejoicing in her win.

"You did it, girl! You were great!" Julia nuzzled her winged friend as Morty called back his gastly before sending out haunter. Julia shivered. "Do you think you can go on, girl?"

"Freee!" Papillon flapped her wings once.

"Okay then! Use Stun Spore!" Papillon flew toward the ghost pokemon and flapped her wings vigorously, generating a cloud of sparkling yellow dust.

"Dodge and use Shadow Punch!" Haunter disappeared in the air for a moment. Papillon found herself confused, wondering where the ghost pokemon went. All of a sudden, said pokemon materialized behind her. Before she could turn around, the butterfly was punched right in the face, rolling on the sandy battlefield.

"Papillon! Don't give up! You can do it!" Julia cried with her hands cupped around the sides of her mouth. Not wanting to concede defeat, Papillon got back on her feet and flapped her wings to carry herself in the air once more. "Use Confusion again!"

"Sucker Punch!" Haunter punched Papillon once more. This time, since he came in close range, the butterfly was able to land one hit on him. The ghost pokemon found himself unable to move right off, falling to the ground right alongside Papillon.

Once more, the butterfly flapped her white wings and flew back in the air. "This is our chance! Use Confusion to knock'em out, girl!" Julia screamed. Papillon's eyes glowed in a bright, rainbow hued light. But instead of simply messing with haunter's brain, the energy turned into a beam of light glowing in a multitude of colors, striking haunter before he could get up.

"Hey! That wasn't confusion!" Julia exclaimed, scratching her head once.

Kassia stood up joyfully. "Your butterfree just learned Psybeam!"

"Is this true, Papillon?"

The butterfree nodded. "Freeee!" ( _"Yes I did!"_ )

"Yay!" Julia jumped up once.

"Don't think you've won yet!" Morty exclaimed. "Haunter! Get back up and use Dazzling Gleam!"

"Counter it with Psybeam one more time!"

Haunter raced toward the butterfly as a blinding white light surrounded him. Once again, Papillon fired the rainbow colored beam of light at the ghost, undeterred by the light. Soon, a cloud of smoke exploded around them, covering the center of the battlefield. When it dissipated, both Papillon and haunter were on the ground, unconscious.

"Both Papillon and haunter are unable to battle!"

Both trainers called their pokemon back into their pokeballs. Morty found himself smiling as Julia sent out Tokiko. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed, Julia," He told her, not in a condescending way, but in a casual, genuine manner. "I regret underestimating you before. Your battling style is quite interesting. But it can only get you so far, as it's still rather rustic."

"Ehehehe," Julia scratched her head. "I used to hate pokemon battles before, so I guess I still have a lot to learn."

"Nothing wrong with that! Gengar, show me your power, my friend!" Morty sent his gengar out. Gengar was twice Tokiko's size, and could easily squash the little spike ball. Strangely enough, Tokiko wasn't the least be frightened. She just squeaked and jumped for joy, happy to battle.

"Battle begin!"

"Tokiko! Use Extrasensory!" The little spike ball rolled onto the sand and glared right at gengar, her eyes glowing in a purple light. Gengar didn't even dodge.

Morty smirked. "Use Poison Jab."

"What?!" Everyone on the bleachers stood up with alarm. Gengar raised his left arm up as purple energy surrounded it. Tokiko tried to run, but gengar caught up with her and stabbed her right on her shell, sending her rolling.

"Tokiko!" Julia cried, her hands almost covering her mouth. Tokiko got back on her feet quickly, but a sharp, burning pain shot right through her entire body. She seemed to be glowing purple for a few seconds. "Oh no! She's been poisoned!" This wasn't good. Tokiko was a fairy type, therefore weak against poison attacks.

"No way!" Caiseal exclaimed, looking just as surprised as everyone else was. "Gengar didn't know Poison Jab when we battled him!"

"I don't spend my days slacking off, y'know," Morty adjusted his headband. The kids could only assume that Morty, having learned from the previous battles, taught his pokemon other moves so he could have an advantage and not have any problems should Julia have nothing but normal types on her team. "Use Poison Jab once more!"

"Extrasensory again!"

Tokiko let out a shrill cry as her eyes glowed further. Unfortunately, gengar stabbed her twice, sending her rolling on the sandy battlefield. This time, she couldn't stand up. "Togepi is unable to battle! Gengar is the winner!"

"Tokiko!" Julia was quick to cradle her tiny friend in her arms. "Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"Choki…"

"I know it hurts," Julia pulled out a pecha berry and let Tokiko take a bite out of it. Immediately, the poison in her body went away, as though it had never been there. The pain disappeared. "You rest up, okay?" She put Tokiko back in her pokeball.

Unfortunately for Julia, gengar was quite strong. She sent out Tsubasa next. Tsubasa bombarded gengar with a flurry of Wing Attacks and Twisters. However, gengar also knew Thunder Punch, and was able to knock Tsubasa right out of the sky. Once again, everyone on the bleachers found themselves breathless. Poison Jab and Thunder Punch. Gengar didn't know those moves when they battled him before. Not even Hikaru, Saoirse, and Lucretia could defeat gengar despite knowing moves that could easily defeat him. With a final Thunder Punch, gengar knocked Lucretia out.

"Eevee is unable to battle! Gengar wins, and the victory goes to Mortimer Prieto, the Ecruteak Gym Leader!" Morty embraced his beloved gengar, silently rejoicing in their victory. With a dejected frown, Julia cradled her fallen, furry friend in her arms.

"Vuii…"

"Sorry, girl. We lost," Julia told her sadly. "But it's not the end of the world. He trained for this, so we should train some more, too. We'll beat him."

Lucretia took comfort in her trainer's words and nuzzled her cheek. Julia did the same. Oddly enough, she didn't feel sad upon losing despite her friends and mother watching. She remembered her first battles with the monks at Sprout Tower and what they said to her: defeat can teach someone far more than victory could ever hope to do. Morty let go of his gengar and noticed Julia hugging her eevee. He had expected her to scream and throw a tantrum. Instead, she was taking her loss gracefully. To think he had completely degraded her before. Regret continued to swell in his heart. But this time, he knew what he needed to do.

"I quite enjoyed battling with you," Morty told her. Julia looked up at his scarf, clutching her friend tightly, keeping her guard up. "I was wrong about you before. I'm impressed with how you're handling your loss. But do keep in mind: while it is good to plan your strategy in great detail before a battle, you have to think on your feet when there are unexpected changes, like my gengar's new moves. Spontaneity is common in pokemon battles," He threw a piece of his scarf over himself. "It's important to keep your cool in battle. Getting nervous can prevent you from making decisions."

"I understand, sir."

"I would love to battle you again. How about we battle once more tomorrow at about nine in the morning? Would that be good?"

Julia looked right at him. This time, right in the eyes. "Yes, sir! Thank you!"

"Eevee!" Lucretia agreed.

The girl wasted no time healing her pokemon at the center and training with them once more. In a way, he was right. She hated change, but sometimes, life is full of things that just happen out of nowhere. Whether she was prepared for them or not, she needed to face them. Pokemon battles were no different. After that, she and Kassia partook in practice battles in the Pokemon Center's makeshift battlefield. Caiseal and Perrine watched them from the inside. Perrine sipped some of her favorite milk tea.

"She's really determined to win, isn't she?" Perrine mused.

"I don't blame her," Caiseal agreed. "But I think it's great she's working so hard. Defeat isn't always a bad thing."

"Yeah. True. I hope she wins tomorrow."

Tomorrow arrived with a beautiful sunrise. Julia and the others arrived at the gym once more, and Morty was waiting for her. This time, only gengar was by his side. "Since you defeated my other pokemon already, I will only use gengar today," Although he healed his other pokemon, they had no interest in battling anymore. Morty respected their wishes and left them at home to watch the house. Plus, gengar was a good enough obstacle for her to try and overcome.

Julia didn't mind and sent Lucretia out. "Lucretia. Let's do it like we practiced. Okay? Be ready for any unexpected changes!"

"Vui!"

"Battle begin!"

"Poison Jab!" Morty commanded.

"Lucretia! Hop on gengar's head and use bite!" Julia shouted. On command, as soon as gengar got close, Lucretia ran up the ghost's arm and dug her teeth onto gengar's head. Gengar let out a pained howl, running around like a maniac trying to throw the little furry cat off his head. "Keep biting!" Lucretia didn't let go, not even as her teeth began to hurt.

"Use Thunder Punch to throw her off!" Lucretia saw this coming, as her long ears heard the gengar's crackling electricity covering his arm. She leaped right off with a backflip, landing gracefully on her paws. As gengar tried to punch her again, Lucretia threw sand in its face with a kick before running away.

"Good job, Lucretia!" Gengar's eyes burned as he tried to get the sand out. "Use Bite one more time!"

"Sucker Punch!" Before Lucretia could land an attack, gengar slammed the furry pokemon with two solid punches, knocking her right out. Julia called her back and sent Hikaru out.

"Let's win this, Hikaru!"

"Pichuuuu!" ( _"Way ahead of you, Jules!"_ )

"Use Tail Whip!" Hikaru cutely wagged her tail at gengar, daring him to come and attack her.

"Poison Jab!" Gengar only managed to swipe at Hikaru's ear, as the little pichu ran underneath his legs and dodged the attack. Unlike with Tokiko, Hikaru didn't get poisoned. However, something else happened. As gengar tried to launch another attack, his body went numb. He lurched forward, but his legs gave out, making him fall to the floor.

Morty's eyes widened. "Of course! Static! I completely forgot pichu had such an ability!"

"Thundershock!"

Hikaru didn't just let down one thundershock. She sent down three simultaneously, all of which electrocuted the large ghost type pokemon. Finally, unable to battle anymore, gengar fell to the ground, unconscious, with his tongue sticking out.

"Gengar is unable to battle! The winner is Hikaru the pichu, and the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!" The referee announced.

Pandemonium broke out. Caiseal, Perrine, and Kassia whistled and cheered and rejoiced in Julia's victory. Julia herself screeched with joy, and Hikaru leaped into her arms. Trainer and pokemon spun around like a top. "We did it, Hikaru! We finally won! You're so great!" Soon, everyone gathered around Julia and trapped her in a hug. Morty silently called gengar back to his pokeball and walked over to the girl.

"That was an amazing battle," Morty rummaged through his pocket and handed Julia a Fog Badge. "In honor of your victory, here is a Fog Badge...and yes, this is the same one you threw at my head."

"Thanks, Mr. Morty!" Julia took it out of his palm and showed it to everybody. "I got a Fog Badge for real this time! See?"

"I'm so proud of you, Julia!" Kassia embraced her daughter warmly, exalting her for her achievement. She turned to Morty and said, "Thank you, sir."

"No problem," Morty gave a polite bow. "I've learned my lesson. I hope you have a marvelous journey, children."

"We will!" The kids all said in perfect unison.

"Let's celebrate!" Kassia exclaimed. "How about we go to Ecruteak Eden for breakfast! They have great pancakes!"

"I love pancakes!" Caiseal cheered. With that, everyone stormed out of the gym, leaving Morty alone. He didn't mind. After all, now that his gym battle was over, there was something else he absolutely needed to do.

He walked over to the police station. An officer Jenny was sitting at her desk, organizing some papers. "Oh! Good morning, Morty!" Jenny greeted him politely. "Is everything going well?"

"Yes. Young trainers these days are quite lively," Morty replied kindly. "Anyway...I came to report a very serious matter."

Officer Jenny put her papers down. "Can you contact Mr. Rhodes? A gym leader has violated pokemon league regulations. He refused to challenge a trainer and gave them a badge when they didn't battle him."

"I see," Officer Jenny was already typing out the report. "So...who's the gym leader responsible?"

The blonde man looked right at her and didn't mince words. "Me." He told her everything in detail. Soon, he was asked to sit in a waiting room before another man came in. The bald man evaluated the papers Officer Jenny made.

"I see..." The bald man mused in a deep, croaky voice. "This is quite serious, Mortimer."

"Yes, Mr. Rhodes. I'm willing to accept any kind of punishment," Morty told him without protest or complaint.

It took a few minutes for Mr. Rhodes to come to a decision, but he folded his hands together. "I appreciate your honesty and telling us about this. You always were a dutiful gym leader. But as per league regulations, you must face the consequences."

"Yes, sir."

"Since this is your first offense, I have decreed that your gym leader status and license be suspended for two months. If this happens again, I won't be so merciful."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

The blonde man wasted no time closing his gym and putting a sign on it. The bold, black marker ink read **'Gym Is Closed For Two Months. No Gym Battles For Now.'** He then stared up at what remained of Brass Tower, putting a hand on the soot covered walls. The tower next to it, Tin Tower, stood as tall as ever, overlooking all of Ecruteak City. These two towers once stood side by side, like two twin giants. Now that one was gone, the other was alone.

"The people of long ago built these towers to foster hope and friendship between pokemon and people," Morty whispered to himself, looking at the soot dirtying his fingers. "I wonder if the future will be filled with hope?" He looked up. A majestic rainbow appeared in the sky, and a winged silhouette flew right underneath it. Ho-Oh. Perhaps this was a sign, that the legend of the towers is true.

* * *

 **Whew! Done with chapter 15! Longest chapter yet! But I've written much longer chapters for other stories. I didn't feel like making another point five chapter, as I kinda wanted to get this subplot done and over with. Plus, I have school projects I need to work on. Hope you like it!**

 **Random Fact: The two towers are Brass Tower and Tin Tower. But those names aren't used in any of the games after Pokemon Crystal. I used them because I felt the legends behind them were good for the messages and symbolism here in the story.**

 **Update: I edited this chapter somewhat to rectify some inconsistencies some people pointed out. Hope it's better now!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Graveler, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude**


	21. Bonus: Good Old Days and How She Changed

Bonus Chapter 1: The Good Old Days And How She Changed

Her name was Amara Parisa, and she was just happy, social, and outgoing girl.

Most of the time, she would be out and about after school, riding her bike to lord knows where. A friend's house, the ice cream parlor, the little park in Cherrygrove, the swing on the cherry tree near the little beach, she was always on the go. On one morning, a nine-year-old Amara threw on some of her favorite clothes for today: a long sleeved light blue shirt with white stripes, brown jean pants, and red and white sneakers that flashed red and blue lights like police sirens when she ran. Her large, round glasses obscured her bright blue eyes, but not even they could contain the eagerness and energy that was near impossible to contain.

"Mom!" Amara bolted down the stairs, her smile almost radiant. Her mother, Kassia, was sitting on the living room floor, brushing her vaporeon's fur with a small brush. Vaporeon purred contentedly as the brush's soft bristles combed against his sleek fur. Amara's mother's head snapped right up, her hair almost falling to her face as she started at her older daughter's unexpected entry.

"Morning, Amara," Her mother greeted her warmly as a smile touched her face. Vaporeon shook his head vigorously, as though he had become drenched with rain water. "What's got you all bouncy this morning?"

"Debbie, Maria, and Emily want me to meet them by the swing!" Amara announced, having already brought a bright pink backpack with red spring flowers dotting its surface with her. A small butterfree keychain dangled from one of the zippers. "They want me to go on a picnic with them! Can I go, Mom? Please?" Amara clasped her tiny hands together and gave her puppy eyes.

Kassia couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Sure, sweetie. They're good kids, so I don't mind," At this point, she stopped brushing her vaporeon's fur and watched as her blue friend sat down on the couch, curling up on the cushion. A younger girl crawled over to vaporeon and stroke his fur gently with one tiny hand. "But I want you to be back by twelve thirty at the latest. I have to go to school to talk to one of Julia's teachers at one o'clock."

The joyful girl nodded vigorously. "Okay! Will do!" She had already darted out of the living room.

Before she could leave the house completely, Kassia stood up. "Amara! Wait!" Amara stopped in her tracks, right in front of the entrance. "Can you tell Emily to give these to her mother?" Kassia ran into the kitchen and handed Amara a small plastic container with a lime green lid. Inside were what appeared to be black and white balls of candy. "These are to thank her for helping me last week. She hasn't shown up at work lately, so I haven't been able to give them to her myself."

"These are your bailey balls, right?" Amara asked, taking the container and stuffing it in her backpack.

"Yep!" Kassia replied. "And don't forget, you have homework to do. I know you're good about doing your homework, but-"

"No worries, Mom!" Amara held a hand up to let her know she didn't need to hear anymore. "I know what you said! If I don't do good in school, I won't get into college and be a good pokemon vet, right?"

"Yes, indeed," Kassia gently pushed Amara out the door. "You have fun, and tell the girls I said hi. Be careful, too! Don't go into the tall grass, and run away if wild pokemon try to attack you!"

"I will!" With that, Amara darted out the door.

Milky morning light illuminated the entire neighborhood, giving it a warm glow that would energize almost anyone. The white sunrise reflected off of nearby puddles and ponds as Amara raced through the grassy terrain, turning them into pools of liquid light. The illusion was decimated by the rubber wheels of Amara's bike, speeding through the puddle, splashing water into the dirt, turning them into mud. Amara sped through Route 29, focusing solely on the path before her, her legs pushing the pedals up and down, forcing the wheels to carry her to Cherrygrove City.

The lush cherry trees and their pale pink foliage came within her vicinity, coming closer and closer the further she pedaled. Every single tree dotting Cherrygrove City was alive with cotton candy pink flowers, with some petals having already fallen to the ground. If one were to look at the city from the sky, they would think it was some kind of beautiful paradise, helped by the spring breeze having a distinct, floral aroma to it that one couldn't sniff with their nostrils anywhere else. Truly, this was a day that would make anyone happy to be alive.

"Hello, Amara!" An old man with thick glasses waved his hand at her as she raced by.

"Hi, Mr. Mapson!"

"Good morning, Amara!" A fat but cheerful lady said as she watered her garden. "How's your family?"

"They're great!"

"Amara! Be careful on your bike, dear!" One younger woman exclaimed.

"Don't worry! I'm invincible!"

Soon, the figures of three young girls the same age as her came into her line of vision. Two of them had chocolate brown skin and jet black hair, and another had tan skin like she had soaked up the sun's rays constantly. One girl had her hair cut short into a tiny bob cut, and her hazel eyes shined with some kind of cheerful energy. She was wearing blue jean shorts, a long sleeved grey sweater, tall white socks, and pink and purple sneakers with flowers on them. The girl next to her was slightly fatter and plumper than she was, had her hair in a flouncy ponytail, and her small, oval shaped glasses obscured her brown eyes. She was wearing a fluffy pink dress with white lace frills peeking out from the hem of the skirt with puffed sleeves, matching pink shoes, and small grey socks. The tan skinned girl had deep brown hair, like Amara's little sister, held back with a turquoise headband. Her brown eyes were a much lighter tint, and she was wearing a purple coat over an orange shirt, white jean pants, and black shoes. All of them carried woven baskets in their arms, with the tan skinned girl's basket being yellow, lighter than the other baskets, both of which were a deep rustic red color.

"Heeeey!" Amara waved her arm at the trio of girls as her bike raced to catch up with them. She stopped near the swing and hopped off her bike. "I'm not late, am I? Sorry!"

"Nope nope nope!" The bob cut girl exclaimed, waving her index finger. "You're just in time, Amara!"

"You look great today, Debbie!"

"Thanks!" Debbie rubbed a hand through her own hair. "My dad took me to get my hair cut yesterday. Dunno if I like it too much, though."

"I think short hair looks good on you," The girl in the fluffy pink dress piped in, flashing a radiant smile that could even make her oval shaped glasses reflect its light. "My mom won't let me get my hair cut. She thinks I should let it grow, but it's so hard to take care of!"

"You're at least lucky your mom buys you nice dresses, Maria," The tan skinned girl mused, setting her basket down. "I want to be a model like Valerie(1) Volantes, but my mom says her dresses are too expensive! She's one to talk!" She shrugged. "She's a tax lawyer, and I hear she makes a lot of money with that, so I don't see why we can't!"

All three of the girls burst into laughter. "Your mom sounds like my dad, Emily," Amara replied. "Oh! I brought some goodies with me, like candy bars and water bottles and chocolate pocky!" She sat down and pulled out whatever was in her backpack. Maria pulled a knitted quilt out from her basket and spread it out on the sand. Soon, the quartet gathered on the soft quilt and pulled out whatever they brought with them.

For these kids, the setting was perfect. The wide, blue ocean reached so far out into the horizon that the sea and the sky looked as though they touched. The sky looked almost white in comparison to the ocean's blue hue. The kids brought lots of food with them, such as bananas, apples, candy bars, grapes, carrots, sandwiches, crackers, rice balls, pocky, water bottles, soda, and other things. The four girls shared stories, told jokes, and talked about whatever came to mind.

"So then this guy in front of me said, _'my head's hard like a cubone's skull!'_ " As soon as Emily finished that joke, the three girls burst into vociferous laughter, rolling on the quilt. Amara's hair mingled with the burning white sand to the point where some grains of it got caught inside, not that she noticed much.

"Oh! My stomach is hurting!" Maria exclaimed, sitting back up as she brushed some sand out of her dress. "Hey! Do any of you plan on getting pokemon sometime soon?" She asked out of the blue.

"Heck yeah!" Debbie wasted no time answering. "I'm gonna be the Pokemon League champion someday! I'll get a super cool pokemon and go places no trainer has ever gone before!" She balled her fists and threw them in the air. "It'll be awesome! I'll run through deep jungles, super hot deserts, ice cold tundras, underwater caverns...it's just so exciting to think about!" She cheered, enthusiastic.

"I wouldn't mind trying that out," Maria added timidly. "But while I do like the pokemon Professor Elm gives away, I'd love a cute pokemon like Pikachu or Clefairy," She clasped her hands together, losing herself in her thoughts. "I hear they're so nice to hug."

"You live right near Elm's lab, don't you, Amara?" Emily asked as her friend finished chomping on a banana.

"Yeah, I do, Mom and Dad talk to him a lot, so Julia and I have been there a hundred times," Amara replied, brushing some sand out of her hair. She reached out to grab a rice ball and bit off a chunk of it. "I'd love to have my own pokemon! Sure, the ones Mom and Dad have are nice, and I love playing with them, but I'd love my own special friend all to myself!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Maria piped in.

Amara swallowed the rest of her rice ball. "Whoops. Sorry!"

"I like pokemon and all, but I want to be a model," Emily interrupted, brushing some hair out of her face. "I just live for the spotlight!"

"Of course you do," Debbie snark. Maria had finished eating a cheese sandwich before letting out a chuckle. Soon, the other girls joined in merry laughter. They weren't degrading Emily's dream, just laughing for the sake of laughing. Emily understood and laughed along with them.

When Amara calmed down, she had turned around just to see if sand got in her shoes, only to notice someone walking past them about a few feet away. Amara recognized her right off. It was a girl their own age, with the same brown skin as Debbie and Maria, with black hair tied into two messy pigtails that came from her neck, held up with two fake pearl accessories. She was wearing a white shirt underneath a purple dress, white socks, and black tap shoes that were so dirty one would think she had stepped into a mud puddle. Upon closer observation, sunlight reflected off of the girl's cheeks. Tear marks had stuck to her cheeks.

Debbie noticed Amara staring into the distance and shouted, "Yoohoo! Earth to Amara!" pulling her back to reality.

"Hey!" Maria exclaimed. "Isn't that Chanel?"

"Chanel?" Amara asked, raising an eyebrow. So that was her name.

"Chanel Ramsey. She's in the same class as me and Maria," Debbie explained after she finished drinking some water. "She doesn't talk to anyone, and she always looks sad."

Now Amara's curiosity was piqued. "How come?"

Debbie simply shrugged. "I don't know. I've talked to her a few times, and asked her to come sit with me and Maria, but she never sat with us. She always sits alone at lunch and at recess. But she always eats a huuuuge lunch. Her lunch tray is always full of corn, mashed potatoes, jello squares, milk, and whatever else is on the menu. She eats way more than we do, like she's starving. Maybe she thinks she's too good for us."

"That's not true," Maria interrupted. "The other day, I was in the bathroom and found her crying. She had a huge bruise on her arm. I asked her what was wrong but she didn't answer. She looked at me like she was a scared kitten who was about to be beaten," The memory of the expression the girl gave her was strong in Maria's mind. "Like she thought I was going to hit her. I also saw her getting yelled at by who I think was her dad. He was really harsh. I wanted to stop her, but my mom wanted me to get to my piano lesson."

"I hear she lives on Lancelot Avenue, just a little ways from here," Emily added. "She's really poor."

Amara had completely lost herself to her mind as the girls continued to talk. Her mind wandered off, thinking of nothing but Chanel. She had seen her a few times at school before, but they never had the chance to talk. But she would always walk around school like someone had duct taped two pounds of bricks on her. Just now, she learned that Chanel is sad, poor, and possibly being beaten by someone. Was her dad doing it? Amara knew a little bit about child abuse. She had seen a documentary on it on TV by accident, and was horrified at the thought of parents hurting their kids or not loving them for whatever reason.

It made her believe she was lucky to have nice parents. They loved her, helped her with her homework, praised her when she did good, scolded her when she did something wrong, everything, even if they admittedly were a little bit embarrassing at times. Still...perhaps Chanel would like a friend. Someone she could rely on. She deserved that much, right? Once the girls finished their food, Amara stood up and sputtered, "Sorry, girls! I gotta get back home."

"Awww! I wanted to show you my new necklace!" Maria complained.

"Mom wants me home by twelve thirty, and you know how mad she gets if I break her rules," Amara explained as she hopped on her bike. "See you later!" With that, she raced right off. She could hear Emily exclaiming, "But it's only ten thirty!"

Amara knew where Lancelot Avenue was. It was about five blocks from where she and the girls were just now. Although Cherrygrove City was a nice town, it had its fair share of low income houses that always looked as though they were abandoned. Soon, Amara stopped in her tracks. The sound of soft sobbing caught her ear. Whipping her head around to face the direction the sound was coming from, she found herself face to face with the smallest house she had ever seen.

It was a one story house that was painted green, but it had huge swatches of white from where the green paint had chipped off. Other white spots dotted the house as well. The grass was brown and withered, with some weeds springing right up, standing taller than any of what was left of any signs of plant life. The grey roof was covered with leaves that had got stuck in between the tiles, with some tiles missing. The windows looked fine, except for the fact that some had chips and cracks in them, like someone threw tiny stones at them. Young shoots shot up from the rusty gutters that lined the roof. The white fence was completely dirty, with some fences covered with a combination of dirt, mud, and moss. One board was broken completely in half, and at least three were missing.

The sobbing grew louder. Amara put her bike on the sidewalk and tip-toed past the side of the house. She wondered if it was abandoned. If it wasn't, that meant she was trespassing, and if she got caught, she could get arrested. Amara didn't want to get arrested, but at the same time, she wondered who was crying. She didn't want to leave the person alone. Soon, she turned the corner and found who she was looking for.

There was Chanel, curled up in a ball, leaning against the wall, her legs covered in fresh bruises. Her fists were covering her face, but Amara could make out her tears with ease. Amara froze in place? What should she do? Should she comfort her? Amara really wanted to, and seeing the girl cry wounded her heart. But at the same time, she did deal with some people who wanted to be alone, and when that happened, she was told to respect their space. Already, she wondered if she made a mistake in coming here. A twig snapped right underneath her shoe, pulling Chanel's face out of her hands. The sobbing stopped as the girl's sad, bronze eyes gazed right into Amara's light blue ones.

"Oh! Sorry!" Amara apologized immediately. "I'm not trying to break into your house or anything!" She waved her hand back and forth. "I was riding my bike and I heard you crying, that's all. Are you...okay?" The girl could see that she was most definitely not okay.

Chanel didn't even try to hide her sorrow. "No. No, I ain't," The girl's voice adopted a thick drawl. Amara had heard it many times before. Most of the kids she went to school with talked like they came from the South. At this point, she didn't mind.

"I'm...I'm Amara! We go to the same school, but my friend Maria has a class with you. You're Chanel, right?" The girl nodded sadly. "Can I...sit down with you?" Once again, the girl nodded, and Amara sat down on a rock. A loud rumbling sound roared from within Chanel's stomach. Hearing it, Amara rummaged through her bag and pulled out a banana. "Would you...like this? You sound hungry."

At first, Chanel didn't take it at first. She looked at the banana first, then up at Amara, then back at the banana, then at Amara. Was Amara really giving her food? Slowly, Chanel took the banana, peeled it, and scarfed it down like a hungry houndoom. She ate it so fast, Amara wondered if she'd end up choking. She didn't, thank goodness.

"Thanks. My dad...don't give me no food no more."

"How come?" Amara asked, pulling out a box of pocky. "I have some of these if you want some."

"That's mighty kind of you," Chanel took some pocky and stuffed them in her mouth. Debbie's words came to mind, telling about how Chanel would eat huge trays of food at lunch. The girl's voice was clear and pretty, if a little on the hoarse side, probably from not having eaten. "I see you sometimes at recess, playin' with Debbie, Maria, and Emily. They're yer friends, right?"

"Yep!" Amara looked down and noticed a magazine at Chanel's feet. The girl's eyes widened and sparkled with delight. "Wow! Is that Poka Poka Pretty?! I love that magazine!"

Immediately, a smile touched the hungry girl's face. "Ya do? My big sister buys them, but she lends me her old issues, and I like'em for reals!"

"I love doing the little crossword puzzles on them! They're so fun, and I always get them right!"

"They always come with cards. I really like the ones with the sparkly flowers and berries on them."

The two girls found themselves talking about lots of things, Poka Poka Pretty, clothes, school, and lastly, pokemon. Immediately, Amara's curiosity was piqued once more. "You want to be a pokemon trainer, too?"

"Absolutely!" Chanel exclaimed with a radiant smile. "More than that, I wanna be the champion of Johto, just like Lance! He's super cool!"

"I'd love to go to Goldenrod City and go to all the stores and salons!" Amara mused out loud. "If I get my own pokemon, I'd love a totodile! I love cyndaquil and chikorita, but I always liked totodile best."

Chanel chuckled. "I like cyndaquil. If you hug them, they're all warm and cozy, and they're nice, too," Her smile morphed into a frown as she looked down at her bruised legs, averting Amara's gaze. "But my dad says I can't ever be a trainer."

"How come?"

"He says they're way outta my league, and that no sane pokemon will ever wanna be around a piece of worthless trash like me."

A pocky stick fell right out of the box as soon as she said that. Amara was speechless. Not once had she ever met someone whose parents hated them. Chanel's dad sounded like a terrible person. If her parents were here right now, they'd give her father a verbal lashing, like they did with that smelly boy who gave Amara a wet willy with snot from his nose. She shook her head to dispel that bad memory before replying, "He's wrong! You're not trash! We can be pokemon trainers together when we get older!"

"Umm...why are you bein' so nice to me?" Chanel asked timidly, her bruised legs trembling. "We only just met."

"I dunno. You seem nice, and you like pokemon and the PPP clothes, just like me!" Amara said. "But my friends say you don't talk to people at school. Why is that?"

"I tried makin' friends," Chanel explained, clutching her magazine. "But nobody wanted to be my friend. I'm poor and all the other kids don't like me 'cause I smell bad and can't wear nice clothes."

"That's not your fault," Amara told her in a firm voice. "Hey! How about tomorrow at school we hang out?" A smile touched the girl's face. "I can introduce you to Maria, Debbie, and Emily! They're super nice, and I'm sure they'll like you!" She looked down at her watch. "Oh no! It's almost twelve fifteen!" She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, scribbled on it, and handed it to Chanel. "Here's my phone number!"

This time, Chanel didn't hesitate in taking the piece of paper. A set of numbers were hastily written on it in black pen. "You can call me all the time if you want!"

"I don't have a working phone," Chanel clarified.

"Seriously? You don't?!"

"Nope nope nope," The black haired girl shook her head dejectedly. "But my sister might let me use her cell phone. She goes to college though and isn't home much."

"I see," Amara packed her things. "Well, I hope we can be friends! I'll see you at school tomorrow at lunch! Okay?"

"Okay! Bye, Amara!" Chanel waved her arm happily as she stood up to watch her first friend ride away.

A strange warmth enveloped Amara's whole being, and she couldn't stop smiling the whole way home. Chanel was quite nice, and liked the same things she did. How could anyone not like her, especially her own parents? Perhaps it was time to cultivate this new friendship. She couldn't wait to tell her parents and sister all about it.

When school resumed, Amara wasted no time befriending Chanel, much to her other friends' confusion. At lunch, she'd invite her to their table. At first, Amara's friends weren't sure how to deal with this new addition. However, as soon as they started sharing pokemon-related stories and talking about PPP cards, it was as though Chanel had always been a part of their group. The girls were laughing and palavering merrily, like the friends they were. Any kind of doubt or confusion had been completely kicked out of their system.

After about four weeks, Amara popped a question. No, she wasn't asking Chanel to marry her. "Hey! Do you want to come over to my house?"

Chanel didn't waste time answering. "I'd love to! Is it true your parents have a lot of pokemon?"

"Yeah!" Amara explained. "Our backyard is basically a big pokemon pen! My little sister Julia loves playing with everyone in there. I think you'll really like her. She's kinda shy but she loves pokemon and drawing and reading and playing pretend games."

"But will your parents let me come over?"

"I'll ask them! I hope they say yes, but chances are they'll probably say no. They're very busy."

Contrary to Amara's expectations, when she asked them if Chanel could come over, they immediately said yes. "Bring your friends over, Amara!" Truman suggested cheerfully, delighted by the thought of a new friend coming over. "Your friends are always welcome here! There's plenty of room to play!" Amara couldn't contain her joy, and hugged both her parents tight. Kassia thought about making some snacks for them to munch on when she got here.

The next day, Kassia picked them both up from school and took them to the house. "Wow! Yer house is mighty nice, Amara!" Chanel exclaimed. Compared to her own decrepit house, Amara's looked like it belonged to someone rich. The living room was painted a pristine white, with a green couch at the very end of it, with a large watercolor painting depicting a meadow full of happy pokemon hanging right above it. A large, black, flat screen TV stood on a mahogany credenza across the living room, and a vaporeon sat in front of the large window, watching whatever was out there. Julia sat on said couch hugging a small sentret like it was a stuffed animal. Sentret didn't mind, smiling as she basked in the girl's soothing touch.

"So you're Chanel Ramsey?" Kassia shook the girl's hand gently. "It's nice to meet you! Amara's been going on and on about you."

Amara was in charge of introductions. "This is my mom, Kassia. That's my dad, Truman," She pointed to the girl on the couch. "And that's my little sister, Julia!"

Hearing her name, Julia looked up to see Amara's new friend in her house. With a smile, Chanel came over and just said, "Is this your little sister?" Chanel didn't come too close, but enough so she wasn't in Julia's personal space. The sentret crawled out from Julia's arms and trotted off somewhere else. "Hey there! Mah name's Chanel! Your big sistah told me all about'cha! You like pokemon, right?"

The younger girl smiled. "Yeah! I do!"

The three children found themselves playing in the meadow. Chanel was in awe of the many pokemon here. Meganium, ampharos, blastoise, ninetales, oddish, sandshrew, rattata, sentret, bellossom. She and Julia wasted no time playing with the pokemon. "Wow! They're so cool!" Chanel exclaimed.

Julia held onto a bellossom's hand gently, escorting her over to Chanel. Said pokemon was exactly Julia's size, small and cute, with light green skin, two stubby arms, and two red flowers on both sides of her head. The creature's blue eyes twinkled lightly and her cheeks were a rosy red as the large green and yellow petals on its body made a soft, chime-like sound with every step she took. "Bellossom likes flowers and playing hide and seek," Julia explained in clear, concise words.

"Bella!" Bellossom chirped in a cute little girl voice, shaking Chanel's hand, welcoming her to the Parisa ranch.

Amara, Julia, and Chanel ran all over the backyard, rolling on the grass, playing hide and seek amongst the trees, riding on the big pokemon like meganium and blastoise, and just sitting around, talking. Julia even put some flowers she picked from the ground into Chanel's hair. "Pretty!" Julia chirped as she put a small white flower behind Chanel's ear.

This was the beginning of their long friendship.

* * *

A year after their first meeting, Amara and Chanel had become close. How close wasn't clear to either of them until a ten-year-old Amara got a frightening phone call. The phone rang at dinner. Amara was all too happy to get away from those gross soybeans. "Hello?"

" _A-A-Amara?"_ She knew that shaky voice anywhere.

"Chanel! What's up?" Amara yelped cheerfully.

" _H-He-Help...me…"_ Chanel croaked on the other side. Her voice trembled as she talked, and Amara's smile faded. Something about Chanel made her sound like she was scared.

"What's wrong?" Amara asked. Truman and Kassia turned from their dinner to look at their daughter. Julia just sat in her chair, eating mashed potatoes and garlic shells quietly.

" _My dad...he's hurting me…"_ Chanel sobbed. _"I can't take it no more!"_ She shouted, sobbing hysterically. _"Help me, Amara! I don't wanna be beaten no more!"_

Then, another voice echoed on the line. A deep, burly man's voice boomed through the static. It was so loud, Amara had to pull the phone away. _"You piece of sentient trash!"_ The man's voice roared like a wild Pyroar. _"You's been a bad girl! I ain't done teachin' you a lesson in pain yet!"_ All of a sudden, the line cut off. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Amara whipped her head around, facing her mother. "Mom! Chanel's in trouble! She needs help! Can we go help her?! Please?! She says her dad's beating her up!"

Without a word, Kassia gestured for Amara to come with her. She grabbed her keys, coat, and shoes, and went right out the door with Amara following her from close behind, leaving Truman and Julia alone in the house. Amara's heart was pounding with fear. Never had she felt something like this before. She wasn't scared for herself, but for Chanel. So what she said was true. Her dad didn't love her. But why? Amara saw nothing about Chanel that warranted shame or hatred. But already, she had known that adults could be cruel to children, sometimes for little to no reason. Kassia had told her about the incidents with Mrs. Amoretto and her abusing Julia. Hearing it made Amara want to find that woman and give her a good smack across the side of the head. Her sister didn't deserve to be beaten or yelled at. She couldn't help Julia when she needed her.

Now, she had a chance to save her friend, even if Kassia had to help her.

The two pulled up toward Lancelot Avenue. Chanel was right at the corner. Her hair was disheveled, with stands of it sticking up like someone had tried to pull on it. A pigtail had come undone. Her left eye was swollen and yellow, giving birth to a fresh bruise. Her purple dress was torn in places, such as the hem, and she had only one shoe on. Red blood trickled down her right arm. Chanel wasted no time yanking the car door open and leaping right inside. The fear in her brown eyes was unmistakable, and seeing them made Amara scared as well.

A man barged out from the front door, almost knocking it down. The girls couldn't make out his appearance, but the burly, muscular silhouette and his loud, Pyroar-like voice was enough to instill fear in them. "I'LL KILL YOU! COME BACK HEEEEERE!"

"GO GO GO GO GOOOO!" Chanel cried, tears streaming down her face like little waterfalls. Kassia slammed her foot on the pedal and sped right away, leaving the raving man all by himself.

When they got to the Parisa house, Chanel fell to her knees and cried on Amara's shoulder. The other girl just wrapped her arms around her friend, letting her know she was safe now. Some pokemon even gathered around her, nuzzling her, consoling her. "It's okay," Amara whispered in a low, calm voice. She wondered if this was what Kassia and Truman felt when they consoled Julia after she had a bad day. "It's okay. You're safe now."

Kassia was quick to tend to Chanel's small injuries. She may work in a Pokemon Center, but that didn't mean she couldn't heal people's physical wounds as well. Julia sat down and watched as her mother wrapped gauze around the girl's scratch. Julia held a stuffed pikachu doll in front of Chanel, making it dance. "Pikachu's here to make you happy!"

The dark skinned girl smiled and stroke Julia's hair kindly. "Thanks, Julia. You's sweet."

"Do you…" Amara wasn't sure if she could ask these questions. Her parents often told her that sometimes people had things they didn't want to tell people. It was their right to keep secrets, and it was her duty to respect their decisions. But seeing that awful scene and hearing Chanel cry like that made her want to know. It didn't hurt to ask, right? "...want to tell us what happened?"

"If he's hurting you, I'll call the police," Kassia told her as Chanel calmed down. Julia wrapped her tiny arms around the older girl, hoping the hug will make her happy. "They can help you. We will, too."

Chanel nodded. "My dad...he beats on me and my family. Mom can't do nothin' about it 'cause she scared. She thinks nobody will believe us," She explained. She went into detail about how her father would flip out at everyone over extremely petty and trivial things-sometimes nothing-like spilled milk or the kids playing outside. Chanel told everyone about how he would deprive them of food or drinks for days at a time, lock her in the closet for a day, tie her up in the basement, and other things. At this point, Truman escorted Julia out of the living room.

"I wanna hear more, Dad!" Julia protested. "I want to help!"

"Sorry, Jules. This isn't stuff a kid your age should hear," Truman told her gently.

"Does he really do all that stuff to you?" Amara asked. The more she heard, the more appalled she became. Chanel nodded dejectedly.

"He...does other things, too…" Chanel whimpered, telling them more. Something about touching her in places he shouldn't, threatening to kill her and everyone she loved if she ever told anyone.

Mother and daughter watched Chanel sob for a brief moment. "Chanel. Thank you for telling us all of this. You're a very brave little girl," Kassia told her softly, with the air of someone who was trying not to cry. "What your father does to you is wrong. None of this is your fault. You don't deserve to be treated like that. I'll call the police and tell them everything. He won't hurt you anymore."

"Yeah!" Amara pumped her fist. "If he tries to come here and take you away, Mom and Dad will sic meganium and blastoise on 'em, and they'll attack him so bad he'll go flying off to Mars!" She shouted, her voice brimming with courage.

Chanel hugged Amara, clutching her so tight, she didn't want to let go. It felt so good that Chanel didn't even worry about the threats her father uttered against her. For the first time in a long while, she finally felt safe. Paramedics came and took Chanel to the hospital to tend to her other injuries. Amara watched the news to see if her father got arrested. This was a new change for her, as she usually never watched the news. Then, it happened: a newscaster announced that Tyrell Ramsey was arrested on charges of child abuse and many other charges Amara didn't quite understand. Chanel was safe!

"Yaaaaay!" Amara cheered and jumped all around the room. "Chanel's evil dad is thrown in the clink!"

"He's in jail?" Julia asked, joining right in. "Yay! No more Chanel being beaten!" The two girls joined hands and jumped on the couch up and down, cheering and laughing and rejoicing.

"Girls! Don't jump on the couch! You'll get hurt!" Kassia cried. But inside, the woman was just as happy as they were.

It didn't take long to run into Chanel at school. "Chanel!" This time, the girl didn't look disheveled or sad anymore. She was wearing a nice purple dress over a white shirt and new black shoes. "I heard the news! Your evil dad's been arrested! That's great!"

"I know it is! Thanks so much, Amara! I don't know what I'd do without'cha!"

"You're the one that called us, after all! So...are you still living at Lancelot Avenue?"

Chanel looked down at her shoes and nodded. "Yeah. We don't got the money to move. But Mom's not afraid anymore. She's workin' two jobs now, and my sister's stayin' with me now."

The girls both let out sighs of relief. "That's good to hear. I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too, best friend."

Life had completely changed for Chanel, and Amara could see it every time she saw her. Chanel smiled more, and did so all the time. Chanel interacted with other people, and instead of rejecting her, they welcomed her with open arms. Chanel would tell funny jokes and make everyone's stomachs hurt from too much laughing. She would show everyone her PPP cards, even some rare ones she happened to get. Her mother managed to scrape some money together to buy her some new clothes and give her fresh food. Chanel's cheeks became plumper. No longer did her arms, legs, and face be battered with bruises.

Then, one day, three weeks before Amara's eleventh birthday, Debbie came to school with a surprise: a cyndaquil! "Cyndaquil!" It squeaked.

"Whaaaat?!" Emily was the first to shriek with delight. "You got a pokemon, Debbie?!"

Debbie gave a proud nod. "Yeppers! My mom said I can be a trainer now! I just got this little cutie yesterday! This is cyndaquil!"

"You're so lucky, Debbie!" Maria exclaimed, stroking cyndaquil's nose with her hands. "He's so cute! I want a pokemon!"

Soon, all the girls crowded around Debbie, begging for a chance to look at or pet her little fiery anteater friend. Said cyndaquil liked the attention, and giggled happily when the girls would tickle his belly and shower him with unadulterated affection. However, a pang of jealousy grew in Amara's heart. Debbie got a pokemon and she didn't. Amara and Chanel both wanted to be trainers. Why couldn't she get a pokemon yet?

When she got home, Amara popped the question. "Mom? Can I have a pokemon of my own?" Kassia was sitting in the living room watching an episode of Judge Rudy.

"Why do you ask?" Kassia asked curiously, looking as though she hadn't quite comprehended what her oldest daughter just asked.

"Can I, Mom? Please?" The girl clasped her hands together and begged. "Debbie got a cyndaquil, already! You know how much I want to be a trainer!"

Kassia looked away from the TV to face her daughter. She looked neither stern nor disapproving, but her daughter could tell her mother wasn't sure whether she should say yes or not. "If you do get your own pokemon, will you take care of it?"

"Of course! I'll do anything! I'll feed it, play with it, take care of it, pick up his poop," Amara couldn't help but find that gross, but she had seen Kassia and Truman do it with their pokemon, so she figured it was important. It was still gross, though! "Make sure it doesn't hurt anyone, all that stuff! Please, Mom? I'll clean my room and do my homework and watch Julia when you and Dad are gone!" She pleaded, giving her mother her infamous puppy eyes.

Her mother closed her eyes and ruminated. Immediately, Amara assumed the worst. What if she says no? All of a sudden, Kassia's eyes flew open and she smiled. "Alright! You'll get a pokemon from Professor Elm on your birthday! How's that?"

For a moment, Amara thought she died and went to heaven. She wasted no time leaping on her mother, trapping her in a tight hug. "Yaaaaaaay! Thank you thank you thank you thank yoooouuuu!"

"I hope you keep your promise, because if you don't do your homework and your chores, the deal's off," Kassia told her. "I don't think you're ready for a journey yet, so don't count on that."

Amara let go and put herself down. "No worries! I wasn't planning on going on a journey right now anyway!"

True to her word, Amara did everything as asked. She paid attention in class, did her homework, sometimes asked for help if needed, and passed any tests she might have gotten. She got a few C's and B's, and only two A's, but for her parents, that was enough. She worked hard and did her best, and that in itself was something to be proud of. Amara kept her room clean, helped with the laundry multiple times in the day, played with Julia, and studied on how to take care of a pokemon. She could bring her pokemon to school and show it to everyone. She would be popular! But she knew very well that pokemon weren't shiny toys to be shown off. They were animals with feelings, wants, and needs. That was something Truman and Kassia drilled into their daughters since they were born.

Amara knew exactly which pokemon she wanted.

* * *

On the morning of her eleventh birthday, Amara was bouncing out of her seat with joy. One present came in the mail: a Trainer ID card with her name and picture on it, certifying her as eligible to own a pokemon. As soon as she got it, Amara raced out the door to Professor Elm's lab. Kassia thought about going with her, but decided against it. This was a new experience for her. She figured Amara could handle it by herself. Sometimes letting kids do things on their own allows them to learn new things.

She burst through the door, greeted Professor Elm, and saw the three pokemon. Well, she saw chikorita and cyndaquil, but barely paid much attention to them. Her gaze was completely fixed on the totodile. The small, bipedal blue alligator with red spines on its back and tail and a beige, V-shaped mark on its chest. Amara kneeled down in front of the curious pokemon and said, with a bright smile, "Totodile? Do you want to be my best friend forever?"

To say the totodile was overjoyed would be an understatement. Totodile danced all around the room, squawking and cheering and leaping in Amara's arms. Totodile's body was warm yet wet, considering he's a water type. Amara's cup of happiness was full before, but the minute this totodile became her friend, the final drop melted into the cup, making it overflow.

"Tototototototodiiiiiiiiiile!"

"We're gonna be best friends, totodile!"

Unable to wait, Amara ran home as fast as she could, with totodile happily trotting behind her. He immediately became the talk of the Parisa house. "Wow! He's a cutie!" Truman stroke the happy totodile's head gently with his big, rugged hand.

"I do hope you'll take good care of him, Amara," Kassia reminded her.

"You bet I will, Mom!"

"How come you didn't get a chikorita?" Julia asked curiously. She didn't ask it to be rude, only out of curiosity.

"Now now, Julia," Truman told her. "Other people don't always like the same things you do. Amara likes totodile. Nothing wrong with that. Besides, if you say things like that, you'll hurt totodile's feelings."

Oddly enough, totodile didn't seem to mind at all. He hopped out of Amara's arms and immediately danced around Julia, wanting to play. "Totodile says he wants to play tag!" Julia immediately tapped Amara on her arm. "You're it!"

"Hey! I'm gonna get you twooooooo!" Thinking this was a great chance to play with totodile, Amara chased her sister and pokemon all around the house and the backyard, taking care not to knock anything over. Both parents smiled and watched as the kids played to their hearts content.

Keeping true to her word, Amara lavished totodile with all her love. She gave him food, played with him, gave him baths, kept him out of trouble, and everything else that was required for a good trainer. Kassia and Truman helped out a couple times while she was at school. Even Julia pitched in and became playmates with him when Amara was away most of the day. One day, Amara couldn't wait to show totodile to Chanel. She finally found the time to ride her bike to Chanel's house. It was still as decrepit as ever.

"Amara!" Chanel waved, gesturing for Amara to come by. "I hear you got your pokemon already!"

"Yep! Come here, totodile!" Amara gestured for her new friend to meet Chanel. The blue alligator wasted no time trotting over to Chanel, flashing a big, toothy smile, and waving his hand.

"Awwwww!" Chanel picked him up and held him close, nuzzling his large head. "He's sooooo cute!"

"I know, right? He's my baby!" Affectionately, Amara tickled his large feet to get a laugh out of him. It worked. The two girls and the tiny alligator played tag in the backyard for a while.

"Diiiile!" Totodile beamed as Chanel gave him a big sugar cookie to munch on.

"It's a shame you didn't get a pokemon yet," Amara told her friend, putting her totodile on her lap. "I was hoping we'd become trainers together."

"I'll get a pokemon yet!" Chanel exclaimed cheerfully. "It probably won't be a while, but I'm gonna get one no matter what!" She pumped her fists. "In fact, my mom says she's gonna save up money to get me a trainer ID, and that'll let me get a pokemon!"

"That's great!"

"Totodaaaaauhh!" Totodile agreed, flashing a thumb's up as he swallowed the sugar cookie whole.

"I'm gonna get a nice cyndaquil and maybe we can both travel together!" Chanel looked up at the blue sky. The sun was shining bright, unmarred by any passing clouds. "I can see it now! Us fightin' double battles all the time, beatin' the Johto League champion, becomin' champions together! It'll be so great!"

Amara let out a sheepish laugh. "I don't know if we'll go that far."

"It don't hurt to dream right?"

"No. No it doesn't. The minute you become a trainer, we'll both go on a journey. Promise?" Amara held out her pinky.

Chanel linked her own pinky with her friend's. "Promise!"

"We'll always be friends, won't we?"

"Absolutely! You can count on that!"

"Aww man! I gotta bolt. Mom said I had to be back by lunch. Gotta help her with some stuff," Amara hopped back on her bike with totodile in tow. "I'll see you later, Chanel! Bye-bye!"

"Goodbye, Amara! We'll always be BFFs!" With that, Amara rode off into the distance.

Unfortunately, that was a promise the two girls would never be able to fulfill, no matter how much they wanted it.

* * *

Six months after Amara received totodile from Professor Elm, she was sitting at the table eating breakfast, giving totodile some hash browns. She figured out that he absolutely loved eating hash browns. She could understand why. They were warm and flaky and shaped like ovals. She always liked the triangle shaped hash browns at Jack-Ronald's, but any hash browns were fine. Totodile wasn't a picky eater, unlike Julia. She and Chanel had made plans to go to the little beach to have a picnic with Debbie, Emily, and Maria, pokemon included. Yesterday, Emily received a pokemon from her father as a birthday gift, an aipom, and she showed her to everyone. Amara thought it'd be great for the pokemon to meet and play together and be friends, just like they were.

Truman was in the family room, sitting at the computer and sipping a cup of coffee at the same time. He had turned the TV on, and a news report was being broadcast. _"Last night, for no reason at all, a wild gyarados suddenly went on a rampage in Cherrygrove City,"_ Hearing that made Truman whip his head around. _"At eight o'clock last night, said gyarados suddenly shot up from the water and began firing Hyper Beams all over the city,"_ Truman stood up from the computer chair and turned up the volume. The volume could be heard all the way from the dining room. _"Pokemon Control was able to subdue it, but as you can see here, the pokemon left a trail of destruction in its wake."_

Footage showed parts of Cherrygrove City in pieces. Houses were reduced to nothing but piles of rubble. Streets had huge holes in them, some stretching for miles. Trees were knocked over, blocking roads. Electrical lines had snapped off, with wires dangling from their posts. Small fires continued to consume some houses. Paramedics carried injured or dead people on gurneys, carrying them onto ambulances by the dozens.

A feeling of dread ran right through Amara's body right then and there. On impulse, she found herself walking toward the family room. Totodile just gave her a confused look, wondering what was up. "Amara! You need to see this!" Truman called for Amara to come inside. She was going to wish she hadn't watched the news. But then again, it was inevitable.

" _Unfortunately, despite everyone's efforts to subdue the creature, 14 people are dead, and about 247 people are injured,"_ The next scene showed photos of those who perished. One of them stuck out like a sore thumb.

Chanel Ramsey.

Lancelot Street flashed on the TV. Chanel's small, decrepit house was completely gone. Amara's eyes grew large. Immediately, the implications ran through her mind, telling her what this meant. No. It couldn't be true. This had to be a prank. A cruel prank. But TV didn't always lie. Worry and fear seized her. _'Chanel!'_ She ran out the front door, hopped on her bike, and sprinted away.

"Amara!" Truman raced out the door. "Amara, wait! It's too dangerous! Come back!" He grabbed his keys and leaped into the car.

The bike raced through the streets, passing right by rows and rows of houses. _'NO! Chanel is NOT dead! We're having our picnic today!'_ She told herself, her heart screaming for this to not be true. They promised they'd be pokemon trainers together. They wanted to be champions together. Chanel had finally managed to find happiness after years of being abused by her father. This couldn't be true!

Could it?

Clouds of black smoke curled into the air. Amara found herself riding her bike in a sea of rubble. This was nothing like the Cherrygrove City she knew and loved. Houses had become piles of wood and scrap. Trees had completely fallen over, with some falling right into houses. Flames danced on the grass, some still within some houses. She passed by people bending over, wailing hysterically. Paramedics putting a tag on someone's toe, covering them with a light blue sheet. Firefighters using their hoses to douse flames in one house.

Lancelot Avenue. Here it was! Amara turned the corner and stopped in her tracks. She had expected Chanel's house to be there. But it wasn't. It was as though the house had never been there. The street was swarming with police cars, their loud sirens wailing, their ghostly red and blue lights flashing. A woman wearing a simple green dress sat on the porch bawling, and another woman in a police uniform was rubbing her back with one hand, consoling her. The woman continued to cry, so it didn't work. Amara threw her bike down and raced toward what was left of the house. "Chanel?! Chanel! Where are you?!" She shouted, her voice consumed with worry and fear.

Let this not be true. Let it be a trick. Chanel's still alive! She had to be! She just had to.

"Amara…" The woman stood up, stumbling toward the younger girl. "Amara…" She fell to her knees and sobbed once more. "I...I...I'm so sorry, dear!" Tears came streaming right out, and the woman was helpless to stop them. Amara knew her well. She was Chanel's mother. "Chanel's gone!" She croaked.

Chanel's gone. The very words she didn't want to hear. Soon, she saw and heard nothing. Only echoes. Her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees. "She tried to save her baby brother...Eladio...but he and Chanel are both gone! We tried to save them! Graciela and me both!...but it was too late!"

"Edelmira...it's not your fault…" The police woman tried to console her, but Edelmira continued to cry.

Using what little energy she had, Amara walked away from the chaotic scene. Grief completely consumed her from head to toe. She didn't even pick up her bike. Soon, a silver car pulled up. Truman came out and hugged his daughter. "Amara...I'm so sorry..." She went inside without a word. As soon as she got home, it was Kassia's turn to hug her. "Amara! I'm so sorry!" Finally, she could no longer contain her despair. Tears came pouring right out, and with a high pitched wail, she cried and cried until she could cry no more. She and Kassia sat on the couch, crying until their grief dried them all up. Julia tried to go over to them to offer her own comfort, but Truman put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. No. That was alright. They needed space. Amara needed space.

The reality of the situation hit Amara like a freight train. Chanel was dead, and never coming back. A mother lost two of her children. She lost a friend. A friend who was happy, cheerful, outgoing, and finally had a new life to look forward to. No more seeing her smile. No more seeing her big teeth, her awkward rural way of talking, her obsessing over Poka Poka Pretty cards and magazines, her dreams of becoming champion alongside Amara. The whole thing just made her feel so sad, so sorrowful, so bitter...but more than anything, she was angry.

Angry. Angry angry angry. Angry at herself for not being there. Angry at that gyarados that decimated part of Cherrygrove and took her friend away. Angry at the world for not doing much about it. Angry at the potential reality that for all she knew, everyone might forget Chanel, her accent, her dreams, her love for PPP cards and magazines, how she thought the crescent moon was a piece of God's chewed off fingernails, how she wanted to get a cyndaquil because she liked how sweet and warm and cozy they were or whatever, like she was never there in the first place. Like she never had fantasies about becoming the champion or visions about college or a whole unique way of seeing and thinking about the world that would never be articulated to anyone.

Why did life have to be so cruel? And to someone who didn't deserve any more cruelty? That was what was most unfair.

Amara did nothing but cry in the days that followed. Of course. It was understandable. Her friend just died. It wasn't as though she was going to get over her grief in the snap of a finger. These things take time. Kassia and Truman simply stayed by her side, letting her know they were there if she wanted to talk. She stayed home from school for a week, only going back because she couldn't be absent for very long. But Chanel wasn't the only friend who was gone.

"Where's Maria?"

Debbie was the one who answered. "She moved away. Her family just up and left without a word."

First Chanel was gone, and now Maria? As happy as she was to know that her other friends were okay, Maria was gone in a different way. "Why?!"

"That gyarados attack really rattled them," Emily replied. "I'm pretty sure they wanted to get the heck out of there."

"Did they tell you where she was going?!"

Both girls shook their heads grimly. "Nope."

Amara slammed her fist on her desk, knocking some pencils down to the floor. Now two friends were gone. At least Maria wasn't dead. She did take some comfort in that. But still, couldn't she have at least given them some advance notice? Granted, it might not have been her fault. Her parents always had pampered her a lot, but still! Why did life have to be so unfair?

But something about Emily and Debbie made Amara's blood boil. They didn't react to Chanel's death even a little bit.

All Debbie said was "Total balls," That was it. All Emily did was hug Amara without a word. Not a tear to be shed. They didn't even talk about wanting to make Edelmira and Graciela feel better. Some part of her brain told her that maybe they already did their grieving in private, perhaps at their own homes, but Amara ignored that thought.

Amara confronted them about this at recess. "Want to make sympathy cards with me? We can send them to Mrs. Ramsey and Graciela?" Amara asked.

"We already did that," Debbie replied tersely. "The whole school did."

What? The whole school did? When was this? Amara's jaw fell open, and her pupils shrunk. She had no idea the school already arranged that.

Emily nodded in agreement. "We tried to tell you, but-"

"What's with you?!" Amara yelped, scaring them into recoiling. "I tell you Chanel's dead and you just go on like nothing's changed?! She was our friend!"

"Your friend," Debbie replied. "Besides, there's more to life than Chanel."

How could Debbie say that? Both Amara and Emily's mouths fell agape. After all the time Chanel spent with them, Debbie had the gall to say that? Amara found herself stepping backward in shock. "Debbie! You don't mean that! She was our friend, too," Emily exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?!" Amara stamped her feet twice. "Do you even care that your friend is dead?!"

"Of course we do!" Emily protested.

Amara growled. She couldn't believe it. They acted as though Chanel never even mattered. "Uuuuugh! My God, you girls are terrible!" With that, she stomped away. Now all her friends were gone.

Not even her teachers said a word about Chanel. She was the only child her own age who died in the attack, the other child being her three year old brother. She thought they'd at least have the kids take a moment of silence to remember her. Nope! They just went about their way, like nothing had changed! Something popped up in her head right there: why should she obey and respect people who never so much as gave a flying farfetch'd about Chanel? It was here that her grades began to drop, and her ambitions for school dwindled down to nothing. If school didn't care about Chanel, why should Amara care about school? Her friends didn't care about Chanel. The other kids didn't care about Chanel. The teachers didn't care about Chanel. Why should she care about them?

One day, Amara sat in her room doing nothing. Julia was crying in the other room. Normally, her crying would be a cause for alarm. But now, all it did was annoy her to death. Suddenly, she stormed out of the room, barged into Julia's, and shouted, "Stop crying, stupid!"

Julia's hands flew to her ears. "I'm crying for Chanel!" She snapped back.

"Oh, like you care! All you care about is pokemon and drawing and eating like a tepig! Whatever it is you're being a baby about, get over it!" With that, Amara slammed Julia's door and returned to her room.

"Amara?" Kassia peeked inside. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Nothing!"

"Something's wrong. I can tell by your voice," Kassia sat down on Amara' bed and stroke her hair. "I know it's hard. Chanel's death is affecting all of us. She was a very good friend."

"If it's affecting everyone, how come nobody's doing anything about it?!" Amara screeched. "Nobody at school cares about her! It's like she was never important to them!"

All Kassia did was listen and stroke Amara's hair. "Sometimes people hide their grief. Others feel it's more important to go about their lives," She told her. "Some people never met Chanel, so maybe they don't know how to feel about it. It makes me sad to see you like this. Would you...like to go to the park? You can bring totodile with you and we can sit or walk."

"No thanks, Mom. I just...want to be alone."

Kassia nodded. "Alright. Let me know if you need anything. I'm here if you want to talk."

For some reason, Amara felt that sounded empty. Insincere. In fact, everything her parents said sounded insincere. Sure, they were adults and they probably had their own experiences with death and passing, but still! Anything her parents said came off as hollow to her.

"Tell me what I can do for you."

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

"I'm not sure what to say, but we want you to know that we care."

"How are you feeling? Is there anything we can dot help?"

"This is normal, Amara. It's okay to grieve."

At first, Amara's parents did everything they could to be there for Amara and take the initiative. They took on the chores, didn't ask about school, took care of totodile for her, made her favorite food, try to do fun things with her like puzzles or sharing embarrassing family stories. Amara always liked to hear about the one where when she was two years old she put yogurt in her hair like it was shampoo when Kassia was pregnant with Julia. It always made her laugh. But now, not even the most embarrassing story brought a chuckle out of her.

It didn't help that Amara met some new kids who, in society's view, weren't exactly a good influence. These kids smoked cigarettes, skipped classes, got into fights with others, and generally didn't care about anything. Amara found herself just sitting with them, listening to them talk about how awful life is and how nobody cares about anything but themselves and what they want. She couldn't help but think that that described everyone around her-Kassia, Truman, and Julia included.

Something else sprung up in her heart, and it was the worst feeling she had in the world: she hated pokemon. She hated them all. She hated seeing them every single day. She hated seeing them happy and smiling, running around the meadow all smiles and sunshine and rainbows. She hated how Julia would talk about them like perfect little angels who could do no wrong. What a load of crock. If pokemon were so good, why did that gyarados attack Cherrygrove, killing Chanel? In her mind, all pokemon were responsible for Chanel's death. Even her totodile, who had been there for her and stayed by her side, she considered an enemy.

Why should she care? About school? About people? About pokemon? In her mind, they deserved nothing from Amara. Not even her parents. Soon, the fights, the detentions, the slipping grades, and the defiance took over, and her parents took notice. Even they were at their wit's end. After another six months, Amara was still obsessing over Chanel. To everyone around her, this was unhealthy, and her change in behavior and demeanor only highlighted it for all to see.

"Amara? What's going on? You don't talk to us anymore."

"You're always so angry. You should enjoy life while you still can. I'm sure Chanel wouldn't want you to be sad all the time."

"We're all worried about you. Please. Give us a chance to help you."

"Have you thought about seeing a counselor? Maybe they can help you better than we can."

"I've lost some friends, too. I've been in your shoes. But this isn't the best way to go about it. There are better ways to deal with this."

"I'm going shopping later. Do you want to come? We can make anything you like."

"I know you're upset, Amara. We all do. But yelling at people and taking it out on them doesn't solve anything. It just makes things worse."

"It's been six months. Chanel's gone. We get it. We all do. But you can't let her death take over your life."

"Do you feel like talking?"

Amara hated everything. She wanted the world to just die. Everyone should just leave her alone. It's not that hard. Nobody cared. In her mind, they were only pretending to care. She was sure they'd tell her to get over it and forget about Chanel like she never existed. Fat chance. Everything made her angry. Even pokemon made her angry. Hitting totodile with a rock, losing her trainer's license, being put on the blacklist...that was the spark that lit the powder keg.

No more sitting around. It was time to get out of here. Fulfill her dream. If she and Chanel couldn't do it together, she'd try it herself for her sake.

Her name was Amara Parisa, and although she has a dream she wants to fulfill, in her mind, the world was her enemy. Chanel was all that mattered to her now. Never again would she open her heart. Or would she?

* * *

Footnotes:

1\. Yes, Emily is talking about Valerie, the fairy-type gym leader in Laverre City, Kalos.

* * *

 **5/27/14: Update: Tweaked the chapter a bit, namely some of Emily and Debbie's dialogue.**


	22. Hikaru's Sad Tale

Chapter 16: Hikaru's Sad Tale

Amara silently walked through the entrance of a hair salon, with her light blonde hair down. Said salon was quaint and mellow, with grey and purple walls giving it a solemn atmosphere about it. Black leather chairs lined the sides of the building in rows, all of them facing oval shaped mirrors. Large pictures of smiling people with varying hair styles also decorated the walls. White shelves filled with conditioner, shampoo, and other bottles lined the perimeters. A woman at the register looked up at Amara and greeted her with a smile.

"Hello! What can we do for you?" The dark skinned woman asked kindly.

"I hear you dye people's hair here?" Amara asked in a low but oddly polite voice.

The woman, whose name tag read Desiree, clasped her hands together. "We have a variety of hair colors to choose from. We have black, dark brown, auburn, red, orange, light blonde, pale blonde, dark blonde, anything you like!" She suggested in a cheerful voice.

"I'd like my hair to be pale blonde, please," Amara swallowed whatever lingering anger she had. It pained her to keep it all inside. All that boiling hot anger, the feeling of wanting to just explode into a million pieces. "How much is it?"

"That'll be $40, miss," Desiree told her.

Amara silently handed her two twenty dollar bills without a word. Desiree called another woman over to dye Amara's hair. The budding teenager sat in a leather chair and stayed silent as the woman behind her began dying her hair with whatever products she used. "So! Are you a pokemon trainer, miss?"

"Yeah, I am," Amara replied sheepishly.

"I used to be one when I was young," The other woman, whose name tag read Therese, palavered happily. "Those were great times, I tell you! My cyndaquil and I would walk through cities and run through thick jungles! But now I'm here with my kids and husband, just enjoyin' every day. What's your name, dear?"

The girl didn't dare mention her real name. The police were on her tail, so she knew she had to lie. "...Andrea."

"Hey!" Therese's eyes adopted a cheerful gleam about them. "That's my grandma's name!" The hair stylist went on and on about her grandmother, how she was a great pokemon trainer who traveled all the way to Kalos, and settled down, married, and had kids later on. To Amara, Therese's story was just white noise as she lost herself in the confines of her mind. All she could think about was Julia. To be more specific, Julia playing with pokemon, loving them, telling everyone she knew about how great they were, all those things.

To others, it was a happy thing to see. Little kids playing with pokemon, running among them in the meadows and the beach, seeing their radiant smiles. Amara had seen it many times before, so many times she lost count. In fact, she herself used to be happy, not just from watching Julia play with pokemon, but when she herself played with her pokemon. Now? All she could feel was boiling anger. She clenched her teeth, letting the anger simmer, gripping the silver arm rest so hard, her knuckles turned white.

' _In your eyes, pokemon can do no wrong…'_ Amara's rage seethed, but she kept it inside. No way was she going to give them reason to call the police. They were on her tail already. _'You're so stupid, Julia! They're not perfect little angels! It's your precious friends' fault Chanel is gone!'_ All she wanted to do was explode. Rage. Scream. Howl. Yell. Let it all out.

"So what pokemon did you start off with?" Therese asked curiously.

' _Mind your own business, lady!'_ Amara thought bitterly. But she answered, in a low voice, "...a totodile. He's a croconaw now."

Gradually, Amara's hair went from light brown to a pale, white-ish blonde, and any brown hair follicles were completely dyed. Not a trace of brown hair in sight. Soon, the dyeing process was complete. "Lookit you now!" Therese exclaimed, gesturing for Amara to look up. For a moment, Amara didn't recognize herself. She looked like she had transformed into a completely different person. The white gold hair almost made her look angelic. "I think it looks great, don't you?"

"...Yeah. It's nice," She whispered, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "Thanks," She stood up, proceeding to leave. But then she turned around. "Hey! Do you know where I can buy contacts?"

"Whaaaat?" Desiree's mouth fell open. "I know a few places, but yer blue eyes are beautiful! Don't hide'em from the world!"

Amara rolled her eyes. Boy, was she dramatic. "No no. I just want to try some out, that's all. Oh, and are there any tanning salons? My friends tell me I'm too pale for my own good."

The two stylists named some places and handed Amara their business card. With that, the blonde teenager left. When the salon was out of sight, Amara found herself staring at the ocean. A sea of endless, pristine blue that reached toward the orange and pink sky. However, Amara wasn't one to appreciate such beauty. The ocean ebbed back and forth, drenching her boots in water. She pulled out the business card and threw it in the ocean before rummaging in her pocket to pull out her phone.

It wasn't a PokeGear, just an obnoxiously pale blue smartphone. A rectangle shaped light flashed white on the top. New voicemail, it said. Amara turned it on and listened to the message. It was from her mother. Amara didn't say a word. She just listened to the phone message. For a brief moment, Amara found herself yearning to go home. To be with her family, just like old times. But then Kassia said this: "Please...do the right thing. That's all I ask."

Amara pressed the delete button like she couldn't do it any faster. _"Voicemail deleted. End of messages,"_ A robotic female voice croaked through the static. The girl stared down at the cell phone with contempt. "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to jail," She whispered grimly before shouting, "Screw you, Mom!"

With a great throw, Amara chucked the cell phone into the ocean. She didn't even watch the cell phone hit the water, as she had already turned around to leave. Her scorn had returned in full force. But at this point, she walked over to the PokeMart to buy some pokemon food. Her pokemon needed their strength, as much as she hated their guts.

* * *

They say the early bird catches the caterpie, and when it came to rising early, Julia had become quite a pro. When her eyes peeled open, the morning sky was still a serene shade of blue, dark but not the scary kind of dark. She looked up at a clock on the wall. It read 6:08 AM. Tokiko, Papillon, Tsubasa, Saoirse, and Lucretia slept at the foot of her bed, snuggling and sleeping contentedly. But one was missing: Hikaru. Her mother slept on the other bed in the room, her back rising and falling. Julia stayed silent as she put a robe on herself. She didn't want to wake her mother up. Once she put her robe and shoes on, a gentle morning breeze made her skin shiver. The window was open.

Julia peered out the window, seeing the usual sights: old houses with their outside lights on, the pond in the back, and Tin Tower, towering over everything as usual. She was on the first floor, so she found it safe to crawl out the window, silent like a pichu. Although she tried to remain quiet, Lucretia's ear twitched upon hearing her leave. "Vui?" Lucretia squeaked, seeing a flutter of Julia's robe in the corner of the window.

The young girl walked around Ecruteak in her pajamas and robe, her heart immediately filling with a combination of both worry and fear. This was the first time she had ever come out like this, especially so early in the morning. Her parents had always told her that she should never go outside in her pajamas, and should she need to, that she wear a robe covering them. But Hikaru was out there somewhere, and a good trainer would look for their pokemon. Soon, she saw a dark yellow figure sitting in front of what was left of Brass Tower. Fresh, milky morning light creeped over the trees, brightening everything up just a little bit.

Hikaru sat at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the burnt tower with a dejected, wistful expression on her chubby face. The only thing that lingered in her mind was Raikou, her father. She had managed to see him again, and once more, he was gone. A single tear came out from the little pichu's left eye, streaming down to her deep red cheek. How she had yearned to see her father again: his strong face, his gentle eyes, the electricity that would crackle all over his body, his warm nuzzles, his soft purrs, his welcoming demeanor…

"Pichu…" ( _"Daddy…"_ )

A shadow loomed over Hikaru. The shiny mouse turned around to find Julia standing behind her. Her trainer simply smiled and sat down next to her. "You had me worried for a second there," Julia told her in a gentle whisper. "I'm glad you're safe," Julia didn't feel the need to scold Hikaru for wandering off. She figured Hikaru had her reasons...and she did. "You really miss Raikou, don't you? You said he was your adopted father."

The shiny mouse nodded sadly. "Pichu pichu," ( _"He loves me very much, and I love him."_ )

"I know you do."

" _He...saved me…"_

"How so?"

" _My real mommy and daddy...hated me,"_ Hikaru confessed, looking down at the ground beneath her feet. _"They didn't like that my fur color was dark. They said I came out wrong. Raikou loved me when they didn't."_

And thus began the tale of Hikaru, the shiny pichu.

(flashback)

 _Two orange mouse pokemon stood over a nest of twigs, watching with awe as a small black and yellow egg glowed in a radiant light. The two large mice pokemon had sunset orange fur, round eyes, yellow cheeks, brown fur covering their hands and feet, big, egg-shaped white patches on their bellies, and long, thin blacks tail with yellow lightning bolts on the end. One pokemon's tail was slightly shorter than the other, looking more flat than the sharp tail her husband had. Gathered around their feet were seven small pichu, all with pale yellow fur and pale pink cheeks._

 _With smiles on their faces, the two raichu were ready to welcome their final child into the world. Cracks appeared on egg's surface before spreading all over. The egg shell dissipated, and out came a pichu. Said pichu wiggled around, shaking the egg shell off. She looked up at her parents and siblings with a wide smile and beaming eyes. "Pichu!" ("Mama!") The pichu squeaked._

 _However, as happy as she was, nobody else was happy. The other pichu all looked away. The two raichu looked at each other with confused faces. The pichu that hatched from the egg looked different from the others. Her fur was a darker shade than those of her siblings and her cheeks were a rose red instead of a pale pink. The raichu looked at their other children, then at the dark yellow pichu, at their other children again, and back at the dark yellow pichu._

" _Pichuuu!" ("Hiiii!") The dark yellow pichu waddled over to her parents and extended her arms out, expecting a hug. The stub-tail raichu walked right over, staring down at her newborn child not with love and affection, but contempt and disgust. Instead of hugging her new child, the raichu smacked the dark yellow pichu with her paw, knocking her to her feet. Turning on her heel, the raichu walked away. Her husband did the same, and so did six other pichu._

" _Pichu!" One of them stopped to try to befriend her new sibling. However, the mother raichu came back and pulled her away, like she was about to be hit by a truck. The mother raichu ran away from the twig nest like she couldn't run fast enough. With that, the shiny pichu was all alone._

 _That didn't stop the little pichu from finding them later. The mother raichu laid down on her side as her seven children suckled on her stomach for milk. The dark yellow pichu climbed on top of her siblings to get some. The mother raichu, seeing this, instead nudged her away with her long tail. With a grunt, she closed her eyes and let her children feed. But the dark yellow pichu didn't give up. Once more, the pichu crawled over her siblings' heads to get some milk. Like before, the raichu's tail smacked her away. The shiny pichu tried twice, thrice, four times, five times. The result was the same: mother raichu's tail knocked her away, each and every time, preventing her from having any of her mother's milk._

 _The shiny pichu found herself flummoxed. Why don't her parents like her? She thought that they would love her in time, but the longer she waited, the more that possibility diminished. The raichu parents spent all their time with their other pichu. Feeding them, playing with them, teaching them everything they could, helping them to avoid predators, hunting for food, using electricity, etc. But when the shiny pichu tried to join them, they would always leave her out._

 _Sometimes, they would ignore her. One time, Hikaru fell into a small hole. She cried and cried for her parents to come save her. Although she saw a raichu's head peer into the whole, Hikaru thought she had come to save her. Alas, the raichu left. By the time Hikaru decided to climb out, night fell. When she tried to go near her siblings, her parents would jump in, either hissing at her or attempting to shock her with electricity. Hikaru never got any milk, only managing to drink water and munch on Pecha berries, since their hide is very soft and easy to eat. All the while, Hikaru wondered...why? Why did her parents hate her? Did she do something wrong? Hikaru was sure she didn't do anything to hurt anyone, so why?_

 _The cruel answer became clear one day, two weeks after her birth._

 _While hunting for berries, Hikaru found herself standing before a very large pokemon, far larger than she could ever be. Almost ten times her size, he was. A large yellow tiger with a curly purple mane. Hikaru curled into a fetal position, thinking he was going to eat her. Instead, the tiger asked in a deep, concerned voice, "What's wrong?"_

 _Hikaru shivered._

" _You can trust me. I won't hurt you."_

 _Gradually, Hikaru uncurled from her fetal position. "You...won't?"_

 _The tiger shook his head. "I am Raikou. I am the guardian of this place," Soon, Raikou noticed Hikaru's skin color. "Your fur and cheeks are darker than normal pichu."_

 _Normal. Hearing that word made Hikaru's skin crawl. "Is...is that bad?"_

" _I don't think so, no," Raikou replied kindly. "Where are your parents, child?"_

 _Hikaru's ears drooped downward, and she looked down at her feet with a dejected expression. "At the nest. They don't...like me…"_

 _This caught Raikou's attention. "Why do you say that, child?"_

" _I don't know why. They don't want me around them," Hikaru explained. "Mama won't let me suckle on her. She won't let my siblings play with me. They leave me all alone when I'm scared. They don't let me near them at all," An awful feeling surged up in her heart, and it made her chest feel tight. She had no idea how to describe it._

 _Raikou listened intently, saying nothing as Hikaru described what her parents would do. Once she finished, Raikou said, "That's no way for raichu to treat their children. May I go with you?" Raikou asked. "I want to see their behavior for myself."_

" _You're not gonna hurt them, are you?"_

" _I won't. But if they do something bad, I may need to resort to force if necessary, as much as I don't want to. Take me to your parents, child."_

 _Reluctantly, Hikaru escorted Raikou to her nest. Throughout the walk, Hikaru could feel the static electricity coming from the large tiger's body. In a way, it felt strangely warm. Hikaru found herself feeling safe around this large tiger despite the huge size difference. He seemed nice enough and didn't shun her when she talked to him. Maybe he could be a new friend. But what would her parents say if she brought him to them?_

 _Sure enough, there were two raichu sitting in the nest. At first, they were smiling, sharing Oran berries amongst themselves. Hikaru smiled and squeaked, "Hi Mama and Papa!" with a wave. As soon as they heard her voice, they turned to face her with scorn on their faces. It was enough to make Hikaru's smile fade away. What happened next would confirm both Hikaru and Raikou's worst fears. The mother raichu stood up, ambled over to the shiny pichu, and...let out a strong jolt of electricity. The yellow lightning bolt struck Hikaru, electrocuting her inside and out. Hikaru's insides burned with intense pain. Soon, the attack stopped. Raikou's mouth fell agape, and his eyes were wide with horror._

" _Why'd you do that?!" Hikaru wailed._

" _That is no way for a parent to treat their child!" Raikou roared, his tail standing straight up._

" _That thing came out wrong!" The mother raichu hissed scornfully, her croaky voice dripping with contempt. "It ain't no child of mine!"_

" _That thing is bad luck," The father raichu agreed, not even looking in Hikaru's direction. "Get it out of here. It'll attract predators, and we cannot afford to get killed."_

 _The electric tiger was completely beside himself. How could these parents just abandon their child and badmouth her while she's within their vicinity? They even talk about her as if she's not even a real pokemon, just an object. All he could see odd with the shiny pichu was her odd skin color. But that was it. He saw nothing about this pichu that warranted shame and abandonment. In his eyes, the pichu had done nothing wrong. There was nothing she had done to deserve being disowned._

 _All this time, Hikaru didn't move. Despair had possessed her, paralyzing, choking, freezing. Her suspicions were confirmed: her own parents absolutely hated her. To the core of their being. All because of her odd fur coloring. Hikaru couldn't understand. Why was her fur color a reason to hate her? Was it really that bad? All of a sudden, her eyesight blurred, and her cheeks were drowning in tears. Soon, a piercing wail escaped, unable to be contained. Her high pitched crying echoed throughout the forest. Flocks of pidgey flew away from the resulting wail._

" _Do you realize what you're doing?!" Raikou roared, right in the raichu's faces. "You're casting her out over something that isn't her fault! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"_

 _The father raichu turned away. "The only thing we are ashamed of is giving birth to that wretched, defective creature. It's lucky we didn't kill it."  
_

 _Hikaru continued to cry, not hearing any more of what her parents were saying. Everything they said earlier was enough to completely rip her heart to pieces, complete with blood pouring right out. Raikou could see it plain as day...and he was not going to stand for it. He stomped over to them and hissed, "So, that is the choice you make. Very well. I decree that you two are no longer welcome in my domain." He stared straight into their eyes, freezing them in place._

 _Both raichu's ears stood straight up. "What?!" They both stood up in alarm, eyes wide at the tiger's proclamation. "You cannot banish us!" The mother raichu growled. "Have you forgotten that we served you for years?!"_

 _The electric tiger didn't take his eyes off of them, giving them a glare that could easily kill them had it been any fiercer. Even the father raichu could see it wasn't worth it to try and argue with him. Raikou himself stopped listening to the mother raichu's complaining the minute he made his announcement. He wondered if he was the only one who had any kind of sense around here. Nonetheless, the shiny pichu deserved better than this, and he could see that there was no reasoning with them._

" _I rule this domain," Raikou dug his claws into the grass, unknowingly leaving some depressions in the ground. "And I make sure to treat all of my subjects with love and kindness, no matter their color, past, or character. I thought you would do the same," No longer did he look angry. The raichu could see disappointment on his face. Raikou shook his head. "You broke this sacred law, and for this, I must banish you."_

 _The mother raichu let out a growl. "After everything we've done for you…!" A thunder bolt escaped from her long tail. It hit Raikou straight on his face, but the electric tiger, being an electric type, wasn't fazed one bit. "At least let us keep our other children!"_

" _That I cannot allow," Raikou told them with nothing but seriousness in his voice. "If you cannot love your children for who they are, or love them and everything about them no matter what, then you shouldn't even be having children. Go now. Your children deserve better than this, your youngest included."_

 _Anger seeped out of both raichus' bodies, replaced with dejection. With each word Raikou said, they looked exactly like the shiny pichu they made cry: small, scared, and wretched. Finally, both raichu didn't say a word. "Go. You are not welcome here anymore."_

 _That was all. With that, the two raichu left. Not a trace of them was to be found. Raikou just sat down next to the still crying pichu. He wasn't sure how long she cried, but she certainly did a lot of it. It was understandable, really. Any child would be sad and frustrated if they were abandoned by their parents, especially for things that aren't their fault. Just thinking about it made Raikou feel like he was trapped under a pile of muk and grimer. How could any parent do such a terrible thing to their child? What made them think their child have odd colored fur was a bad omen? He couldn't imagine why. Did they still believe in lingering superstitions? He wasn't sure._

 _Still, this shiny pichu deserved better than them. No doubt about that. When Hikaru's sobbing quieted down, after five straight hours, Raikou simply licked Hikaru's fur with his large tongue, taking care not to knock her over. This kind gesture made Hikaru's crying finally cease. She looked up at Raikou and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"_

" _I must apologize on their behalf," Raikou told her. "I don't know why they chose to treat you the way they have," He kept himself at eye level so Hikaru could get a better look at him. "I see nothing about you that warrants that kind of horrible treatment."_

 _Hikaru's ears drooped downward. "They hate me."_

" _I don't."_

 _Her ears popped right back up, pointing to the sky. "Really? You don't?"_

 _Raikou shook his head. "I'm sorry for everything you went through. Would you mind...if I took care of you? I can be your father if that is what you wish," He told her kindly._

 _I can be your father. Never before had Hikaru heard anything so angelic. She could see the warmth and love in his eyes. Something inside her told her that he meant what he said. True, she had only met him just a few hours ago. But he stayed with her. He gave her parents a verbal lashing for the unlawful way they treated her. He didn't hate her for her odd fur color. He comforted her when she was upset. Something told her that he was the one. The one who would love her forever, no matter what. Once again, the tears returned. This time, they were tears of joy. She buried her face in his white cheeks._

" _Yes. Will you...be my daddy?" Hikaru sobbed._

" _I will, my child."_

(end flashback)

By the end of the story, Julia was a blubbering mess. She kept her whimpers soft so as to not wake anyone up, but not even covering her face was enough to keep her sadness inside. Already, her palms were wet with tears.

"Hikaru...I had no idea…" In a way, she could actually believe something like that happened. She had seen plenty of documentaries and TV shows about parents abusing or disowning their kids for things that aren't their fault, like disabilities or not being their perfect child. Not just parents, either-other adults could do it, if Mrs. Amoretto was anything to go by. She had even seen stories on the news about children getting killed by their parents over stupid things. Animals and pokemon were no different. It didn't make it any less cruel or painful.

Hikaru nodded in agreement. _"Raikou...was the best thing that ever happened to me…"_ She added wistfully. A single tear streamed out from her eye, dissolving when it touched her red cheek. Some electricity had fried it down to nothing. _"He didn't hate me because I looked different. He taught me everything I knew."_

(flashback)

 _Life blossomed for Hikaru when Raikou adopted her. Every chance he could, Raikou showered the shiny pichu with all the love and affection a father could give to the apple of their eye. He praised her when she did something good, comforted her when she was sad, scolded her when she did something she shouldn't have, taught her the essential life skills she needed to survive, etc. Foraging for food, holding off enemies with electricity when the situation called for it, running across the meadows and through the forests, etc. By the time the first snow came, Hikaru didn't even consider the two raichu her parents anymore._

 _To her, Raikou was her true parent. In fact, when she got lost in the forest one time, she sat in front of a tree, crying for him to come and get her. Sure enough, he did, and she took shelter in his warm, fluffy mane as they walked back. It was like she had been reborn, this time as a pichu who wasn't different or hated for her fur color. She had even become friends with other pokemon, and sure enough, they didn't mind her fur color. Whenever there were those who would shun her, Raikou would gently explain that her odd fur color isn't anything to be ashamed of, just something that's part of nature. Sometimes odd things happen, but they're not bad. Seeing him change their ways with just a few kind words only deepened Hikaru's respect for Raikou._

 _However, her strange fur color wasn't the only thing about Hikaru that was different. She would see her siblings fire little thunder jolts at each other, playing pretend battle or testing their powers. Afterward, they would get themselves hurt and be unable to continue for a while. Raikou explained that pichu's cheeks are unable to store electricity properly, so if they attack others, they unknowingly hurt themselves in the process. During a battle with some rattata, Hikaru was able to drive them away from her berry stash with just a few thunder shocks. Oddly enough, she didn't feel tired or hurt._

" _Daddy? How come other pichu shock themselves and I don't?" She asked curiously._

" _Well…" Raikou ruminated, losing himself in trying to give her an answer. "I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because we trained together," He replied. "I've heard stories about pichu training under different pokemon and becoming better at containing and controlling their electricity as a result. Perhaps you've gotten stronger."_

 _A good enough answer. Raikou is one of the strongest electric pokemon out there. She considered herself quite lucky to have Raikou in her life. Not only did she adopt her out of the kindness of his heart, but helped her get stronger. Not only that, she knew an attack only a few pichu could learn: Disarming Voice. Only fairy pokemon knew that move, with a few exceptions. A voltorb explained that her father knew the attack, so she must have naturally inherited knowledge of the attack from him. Hikaru's fur stood up in anger. She had come to resent her parents for their decisions, and inheriting something from them made her feel like she was still connected with them. Then again, this new attack could prove to be useful._

 _Those raichu weren't her parents, she told herself. Her only parent was Raikou. He loved her for her, and that was all that mattered. However, the happiness and peaceful life they shared would soon come to a very abrupt end._

 _On a warm, clear day, Hikaru was ambling in the woods, plucking flowers from the grass in a variety of colors. Purple, white, and pink. It had been a year since she was born, and she thought this would be a great way to thank Raikou for raising her. As she gathered flowers, she sang a jolly tune to herself, losing herself in the quiet atmosphere around her._

 _A harsh rumbling in the ground made the earth shake. Hikaru lost her balance and fell on her stomach, dropping the flowers she worked so hard to pick. When the rumbling stopped, she pulled herself up and shook off the shock. Grass blades got caught in the fur on her ears. Screams and howls echoed in the air. Flocks of bird pokemon flew out of their trees. More rumbling sounds followed the big one, but were much smaller in scale, so Hikaru didn't wobble and fall like last time._

 _Electric pokemon of all kinds ran right past her, along with some oddish, nidoran, rattata, and a few others. Hikaru found herself confused. Why were they running? A rattata suddenly approached her and shouted, "Hurry! You gotta run for your life!" The desperation in his voice was unmistakable._

" _What's going on?"_

" _Pokemon hunters, that's what!" The rattata screeched fearfully. "Bad people are here with big machines! They're gonna kill us or steal us or skin us or sell us or Arceus knows what else! You gotta run for your life, kid!"_

 _Hunters. This was the first time she heard the word. It sounded so strange yet so menacing. But she had heard plenty of tales about bad humans taking pokemon against their will and doing horrible things to them. Some were so terrible, the pokemon who told those tales were still traumatized by their experiences. But only one thing came to her mind, and she was quick to ask the rattata, "Where's Raikou? Is he okay?"_

" _He's fightin' them off right now!" The rattata huffed. "But he's got no chance against them! Gotta run!" With that, the frightened rattata scurried for his life._

 _Raikou was fighting them off. Hikaru scurried up a big tree to see what was going on. In the distance, she could see large, shiny black machines with long claws reaching for whatever was within reach. There were three of them total. Hikaru's body shivered with fear. Lightning bolts shot out from the forest. She could recognize them from a mile away. "That's Daddy's lightning!" She scurried down the tree and made a beeline for the northern part of the forest. Raikou might be in danger. There was no way she was going to stand by and let her father die._

 _She scurried past rows of trees, both in tact and knocked over by the big machines. Some of the trees fell on the ground, blocking the path completely, their trunks looking as though someone had ripped them right off. Hikaru wasn't one to be deterred by obstacles like this, as she had enough experience with climbing to easily get over it. She hopped over the tree, seeing more destruction. Large footprints left big depressions in the soil. If she fell in, she could easily break her neck or skull and die._

 _The pichu took care to stealthily walk around the big footprints. However, she didn't get very far, as something got in her way. The hem of a long, black leather coat. Hikaru looked up to find a creature she had never seen before, far bigger and taller than she was. The creature stood on two long legs, with long arms, and had short silver hair, apricot colored skin, and a light grey machine strapped to her left arm. The creature was wearing a black leather jacket over red pants, red high heels, and matching fingerless gloves. Her steely blue eyes were cold as ice, and Hikaru didn't see any warmth in them. In fact, just seeing this woman made her freeze in place._

" _Hmm...this is a rare find," The woman mused in an icy voice. She reached her hand out to grab Hikaru. She reacted too slow, so Hikaru wasn't able to escape. She found herself being lifted off the ground, dangling in the air. Screeching and howling, she struggled to break free. "I'm definitely going to make a mint off of you."_

" _DADDY!" Hikaru screamed as loud as she could muster. "DADDY! WHERE ARE YOOOOOUUUUU?!"_

" _Stop struggling, you little runt," The woman hissed._

 _Right then and there, a yellow flash of lightning shot down before the woman, surprising her into letting Hikaru go. The woman took three steps back to evade the lightning. Hikaru rolled on the ground, stopping at a small bush. She looked up to find Raikou standing before the woman, howling at her with a mighty roar. "You will leave my child alone!"_

" _Daddy!" For a moment, Hikaru wanted to hug him. He was okay! But three more strange creatures, all dressed in black outfits, ran over to the woman with grey machines in their hands._

" _Master J! Are you alright?!" One man asked._

" _I'm fine!" The silver haired woman, J, replied. "Catch that Raikou and the shiny pichu!" She commanded in a booming, still icy voice._

" _Yes, ma'am!" A man pulled out a box and said something as J darted into the bushes._

 _A large machine appeared. Large claws protruded from it. Raikou blasted them away with lightning bolts, but it wasn't enough to make them retreat. Hikaru hid in the bushes so J and her comrades wouldn't find her. All of a sudden, blue rays of light shot out from all three machines, wrapping themselves all around Raikou. The yellow tiger struggled to break free, scratching at them, flailing and writhing, but nothing he did worked. All of a sudden, his entire body burned, and he howled in pain._

" _Daddy! No!" Hikaru cried. Her heart was screaming at her to go save him. But what could she do? She was a tiny pichu, helpless against giant machines._

" _Pichu!" Raikou yelled. "Run away! Leave this forest or they'll catch you!" Hikaru's ears twitched. "Run as far away from here as you can!"_

 _Run away? Hikaru shivered. How could she possibly do that? "And leave you here?! I can't! No!"_

" _Yes you can!" Raikou roared. His body burned as the energy from the blue light net trapping him surged through him. "I won't let them take you away! You're a strong girl! Get away from here! Please!"_

" _What about you?!"_

" _Don't worry about me! I'll find a way out of this! Now go! GO!"_

 _Hikaru didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave her father here at the mercy of those machines. The one pokemon who treated her like she was his own...how was she going to live without him? And he was expecting her to leave him? But at the same time, those humans could easily catch her. No way was she going to be hunted. With a heavy heart, she scurried deep into the forest. "Run! Faster, my chikd! Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!"_

 _Don't look back, he said. Hikaru ran through the thick woods with every ounce of energy she had in her body. Her tiny legs burned the more she ran, but she couldn't let those creatures catch her. But she had to heed Raikou's advice. Run as fast as she could, away from those creatures. She wasn't sure how long or how far she ran, but she didn't even stop to eat or drink. Finally, her body gave out, and she fell right into a mud puddle. Sticky brown soil stuck to her yellow fur as she gasped for breath, her lungs burning, her tiny legs feeling heavy, like a pile of berries she would gather. The moon was high in the night sky, surrounded by its beautiful stars._

 _The reality of the situation hit her right then and there. She was all alone. Raikou was gone. That J woman and the machines took him. She couldn't save him. Tears came pouring right out as she bawled into her dirty paws. With passionate wails, she cried in the night, assuming she was far, far away from those two-legged creatures and their big machines. For all she knew, Raikou could be hurt or killed. He got himself trapped saving her life. Was it her fault he was gone? She cried just like she did when the raichu disowned her. Soon, sleep took over, and she found herself sleeping in mud._

 _Raikou's screams and roars surged in her mind as she slept. Was he okay? Was he hurt, or even dead? She couldn't bear to think of such a horrible thought. When morning came, Hikaru knew that in her heart, she was going to have to survive on her own. For now, anyway. She hoped everything Raikou taught her would help somehow. She knew how to forage for berries, fend off enemies, and even battle if she could._

 _Hikaru survived on her own for eight whole days, eating berries and acorns, sleeping in bushes and abandoned thickets. So far, no wild pokemon had attacked her. On one day, her stomach roared like a Raikou, begging for food. She looked up to find an Oran berry tree within her vicinity, with fresh Oran berries dangling from the branches. Using what little energy she had, she scurried up the tree, plucked three berries off, and ate them all, one at a time. Already, her energy had returned._

 _Bzzzt. A buzzing sound made Hikaru's ears twitch in fear. The fur on her body stood up all at once. Bzzzzt! There it was again. Hikaru turned around to come face to face with glowing red eyes. At least ten of them. All of them belonging to beedrill._

" _This is OUR berry tree, you runt!"_

" _You little thief!"_

" _Nobody gets away with stealing our berries!"_

" _Piiiii!" Hikaru let out a thundershock, driving some away, giving herself a chance to scurry down the tree and run for her life. The beedrill were in hot pursuit, chasing her with their large stingers ready for piercing and stabbing. Hikaru blasted them with a few more thundershocks, but since the beedrill could fly, they evaded the attacks easily._

 _One beedrill's stinger turned purple as it aimed at the yellow mouse, shooting glowing purple lines of energy. Hikaru zigzagged from side to side, evading the stingers. Unfortunately, three of them struck Hikaru right in the back. She didn't stop running, but her body began to burn from the inside, like someone had set it on fire. Her breathing became labored, and it felt as though her lungs were being closed up. She had to run. She had to. She wasn't going to die here. But...was this how it was going to end? Her short life would be gone before she even had a chance to see Raikou again._

(end flashback)

" _...And then I met you right after,"_ Hikaru confessed. Once again, Julia silently listened attentively, her sobbing having ceased. _"I heard stories that humans were bad. I thought you were going to kill me. But you saved me instead,"_ With a smile, Julia stroke her little friend's yellow head with one hand.

"You've really been through a lot, haven't you?" Julia asked. The dark yellow mouse nodded. "Can I ask...why you never told me any of this before?"

A silent pause permeated the air until Hikaru broke it. _"I...I thought...Raikou was really dead. I didn't think...I'd see him again,"_ Hikaru confessed, her voice quivering. _"And I wasn't sure if you'd believe me,"_ The dark yellow mouse wiped a tear out of her eye.

Julia let out a sigh. Hikaru really had been through a lot. She was disowned by her parents because they couldn't accept that she was different, the only pokemon who stepped up to be her parent was likely kidnapped by Team Rocket, and she had to survive all on her own. Julia wondered how such a tiny mouse pokemon was able to survive all of that and still go on living. She had to give Hikaru credit, she was a much stronger pichu than she gave her credit for. Far stronger than Julia was.

"Hikaru? Can I ask you something?" Julia asked. Hikaru nodded, gesturing for her to go on. "When we were being chased by the beedrill...why did you try to save me? You were a wild pokemon. You heard stories about bad humans, so...why?"

The dark yellow mouse fell silent for a brief moment. Julia decided not to push it, so she let Hikaru think. The morning sky had become a touch brighter, with pink and orange streaks peeking out from the horizon, giving Ecruteak City an ephemeral air about it. Some street lights had turned themselves off. _"I...I was so convinced that I was going to die,"_ Hikaru began sheepishly. _"I thought you would just leave me there. Because of my...fur color. Or kill me,"_ Her ears drooped downward. _"But you didn't. You tried to save me, even though we both might have been killed."_

Although she was weak and disoriented that day, the memory of their first meeting was strong in the little pichu's mind. Her body burning with that painful poison surging through her body. Julia holding her close and running from the beedrill horde with everything she had. Julia shielding Hikaru from the beedrill's stinger despite the potential danger. She could sense the girl's compassion and feel her desire to save her life. _"It was like being with Raikou again. I couldn't save him...but you were so nice to me...I thought I'd at least try to help you, weak as I was!"_

"We both might have been killed if Mom hadn't saved us," Julia told her. All of a sudden, the trainer scooped her pichu in her arms and held her close. Hikaru found her face buried in her trainer's chest, catching the scent of freshly washed fabric. It almost smelled sweet, like roses. Maybe it was the detergent she used. Julia's soft hands traced her back and her head, holding her like a mother would embrace her child. "I love you, Hikaru. You know that, right?" She asked in a low, dulcet whisper.

A warm feeling enveloped Hikaru's heart. She had always felt it, but never got used to it. Julia had showered the pichu with nothing but unbridled love, care, and affection since that day. She never even so much as noticed her odd fur color, and if she did, she never stopped loving her for it. Was this what it was like to have a mother? Hikaru wasn't sure. Why couldn't the raichu who gave birth to her be like her and Raikou?

" _I love you, too. I always have and I always will!"_

"Those raichu are stupid. They're really missing out on how wonderful you are," Julia told her. "I'd love to be like your mom, but…"

" _You're already my mommy!"_ Hikaru bawled into the girl's robe. All Julia did was stroke her little friend's back. To her, Hikaru was Hikaru, a sweet little pichu whose fur color was just different, that's all. She saw nothing about her that warranted shame and abandonment. If she ever met those raichu, she'd want to give them an epic tongue-lashing. No matter what, Hikaru was her friend, and she would love her until the day they perished. Nothing would change that.

For the first time in a long while, Hikaru felt as though she were reunited with Raikou. This time, she was happy. Happy that Raikou was at least safe. How he managed to escape those machines still confused her, but maybe she and Julia and the rest of the gang could figure it out together. Right now, she just wanted to spend this morning with her beloved trainer.

"Eevee!" A squeak pulled them both out of their loving embrace. Julia turned around to find an eevee right behind her. An eevee with the purple accessory in her fur.

"Lucretia!" Julia exclaimed. "Sorry! Did we make you worry?"

"Eevee eevee," ( _"I saw you leave and wanted to make sure you were safe."_ ) Lucretia told her, sitting down before the two. _"I overheard everything."_

"So you heard about what happened with Hikaru?" Julia asked. Lucretia nodded, her smile unchanging. The fluffy eevee simply walked over to Hikaru and gave her a lick on her head. Julia simply smiled and cuddled them both. "I guess we have a lot in common, don't we?"

"Pichu!"

"Eevee!"

* * *

Since they didn't want Kassia and the others to worry, the trio went back to the Pokemon Center and managed to make it back inside without waking them up. It was about 9:00 AM when Kassia had her bags ready. "Sorry, Julia. I have to go back home. I need to take care of the ranch," Without a word, Julia hugged her mother warmly, knowing she would have to go back sometime. "It was wonderful seeing you."

"I wish you could stay longer, but I know you need to take care of the pokemon back at home," Julia told her.

"I know, sweetie. I'm glad I got to see you," Kassia stroke her daughter's hair with one hand. "Now, you all take good care of each other. Okay?"

"We sure will," Perrine said.

Caiseal held a fist to his chest. "You can count on us, Mrs Parisa!"

"Pichu!" Even Hikaru had to chime in at one point.

"If there's anything you need, call me and let me know. I'll tell your father and the pokemon at home you said hi," Kassia told her, pulling her into another hug once more. Julia basked in her mother's warmth and affection one last time. With a goodbye, Julia's mother waved at her and went into a yellow taxi headed for the airport.

"Bye, Mom…" Julia whispered to herself. Already, she wanted her mother back. But she knew she had come this far on her own. Besides, she'll see her again. It wasn't as though it was the last time she'll see her.

"So...where's the next gym?" Caiseal asked.

Perrine pulled up the map function on her PokeGear. She zoomed in on one town by the tea. "Olivine City is nearby," Perrine replied, her blue eyes widening. "How about we go there?"

"Sure. I don't mind," Julia added.

"But before all of that…" Perrine turned to the kids and clasped her hands together. "Can we stop by the Ecruteak Theater before we leave?"

Julia and Caiseal both looked at each other. "How come?" Caiseal asked. It didn't take long for Julia to figure out what she was talking about.

"Oh! I get it! You want to see the Kimono Girls perform at the theater?" Julia asked. "You're a big fan of them, aren't you?"

"The biggest!" Perrine added. "Thanks so much! I've been dying to see their show again at least once!" The kids prepared for their upcoming trip, listening to Perrine palaver on about the Kimono Girls. "My mom took me here once when I was nine, and I just absolutely loved it!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Caiseal asked, ready for adventuring. "Let's go!" But before they left, Julia wanted to do one last thing before leaving: exchange Tsubasa for Ladybug.

* * *

 **Chapter 17 will be up when I get the motivation to work on it. I have a LOT of projects to work on this weekend, plus I've been having a bad week overall. I keep losing stuff like my school ID and my favorite jean jacket! My mind is all scrambled and I hate it! I'm at least glad my Japanese class is done reading this one book. I can't wait to chuck it out my window...or sell it to a textbook store for a buck or two.**

 **Random Fact: The name Amara uses to disguise her real name, Andrea, is actually my big sister's name. I wanted to use something else but I couldn't come up with anything better.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Graveler, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude**


	23. Miltank and Mishaps

Chapter 17: Miltank and Mishaps

The Ecruteak City Theater was the town's most well known performing arts building. It was established about 500 years ago, when kabuki performers wanted to put on shows for their audiences during hard times and perform ceremonies worshipping pokemon. It has since been preserved throughout the centuries, and people continue to perform in there as though things had never changed. Noh plays, kabuki plays, regular plays, musicals, concerts for up and coming bands, comedy shows, singing, etc. It wasn't very large, and could only hold about fifty people at full capacity.

On the way to the theater, Perrine palavered on and on about the Kimono Girls. All of them are descended from the people who built Tin and Brass Tower as a way to show the harmony between pokemon and people, working together with pokemon to create a peaceful world. Before Brass Tower was burned down, that is. All the daughters were expected to perform certain dances and rituals in order to worship pokemon. There have been some girls who went off to fulfill their own dreams, such as being a doctor, lawyer, video game developer, writer, cartoonist, etc., so it wasn't as though they weren't allowed to pursue their own desires.

"I met one named Zuki back when I was in Violet City," Julia piped in as Hikaru sat on her shoulder, basking in the milky morning light. "She was really nice."

"Zuki's my favorite!" Perrine exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. Her blue eyes twinkled as though the sun had reflected off the ocean, turning it into a pool of liquid amber. "She's elegant, swift, and a great pokemon battler, too! She has an umbreon as her signature pokemon, and she always has the prettiest kimonos!"

"I heard they all use evolved forms of eevee," Caiseal added as he wrote a word in a crossword puzzle book he was carrying. "Is that true?"

"Yep!" Perrine nodded, confirming his theory. She held up her fingers and counted them. "Naoko has an espeon, Zuki has an umbreon, Sayo has a jolteon, Kuni has a vaporeon, and Miki has a flareon! I hear there's supposed to be three more Kimono Girls joining them in a few more years, though."

Julia found herself lost in thought. As far as she knew, eevee could evolve into eight different pokemon. She wondered what Lucretia would want to evolve into. The rambunctious flareon? The gentle vaporeon? The swift jolteon? The elegant espeon? The mystical umbreon? Thinking about it made her heart pound in her chest somewhat. But in the end, she knew it had to be Lucretia's decision. If she wanted her to evolve into something like a vaporeon, Lucretia might decide she may want to be a jolteon instead. In her mind, a good trainer always respected their pokemon's decisions, except extreme ones.

"I can't wait to see them perform again!" Perrine exclaimed cheerfully, spinning around on the street. Her brown skirt came alive as she spun like a top. Kitsune did the same, spinning on one of her back paws to imitate her trainer's dancing.

"Vuuuulpix!" ( _"Dancing exemplifies elegance!"_ ) Kitsune chimed in. Even Florian joined in, standing on his back legs, waving his leaf around in a circle.

"Chiko chikori!" ( _"Kitsune! Wanna dance with me?"_ ) When he stopped spinning, he offered his leaf out to Kitsune. With a smile, she put her paw on his leaf, and the two four-legged pokemon danced as though they were in a fancy ballroom, performing a clumsy little waltz. The kids couldn't hold back laughter, watching the two pokemon play pretend dance.

Caiseal stared at the blue sky with an ambivalent expression, his hazel eyes watching the clouds, lost in thought. "I saw them dance before. I thought it was kinda boring," He mused.

The orange haired girl crossed her arms and looked away. "You don't have any appreciation for the art of dance, now do you?" Perrine retorted. "Oh well. I suppose everyone has their preferences."

"Now now," Julia held both hands out. "It's not nice to make fun of what people like or dislike."

"Yeah." Caiseal nodded toward Julia in agreement. "What she said."

"Pichu?" All of a sudden, Hikaru's ears stood up with a twitch.

Julia turned in her shiny friend's direction. "What's wrong, Hikaru?"

"Pichu pichu!" ( _"I hear shouting over there!"_ ) Hikaru pointed to the theater in the distance. Florian and Kitsune, hearing the shouting also, stopped their pretend dancing and listened carefully. The kids did the same. Hikaru was right. Shrill cries echoed in the distance, and they came from the theater.

"Let's go check it out," Perrine suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and ran over to the scene.

As they approached the theater entrance, they stopped in their tracks. A woman stood in between a red and yellow pokemon and Yannick, who aimed his whip right at her, staring her down with an icy stare. The kids' mouths fell open. They had seen him and Margeaux get arrested. He escaped again? How did he do it? The woman's black hair was tied into a Mt. Silver style with PokeBall shaped accessories holding it up. Her bright red kimono had yellow and orange flames embroidered all over it, with a crimson obi wrapped around her waist. The pokemon behind her was a fluffy red feline with a large tuft of pale yellow fur wrapped around its neck, matching its tail and the tuft on its head.

"I have said it before and I will say it again!" The kimono girl exclaimed, her voice cool and collected, yet still had an air of elegance about it. "You will not steal my flareon, and that is final!"

"Flare!" Flareon howled, coughing out a red hot flame as a warning to stay away from its trainer.

Caiseal held up his PokeDex, holding it over the flareon. _"Flareon, the flame pokemon,"_ Julia wondered why the PokeDex didn't call flareon a fiery cat. It looked nothing like a flame. Flames didn't have ears, eyes, mouths, or four legs. _"And one of eight evolved forms of eevee, only available through use of a Fire Stone. It has a flame chamber inside its body, and if it stores enough thermal energy, its body temperature can soar up to over 1,600 degrees fahrenheit. The flames it expels can reach up to 3,000 degrees, capable of causing fatal fourth degree burns upon contact._ _Flareon's fluffy fur has a functional purpose-it releases heat into the air so that its body does not get excessively hot."_

"Give it up, lady!" Yannick roared, cracking his whip at the woman. She was able to evade it by stepping back. "Your flareon is mine or else!"

The woman balled her free fist and pointed her green fan at Yannick in an authoritative stance. "Flareon, drive him away with Fire Spin!"

"Flaaaaaaare!" With a shrill cry, flareon expelled a spiraling tornado of flames at the Team Rocket grunt. Oddly enough, the white clad man wasn't fazed. He pulled out a machine and pressed a red button. A glowing dome appeared, shielding him from the flames. Soon, both the flames and the dome dispersed. Yannick's lips curled upward, sporting a smile that looked as though it belonged to a psychopath.

"Machoke. Come forth," Yannick threw a PokeBall in the woman's direction. The capsule opened, shooting out a white light that took the shake of a grey skinned, muscular humanoid wearing only a black speedo and a shiny gold wrestling belt. It's bulging arms had bloody red stripes going across them vertically in threes, and protruding from its head were light grey horns. It's red eyes gleamed like those of a wild beast on the hunt for its prey, fitting for its reptilian face.

"Machoooooke!"

Caiseal pointed the PokeDex at the grey pokemon. _"Machoke, the superpower pokemon, and the evolved form of Machop. Since machoke have enough strength to lift a giant truck in the air with one hand, they are often used by humans to handle extremely heavy work. They are usually modest in nature, and the belt around its waist modulates their strength to prevent it from going out of control. Machoke undertakes bodybuilding every day even as it helps people with tough, physically demanding labor. On its days off, this Pokémon heads to the fields and mountains to exercise and train. Machoke's thoroughly toned muscles possess the hardness of steel. This Pokémon has so much strength, it can easily hold aloft a sumo wrestler on just one finger. Its muscles become thicker after every battle."_

It was at this time that Florian stopped to observe the scene. Flareon hissed at the towering grey pokemon, unafraid, the fur on its neck and tail standing straight up. Yannick cracked his whip. "Machoke! Use Seismic Toss!"

"Hey! Florian!" All of a sudden, the little chikorita suddenly whipped his leaf in a circular motion. "Chiiiiko!" ( _"Leave them alone!"_ ) Sharp, crescent shaped leaves flew right at the muscular pokemon, hitting him straight on the torso. The sharp leaves left small cuts on his abs, and the pain made the machoke take two steps back as he winced. Perrine's mouth fell agape. Florian just went and saved that woman and her pokemon. Florian turned to her with red eyes gleaming, as though to say, "I want to help them!"

There was no way she could refuse to let Florian stand up for what was right. She would do the same. With a nod, she and Caiseal stepped into the fray. "So you escaped from jail again, huh?!" Perrine yelped, with Florian adopting a battle stance. "Can't you take a hint?"

Silently, Julia approached the woman and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thank you. I'm Miki," The woman replied in a soft, dulcet voice. Julia couldn't help but notice it had a slightly mature tone to it.

"I'll call the police. You and flareon stay inside, if you want," Julia already had her PokeGear out and ready.

"I appreciate it, but I'd like to battle alongside your friends."

Flareon shared her sentiment and stood right next to Florian with the exact same battle stance as before. Julia went inside to call the police so as to avoid trouble. Caiseal had already sent out his oddish, Viole. "Tch! You kids won't stop getting in my way, now will you? Machoke, beat them bloody!" Yannick shouted.

Shivers of ice ran through both of their spines. He said that command as though he wanted his machoke to kill them with his bare fists. Before machoke could land a punch, vines shot out from Florian's neck, coiling right around the machoke's arm. "Viole, use Stun Spore!" With a nod, the little oddish waved his leaves back and forth like a fan, causing a gold cloud of sparkling dust to billow out in front of the machoke. With his free hand, the machoke covered his mouth.

"Use Low Kick!" On Yannick's command, the muscular pokemon stuck his foot out, swiping at Florian and Viole, sending them rolling on the ground. The force was strong enough to cause Florian to release the machoke.

"Chiko!" But the little chikorita stood right back on his feet. Hikaru ran over to help Viole up.

"Pichu pichu?" ( _"Are you okay, Viole?"_ )

"Odd odd oddish!" ( _"No. My legs hurt and it's that machoke's fault!"_ ) Viole snapped.

"Disarming Voice, Hikaru!" A spiral of pink hearts and circles shot right out from Hikaru's mouth, hitting the machoke right on the face.

"Karate Chop!"

"Reflect!"

Florian's leaf glowed in a white light as the machoke came sprinting at him with a fist. A glass panel suddenly materialized in between them. Machoke's fist made contact, pressing onto the glass, unable to break through. "Push him away!" Perrine yelled. With a shrill cry, Florian threw himself and the glass panel at machoke, making him stumble backward three steps.

"Quick Attack, Flareon!" Miki cried, holding her fan up in the air. Flareon was enveloped in a white light as the red feline threw himself at machoke once more, knocking him to the ground.

"Caiseal! Go inside and see if anyone's in there!" Perrine shouted. "If so, protect them at all costs!"

"You got it!" Caiseal made a mad dash for the theater, hoping nobody inside was hurt. Viole followed suit, covering Caiseal's rear.

All of a sudden, a shadow loomed over Perrine. She was quick to look up, but fear seized her. Yannick towered over her, with his whip ready to pierce her skin. Florian saw him coming and his red eyes flared up with determination. "Chiko chiko chikoooooo!" ( _"You are NOT gonna hurt my trainer, you brute!"_ ) With great force, the tiny chikorita sprinted toward Yannick and headbutted him, sending him rolling on the concrete. His whip fell right out of his hand, but this didn't stop him from getting on his knees.

"You little rat!" Yannick growled, his eyes seething with rage. "Machoke! Kill it!"

"No!" Perrine yelped.

"Chikoooooo!" It happened right then and there. A white light consumed Florian from leaf to toe, blinding everyone within his vicinity. Even machoke had to cover his eyes. Florian suddenly grew in size, growing to reach Perrine's height, possibly taller. His legs grew longer and bigger, his neck grew longer, the dots on his neck grew outward, and a hole was in the leaf on his head. Finally, the light dissipated, and out came a new Florian. Florian was now a dinosaur-like creature about Perrine's size, with large, curled up leaves circling his neck. His red eyes grew bigger, and a piece of his leaf was cut off, shaped like a circle. Other than that, he didn't look too different from before. "Baaaaye!" Not even his comically squeaky voice changed.

"Florian! You evolved!" Overcome with joy, Perrine leaped on her friend's neck and nuzzled him sweetly. Florian returned the gesture by rubbing his head against hers.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex this time. _"Bayleef, the leaf pokemon, and the evolved form of chikorita. Bayleef's neck is ringed by curled-up leaves. Inside each tubular leaf is a small shoot of a tree. The fragrance of each shoot is spicy, and said aroma is a stimulant proven to restore health and energy, energizing people to the point of perking them up and making them want to fight. Over the years, many doctors have used Bayleef's fragrant shoots as medicine for patients with ailments such as depression, fatigue, stress-related ailments, and exhaustion. They are typically found in grasslands with lots of water. Male bayleef exude strong, spicy scents, whereas female bayleef give off bitter and natural aromas. As of recent years, bayleef have been used as therapy pokemon for their healing properties and affectionate, docile nature."_

"My," Miki held her fan to her mouth, feigning surprise, hiding her smile. "What an excellent turn of events."

"Awesome!" Julia jumped up once.

Yannick let out a grunt before hissing, "So your weak pokemon evolved. Big deal. Machoke, use Submission!"

"Fire Spin!"

"Razor Leaf!"

"Thundershock!"

A lightning bolt, a spiral of fire, and a barrage of sharp leaves bombarded the helpless machoke before he could roll into a fetal position. A cloud of smoke exploded throughout the area, making it hard to see. All of a sudden, small rockets shot out from the black backpack on Yannick's back, spitting fire, pulling the white clad man into the sky.

"No!" Miki was the first to get out of the smoke cloud, watching helplessly as Yannick flew into the sky. Sirens wailed in the distance, and flareon could see ghostly red and blue lights flashing, coming their way.

Perrine called Fukuro out of his PokeBall. "Fukuro! Blow all this smoke away!" With a nod, the noctowl flapped his wings vigorously, blowing the smoke into nothing.

When the police came, Miki and the kids told them what happened. It had started when Yannick suddenly barged into the theater, demanding that everyone inside hand over their pokemon. Miki and her flareon had held them off and tossed them outside, but he wouldn't give up. The rest was history. Once they finished, the police scurried off in their police cars to search for the escaped grunt. The good news was that nobody was hurt.

Miki gave the children a polite bow. Her flareon did the same. "I must thank you all for coming to my aid," She told them in a low but dulcet voice. "You displayed such courage in that battle."

"It's nothing, really," Perrine scratched her orange hair. Florian just flashed a big smile and squeaked, "Bay bay!"

"We're just glad you and everyone else is okay," Julia said as Hikaru hopped on her shoulder.

"We've dealt with that guy before," Caiseal explained. "Still," He put a hand on his chin, losing himself in his thoughts. "This is the second time he's escaped from jail. How did he get out?"

"Beats me," Julia added.

"By the way," Perrine suddenly took one of Miki's hands into her arm. "I'm such a huge fan of your work!" Her blue eyes sparkled like sunlight reflecting off the ocean, brimming with overflowing joy. "I love you and your sisters!"

Miki's cheeks developed some pink spots. "My, I'm glad to hear it."

"Is it true you guys perform here? We came here so we could watch one of your shows!"

"That's sweet of you," Miki told her kindly. "Unfortunately, my sisters and I won't be performing until another week or so."

"A week?!" The three kids exclaimed in perfect unison.

"Next Tuesday to be exact," Miki explained, giving an apologetic bow. Julia couldn't help but be happy that she gave them an exact date. "Ecruteak is going to hold its annual Pokemon Celebration Festival that day, and we perform in the theater so as to show the bond we humans share with pokemon," Miki dug through the pockets of her kimono and pulled out some brochures. There were exactly three of them, all having pictures of large bird pokemon painted on them. "You can watch us then. I'm only here right now to make sure preparations are in order."

Before any of them could answer, Perrine suddenly shouted, "We will! Definitely!" Caiseal and Julia looked at each other, raising eyebrows. Miki smiled, waved goodbye to them, and returned to the theater. With that, the kids returned to the Pokemon Center.

"We're seriously staying here for a week?!" Caiseal yelped, cradling Viole in his arms. "That'll take forever! I wanna go to Olivine and beat Jasmine already!"

Perrine held up an index finger and said, "There's more to life than gym battles, Caiseal. They say good things come to those who wait, and I'm gonna wait patiently," Julia begged to differ. She could see Perrine kicking her legs up and down, back and forth, like she would when she was impatient during class.

"I don't mind staying a while," Julia told him as she pulled one of her shoes off. A pebble came bouncing right out, falling onto the tile floor. "I haven't been to a festival like this in a while. They have lots of goodies you can't buy anywhere else! Besides," Julia explained, putting her shoe back on. "It's not like we need to rush into things. We can battle the gyms whenever, right?"

The blonde boy let out a sigh. "You do raise a good point," Caiseal said, brushing some hair out of his face.

"Yeeek!" Perrine squealed, shaking her fists up and down. "I wonder if Meiko will be there?! She was a Kimono Girl before she retired! She writes my absolute favorite novel series, The Jammin' Ninja!" The orange haired girl was practically glowing. Julia had to look away, as the sight of Perrine's overflowing happiness was just too overwhelming. But she was happy for her, so she figured she might as well bear with it. Besides, maybe the festival will be fun. The extra time will give them more chances to do some training with their pokemon.

All throughout the week, the kids tried to pass the time so Perrine would see her favorite Kimono Girls perform. Pokemon training, walking around the city, shopping, playing games, there was a lot to do. Gradually, signs of the festival began to appear. People began setting up stands for whatever they were selling. Dolls, toys, food, clothes, etc. Bird shaped paper lanterns dotted the city, tied together with strings circling all over, lit with small candle flames contained in glass containers so the paper wouldn't catch on fire. People were on the streets dancing or rehearsing comedy acts. Pokemon were performing stunts, like jumping through a hoop, acting out little skits, etc.

Finally, the day arrived, and the whole town was abuzz with activity. The first thing the kids did was go to the theater, since Perrine was itching to see the Kimono Girls in their natural habitat. The kids found themselves awestruck as they watched the Kimono Girls perform. Elegant, fluid motions in perfect unison, waving their fans, holding up their umbrellas, tapping their geta sandals against the wooden stage floor...in a way, it was a sight to behold. But for others, it was as common as night and day. Perrine's starstruck eyes were glued to the stage, watching the girls dance with unparalleled elegance.

The rest of the festival proved to be quite fun, too. But there was one thing Julia wanted to remind everyone. "Guys! Don't spend all your money here, okay? We need it for our travels!" Julia told them. Her parents had drilled it into her that she shouldn't spend all her money all at once. Sometimes it was good to save it in case of emergencies. Although Julia was far away from her parents right now, she still felt as though their rules had a tight grasp on her, refusing to let her go.

"Aww, don't worry about it!" Perrine brushed off her worries. "For times like this, it's okay to shop til you drop!" Julia couldn't believe what Perrine had already bought. Pokemon dolls in ninja costumes, books about ninjas, magazines with gym leaders on them, a beige hat with droopy white feathers on it, and volume five of The Jammin' Ninja series.

Julia wished she could go crazy with spending her money. In fact, there was so much she wanted to buy. Then again...she still had plenty of food and potions to last her until the next town, and she still had a lot in her bank account. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to buy some things for herself. Caiseal had already bought himself a plastic cup full of karaage chicken.

"Hey Jules!" Caiseal exclaimed. "Have you ever had this before?"

Julia shook her head. Hikaru did the same.

He dunked his hand in there, pulled a piece out, and handed it to her. "Want to try one? They're really good!" Ravenclaw helped herself to some pieces, picking them up with her beak. "They're just chicken." Shyly, Julia took a piece and threw it in her mouth.

Caiseal was right. It was just regular chicken rolled into little balls. It didn't taste any different from the chicken nuggets she would get at the fast food places sometimes. It was hot, but not so hot that it would burn her tongue and make her want to spit it out. "Wow! This IS good!" She took a piece and handed it to Hikaru. "Want one?"

"Pichu!" Hikaru didn't hesitate in trying a piece for herself.

"Ledy!" Even Ladybug tried a piece out.

"You can eat these cold, too," Caiseal said.

Soon, the festival came to an end, and the kids returned to the Pokemon Center. But not before they stopped at the mart to stock up on much needed food, money, and other supplies on the trip to Olivine. The only thing they didn't count on was just how long the trip between Ecruteak and Olivine City would turn out. The minute they stepped on the grassy path called Route 38, they could see the green grass reaching far out into the horizon, to the point where it almost touched the grey sky.

"Wow," Julia said out loud. Ladybug sat on her head, watching the grass spread out before them. "It seems like this path goes on forever and ever."

"Ledy…" ("You said it…") Ladybug agreed.

"How far is Olivine from here again?" Perrine asked, stopping to pull a pebble out of her shoe. "And how long have we been on the road?"

"I'll check," Caiseal pulled out his PokeGear and pulled up time. It read 11:30 AM. "Whoa! We've been on the road for almost two and a half hours now!" He pulled up the map function. "Let's see here...from here to Olivine…" He whispered as he messed with his PokeGear. All of a sudden, his eyes became huge, and he couldn't stop himself from shouting, "TEN DAYS ON FOOT?!"

Julia's hands flew to her ears. "Huh?!"

"Ledy?"

"By car, going from Ecruteak to Olivine takes about six hours," Caiseal said. "According to this, anyway. On foot, it takes ten whole days!" He showed the girls his PokeGear to prove it. "See? Worst of all, there aren't any Pokemon Centers or rest stops for another two days!"

To say the girls were shocked was an understatement. Immediately, grim thoughts on their current travels ran through their mind. They only stocked up on enough food to last one day. How were they going to eat? There were berry trees, and humans could eat oran and pecha berries if they could, but they were sure that would only go so far. How would they change clothes, go to the bathroom, take showers, or do laundry? Money wouldn't be an issue, since they had plenty of it on them, but it was useless if there weren't any places where they could put it to good use.

"So...should we go back?" Julia suggested, struggling to think of what to do. They could ask for a taxi to drive them there. But she wasn't sure if taxis would drive them that far, and as far as she knew, taxis could only be used in the cities, not someplace far away. Going to an airport was another option she had in mind, but Ecruteak didn't have one. Not only that, plane ticket prices were high, and they'd have to store their luggage and pokemon someplace else. Julia really didn't want to be separated from her pokemon no matter what.

"No," Caiseal replied. "We're too far away. I bought some tents and sleeping bags, so we should be fine in terms of shelter," He explained, tapping his large backpack. "As for food, we'll have to save what we have for now. If we can't eat what we have, we might as well eat the berries that come from the trees."

The kids were already back to walking on the dirt path when Perrine said, "You sound like you've done this before, Caiseal."

"That's because I have," The blonde boy straightened his backpack a little bit. "I lived on the streets for about two weeks once."

Julia couldn't resist the urge to ask, "You were homeless?!"

Both kids' eyes widened when she asked the question. It was a good thing nobody else was there, so the other kids felt no need to tell her that she shouldn't shout things like that. Even so, the way she asked it made Caiseal feel like he was being patronized. Then again, that wasn't her fault. He never told them, and never wanted to until now. "Yeah. I was. I don't like to talk about it. Let's just focus on getting to Olivine and making the most of this. We can stop every now and again, but our breaks have to be short if we're gonna get there. Capice?"

"Capice," Julia and Perrine said in unison. Neither girl pressed further after that.

All throughout the journey, the kids walked until their feet hurt, stopping to rest for a while, feed the pokemon, let them play, and breathe in some fresh air. But they still made it a priority to at least take most of the time walking. Already, Julia hated the fact that she couldn't do her business in a real bathroom, with toilet paper and flushing. Neither did Caiseal and Perrine. She wished she had taken the time to buy some toilet paper, or even those portable paper toilets she saw on TV once. Doing her business in the weeds, outside, and frozen with fear that someone might see her, easily topped Mrs. Amoretto's abuse in her personal worst experiences ever.

Thus, a routine was formed. Wake up, walk, take a food break, walk some more, take a pokemon break, walk again, and sleep when night time fell. The kids had to use river water to brush their teeth, dipping their toothbrushes in the river to moisten them, and using it to wash their mouths afterward. "Ugh!" Julia spat some water out the first night she tried it. "Gross! This water tastes like someone put mud in it!" She knew complaining wouldn't do any good or fix the situation, but it did feel good to at least let it out.

By nightfall, the kids were out like lights. Even so, Julia had terrible dreams that, oddly enough, she didn't wake up from, all of them involving what would happen if they remained in the wilderness. She pictured ferocious pokemon tearing up the tent in a rage, leaving them without shelter. Dreaming of herself doing her business in the weeds, being spotted and laughed at by naughty boys. Potential kidnappers dragging her into their cars, smashing her PokeGear, and nobody coming to save her, with no one hearing her pleas for help. Getting sick in the middle of the road, and potentially dying, without access to medicine or hospitals.

"Uuuugh…" As the morning light filtered through the tent, Julia found herself wearily awake, with her bangs shooting upward like weeds. "I need to go to the bathroom…" She whispered to herself, stealthily getting out of the tent so she wouldn't wake Perrine. Ladybug, on the other hand, heard her footsteps and followed her out.

"Ledy ledy?" ( _"Are you okay?"_ ) Ladybug asked.

"No. Oh!" Julia noticed a patch of tall grass just a couple feet away. "There's a good spot," The girl dashed into the grass to do her business. Ladybug kept watch for any suspicious pokemon, knowing that her trainer needed her privacy. "Uuuugh. I really wish I had bought toilet paper…" The girl mused to herself glumly. After that, she was finished.

All of a sudden, her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, feeling like pudding. Her hands crumpled the grass beneath her as she let out sobs. Drops of tears came out from her eyes. Ladybug looked up at her with a concerned look, putting a hand on her arm to console her. It didn't work. Julia's sobs gradually grew louder. "This is way too hard! I hate this! I can't stand it!"

It wasn't the journey she hated. She had already come so far. She hated the fact that she couldn't sleep in a warm bed, eat real food, take a shower, go to the bathroom in...a real bathroom, toilet paper and all. She silently chastised herself for being so naive as to think everything was going to go peachy keen for her and her friends all the time. Now, she could cry and let it all out. This way, Caiseal and Perrine wouldn't hear. She tried to bear it as best she could. She held her feelings in for their sake, so they could get through it. Complaining wouldn't get them to Olivine faster. She knew this. Still, it didn't hurt to let those feelings out once in a while.

"Sorry, Ladybug…" Julia sobbed. "I'm not a good pokemon trainer, am I?"

Ladybug simply shook her head in disagreement. "Ledy ledy!" ( _"Yes you are!"_ ) The red ladybug crawled up Julia's back and put her arms on her head. She seemed as though she was trying to hug her trainer. Julia appreciated the gesture, and stroke her friend's fourth arm gently with one hand.

"Thanks, little buddy," She stood up. "We better get back to the tents."

However, just as she and Ladybug turned around to head back, a hoarse, weak, mooing sound echoed in the meadow. Julia turned around to find a miltank waddling in her direction, groaning "Miiiil! Miiiiiil!" The miltank looked more like it was wobbling than walking, like it was drunk or had some kind of dementia. As soon as the miltank got close, the pink cow suddenly tripped on nothing and fell utters first on the grass.

"My goodness!" Julia ran to the miltank and held her upright. The cow's body was hot like fire. Upon closer inspection, a purple blur streaked across its nose, and the miltank breathed heavily in a labored manner. "Are you okay?!"

"Miiiil…" ( _"I hurt everywhere…"_ )

A familiar scent wafted into Julia's nostrils. It came right from the miltank's mouth. Her breath smelled like honey. Immediately, her mind was in action mode. "Ladybug! Go and get six pecha berries from my bag, and hurry!" Julia commanded. Ladybug gave a sailor salute and flew back to the area to get some berries. "It'll be okay, miss miltank. We'll help you get better."

Julia hoped it wouldn't take too long, as they were in the middle of nowhere. She was sure this miltank could die if it didn't get any help soon. She thanked her lucky stars that she still had a lot of berries that Mr. Pokemon gave her, especially pecha berries. Immediately, Ladybug returned, only she brought Julia's entire bag with her. "Ledy ledy ledy ledyba!" ( _"I couldn't carry all the berries, so I brought your whole bag just in case."_ )

"Good idea! Thanks, Ladybug!" Julia rummaged through her bag and pulled out six pink pecha berries. Ladybug blushed, wondering if she deserved such praise. "Miss miltank! I got something for you! Have one!" She held it up to the miltank's mouth so she could eat it. Her stubby limbs burned like fire, and even moving them proved to be too hard. The miltank slowly ate the pecha berry, chewing it slowly. With a swallow, she finished it. However, the purple blur across her face didn't subside.

"Mil mil miiiil…" ( _"It still hurts…"_ )

Julia held a hand to her chin. "Maybe one pecha berry isn't enough?" She asked herself, handing the miltank another berry. "Whoever poisoned you really did a number on you," The miltank ate a second, third, eventually sixth pecha berry. All six of them had been consumed, leaving Julia with only oran and cheri berries.

Finally, the purple blur going across the miltank's face completely faded. Her breathing became less labored, her body didn't burn like fire, and a cheerful sparkle returned to her eyes. "Miiiiil!" She perked right up, skipping happily on the grass. "Mil mil miiiil!" ("I'm all better now!")

"Glad you're okay!" As soon as Julia said that, the miltank flung its stubby arms around the girl and trapped her in a tight hug. "Ouch! You're welcome! Owowow!" Miltank got the message and let go. "So...what happened to you?"

"Ledy ledyba?" ( _"How'd you get poisoned?"_ )

"Mil mil!" ( _"It was terrible!"_ ) Miltank began, flapping her arms up and down. _"I gone stepped on a weedle three days ago and I've been terrible sick! I couldn't make no milk for my family!"_ Both Julia and Ladybug shivered at the explanation. Poison types were truly fearsome, indeed. _"I reckon I mighta died if you din come an' save me!"_

"By family do you mean miltank calves or your trainers?" Julia asked.

" _Trainers,"_ The miltank clarified.

Julia let out a sigh of relief. She sure was glad she was there to help the miltank. Suddenly, her hypersensitive ears caught a voice in the air. "Moo-Moo! Moo-Moo! Where are yooooouu?!" Two voices. They sounded like they belonged to teenaged girls a little older than she was.

Moo-Moo's ears perked up as she stood on her round hooves. "Mil mil mil!" ( _"It's Martina and Olivia!"_ ) Without a word, Julia took Moo-Moo by the hand and they walked in the direction where they heard the voices.

It didn't take long for them to see two girls scurrying around the path, calling for Moo-Moo. Both of them had curly dark blonde hair tied in flouncy ponytails that stretched down to their shoulders. They also had deep brown eyes and light, apricot colored skin. One of them was wearing an orange tank top, skinny white jeans, and black saddle shoes, whereas the other one was wearing an unbuttoned white shirt over a light blue tank top, tiny black jean shorts, and beige sandals with red thongs. Whenever they cried Moo-Moo's name, their voices screamed desperation.

"Moo-Moo! Come back, please!"

"Oh Arceus, I hope she isn't dead!"

Once she got close enough, Julia exclaimed, "Excuse me! Is this your miltank by any chance?" The two girls whipped their heads around, their ponytails swishing in a circular motion as they laid their relieved eyes on Moo-Moo. Immediately, the desperation in their brown eyes morphed into relief and joy.

"MOO-MOO!" Both girls leaped onto the miltank and hugged her. "We're so glad you're okay!" The girl in the sandals looked up at Julia, her brown eyes overflowing with gratitude. "Thank you so so so so much for finding our miltank!"

"No problem," Julia replied, focusing her gaze only on Moo-Moo.

"Oh my gosh!" The girl in the orange tank top exclaimed. "Moo-Moo, you're not sick anymore! See that, Olivia?"

Olivia examined Moo-Moo. Her sister was right. Moo-Moo no longer looked tired, nor was her breathing labored. "You're right, Martina!"

"Uhh…" Julia interrupted. "I gave her six pecha berries," She debated whether to tell them Moo-Moo told her everything, but she figured they'd laugh at her or not believe her if she told them she could understand pokemon. With that in mind, she decided to just mention the pecha berries. Being out in the wilderness was tiring enough. Scrutiny would just add to her anxiety.

"Thanks so much!" Martina exclaimed, taking Julia's hand into her own. "We knew she was poisoned, but we ran out of antidotes, and the nearest town doesn't have a Pokemon Center," Julia was quick to take her hand out of Martina's. It felt warm, and said hand was rocky with callouses.

That was when Olivia noticed Julia's physical appearance. The young girl's clothes had spots of dirt and mud on them. Julia's hair was completely scraggly and disheveled, with the ends and her bangs standing right up, facing the sky, like it hadn't been washed in days. "You look like you haven't had a shower in a while," Olivia said.

"Hey!" Martina smacked her sister on the arm. "That's not nice!"

"It's true!"

"You're right. My friends and I are going to Olivine City," Julia told them. "But it's really far, and we've been on the road for two days now."

A light bulb flashed in Martina's head, and her hands clasped together. "Here's an idea! Our parents have a miltank farm up the road a piece!" She exclaimed in a cheerful voice. "If we ask our parents, they might let you and your friends stay a while!"

Julia looked up, glancing at Martina's chocolate brown eyes for just a brief moment. "Is...is that okay?"

"I don't see why not," Olivia added.

This time, Julia didn't hesitate. The twin girls escorted Julia to their miltank farm. Thankfully, it wasn't very far. A large, dark brown house with a bright red roof stood alone in the midst of the vast meadow, with a lighter brown shed sitting right next to it. Said shed had a bright orange roof with one window. A white picket fence kept many miltank inside, with the gate locked so no miltank could escape. Olivia was the first to get inside. Immediately, Julia's nostrils were welcomed by the warm scent of fresh bread. Another scent accompanied it as well. Garlic. Just like the garlic bread she would eat when her family would go out to her favorite restaurant, Apple Garden.

"Mom! Dad! We found Moo-Moo!" Olivia announced in a voice loud enough for the whole house to hear.

Loud, thundering footsteps raced across the first floor, with a large, slightly overweight couple racing toward the entrance. The woman's auburn hair was curly and disheveled, with some of her bangs standing right up, facing the ceiling. Her brown eyes were side with shock as soon as she laid eyes on the miltank. Same with her husband, whose head was bald, with small stands of blonde hair lined up in sideburns above his ears. Both were wearing long sleeved shirts, jean pants, and farmer's boots.

"Well, I'll be an aipom's uncle! Moo-Moo's back!" The large woman ran toward the miltank and wrapped her plump arms around her. The same with her husband.

"You had us mighty worried there, Moo-Moo dearie," The man croaked in a low, hoarse voice.

"Mil miiiiil!" Moo-Moo basked in their affection.

"Mom! Dad! This girl here saved Moo-Moo's life!" Martina exclaimed, pointing to Julia without hesitation. As soon as the girls told the whole story, both parents found themselves bewildered.

"My stars!" Their father exclaimed, bending over to get a closer look at Julia. She backed away two steps. "We owe you some mighty fine gratitude, miss...uh…"

"Julia."

"Hey! That's my grandma's name!" The woman cheered. "Oh! Sorry! We forgot to introduce ourselves! We're the Everhart family. I'm Gabrielle," She pointed to her husband with her thumb. "That's my husband, Charles, aka Charlie, and those are my twin daughters, Martina and Olivia. We have a son, too, Owen, but he's sick in bed right now," Upon getting a closer look at Julia, Gabrielle nodded to herself. "You look dead tired. If you want, you can use our shower to get yourself clean."

Shower. Clean. Hearing those words utterly destroyed any hint of hesitation she had harbored. Oh, how she yearned to be clean and use a real bathroom. "Thank you!" She wasted no time darting into the bathroom. A real bathroom! Real shampoo! Real shower water! Real soap! Never before had she yearned for such luxuries. To think she had always taken them for granted before. Best of all, a real toilet, and toilet paper! No more doing her business in the weeds! It was as though she had entered heaven. It was a good thing she brought some clean clothes with her, as she didn't want to ask them to provide some clothes for her.

By the time she got herself dressed, she had spent a whole hour in that bathroom. She did make sure to clean up any watery messes she might have made (No, not THOSE messes). Then it hit her right then and there: she forgot to call Perrine and Caiseal! They must be worried sick about her. She scrambled through her bag to pull out her PokeGear and instantly called Perrine's number. It must be confessed that she almost dropped her PokeGear twice.

" _Hello?"_

"Perrine! It's me, Julia!"

Caiseal suddenly cut her off and shouted, _"Where the freak are you?!"_ His voice was so loud, Julia had to pull the phone away from her ear. Too bad it didn't stop the ringing in her ear. _"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?! We thought you got kidnapped!"_

"Sorry!" Guilt creeped over her. "I had meant to call you! Honest! But I got sidetracked. I'm at a miltank ranch right now."

Thankfully, Perrine intervened this time. _"That's good to hear. But I'm kinda with Caiseal on this one. We were really worried, y'know? You should tell us when you're going somewhere."_

Julia took the chance to explain everything to them. Finally, Caiseal's angry worry faded as though it had never been there. _"I see,"_ Perrine chimed in. _"Thanks for letting us know. Considering how antsy you've been the whole time, I can understand why you'd jump at the chance of a shower. Stay put. We'll be there as soon as we're up and ready."_

"Thanks. Sorry for worrying you."

" _No problem. Bye!"_

 _Click._ She turned off her PokeGear and set it in her bag as she sat down on the green living room couch. All of her pokemon-Hikaru, Ladybug, Tokiko, Saoirse, Lucretia, and Papillon-were in the kitchen, chowing down on some fresh Pokemon food that Gabrielle put out for them. Some were even leaving little crumbs on the tile floor. She thought about scolding them for it, but decided against it. They were probably hungry, tired, and yearning for time to just sit down and enjoy themselves, just like she was. In her mind, a good trainer would let her pokemon cherish the moment.

Picture frames lined the mantle over the fireplace, all of them showing Gabrielle, Charles, and their kids...along with two Julia didn't recognize. One was a plump boy a little older than the girls, with short, cropped blonde hair and small brown eyes. She could see rolls of skin peeking through the boy's clothes. The other one was a boy who looked to be older than the rest of them, with flaming red hair, skinny arms and legs like his sisters, and brown eyes that were brimming with life and vivacity. In every picture, said boy was flashing the peace sign along with a toothy smile. In one picture, a younger version of said red-haired boy, Julia figured he looked to be about nine or ten, was riding on his father's back like he was riding a ponyta. Others, he looked eight or thirteen, showed him with Olivia and Martina.

Standing up, she ambled over to the mantle to get a closer look. All of them were smiling, looking positively radiant in every family photo. It was here that Gabrielle came into the room, noticing Julia looking at the pictures with a curious look on her face. "Do you like them?"

"Who's this red haired boy?" Julia pointed to one family photo showing the whole Everhart clan.

Gabrielle got a closer look. "Oh! That's my older boy, Aldric!"

"Ulrich?"

"Naw. Aldric, with an A," Gabrielle clarified. The plump woman took the photo off the mantle and stared at it lovingly. "He's not here right now."

"Where is he?" Julia asked curiously.

"He ain't dead or nothin' like that. He joined a rock band and is on tour right now," Gabrielle explained, brushing some dust off the frame with one hand. "He turned twenty-two last week. He don't come home much 'cause his schedule's so busy, but I don't mind. He always calls or sends packages or money whenever he has the chance," She set the picture back on the mantle. "In fact, if you want, you can spend the night in his bedroom!"

"Is...is that okay?" Julia found herself going a little rigid. "I mean…"

"It's alright, dearie!" Gabrielle tapped her foot on the floor once. "I'll show you!"

As soon as that happened, Perrine and Caiseal arrived, thankful that their friend was safe. Like with Julia, the Everharts welcomed them with open arms, allowing them to use the shower and eat lunch with them. Perrine and Caiseal could definitely understand why Julia didn't call them earlier. It's hard to live in the wilderness without access to warm food or personal hygiene. They had the experience to back that up. When lunch time finished, Julia went up to Aldric's room to see what it was like.

Saying it was definitely a boy's room, and a music lover's room, would be a massive understatement. Aldric's bedroom walls were covered wall to wall with posters, much like Perrine's room, only there were more. Posters all depicting rock stars or rock bands. The Back Alley Boys. Grateful King. Eris Paisley. Jackson Michaels. Steel Women. Enlightenment. It didn't help that the walls were painted black like a murkrow's wings. A beige guitar sat on the bed, wrapped up in a red comforter. Piles of torn notebooks and papers towered on top of a mahogany desk that was covered with pencil markings and shavings. A silver boombox sat on the corner of the bedroom, right next to an empty, dark blue hamper.

"Wow...this really is a guy's room…" Julia mused to herself, examining every nook and cranny of it. Her parents always drilled it into her and Amara's heads that if they're at someone else's house, they shouldn't touch their stuff. They don't like that. The fact that Gabrielle was letting her sleep in her older son's room...something about that made her feel just a bit uncomfortable. She figured she could get used to it. After all, Gabrielle said her son was on tour, and she was only staying here for about a day.

"Snub snubbull?"

"Ledy?"

Both Saoirse and Ladybug came into the room. Julia looked down to see her two friends looking up at her. "Hey, girls!" She scooped them both into her arms. "This is one of Mrs. Everhart's kids' rooms. Remember: we have to keep our hands to ourselves," She told them. "Some people don't like it if you touch their stuff without permission, and if we break something, they'll get mad."

"Snub snub snubbull," ( _"I'm very careful about that stuff."_ )

Ladybug found herself shivering, like she was trapped in an ice room. "Ledy ledybaaaa!" ( _"I don't want people getting mad at meeee!"_ )

"Hey! Do you two want to do some training out on the farm?"

The two pokemon nodded in agreement. The kids decided to occupy themselves with some pokemon training as Martina and Olivia took care of the miltank. Saoirse and Ladybug pitted themselves against each other, with Saoirse almost headbutting the red ladybug, had the latter not deflected it with a well-timed Comet Punch.

"Good job, Ladybug!" Julia stroke her friend's black antennae with a beaming smile. "You're getting better at this!"

"Snub snubbull!" ( _"You'll be strong in no time, my friend!"_ )

To say Ladybug was overjoyed would be an understatement. Ladybug practically beamed. Her round eyes sparkled like morning dew. "Ledy ledy!" ("I love you guys!") Ladybug squealed, flapping her arms up and down. All of a sudden, a white light consumed Ladybug's entire being. Even Martina and Olivia stopped to watch as Ladybug grew about a foot taller. Her limbs grew a few inches longer, her face shaped itself like an oval, and her wings increased in size.

As soon as the white light dissipated, a brand new Ladybug announced her rebirth with a resounding, "Lediiii!" Now, she reached up to Julia's waist, standing on two red feet. Her antenna grew longer, bending backward, shaped like Ls. Her oval shaped eyes glistened like sapphires, and her egg shaped thorax decreased in size, now shaped like an egg. Four of her hands remained the same, white and shaped like baseballs.

"Whoa! Ladybug evolved!" Caiseal exclaimed.

Saoirse was the first to scurry over to Ladybug and wrap her stubby arms around her. Ladybug stared down at her feet and hands for a moment, eyes wide with confusion. Once she realized what happened, she beamed and hugged Saoirse back before the two started dancing playfully. "Ohhh! She's a ledian now!" Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine her new form.

" _Ledian, the five star pokemon. It is said that in lands with clean air, where the stars fill the sky, there live Ledian in countless numbers. There is a good reason for this—the Pokémon uses the light of the stars as its energy. In the daytime when it gets warm, it curls up inside a big leaf and drifts off into a deep slumber. When the stars flicker in the night sky, it flutters about, scattering a glowing powder."_

"Ladybug!" Julia joined in on the hug, squeezing Saoirse and Ladybug tight like she never wanted to let go. "You evolved!" Papillon, Hikaru, Tokiko, and Lucretia joined in on the hug also. "You're so cute!"

"Ledi ledian!" ("I did it! I'm strong now!") Ladybug held two of her fists in the air.

All of a sudden, she remembered her conversation with Fuwari back at Goldenrod City. Ladybug never had any confidence in herself. She was weak, easily frightened, and wasn't sure if she could ever be a good pokemon. Julia had proved to be a kind trainer who showered her with love and affection, and didn't care that she was weak or didn't meet her expectations. To her, pokemon were her friends. It was as simple as that. Ladybug couldn't picture herself with anyone else, now that she evolved.

After that, the kids spent the night and prepared for the long trip to Olivine once more. Before leaving, Charles approached them. "Between here and Olivine is Cadmium Town. It doesn't have a Pokemon Center and isn't real big of a town, but there should be some lodging there. There's lotsa stores there, too, so you might be able to stock up on what you need there," He explained.

"Thanks," Caiseal said. "We really owe you one."

"Yeah. Thank you for letting us stay," Julia bowed before them in gratitude.

"Not at all, kids!" Gabrielle exclaimed, waving her large hands. "You saved Moo-Moo, after all. Good luck on yer travels!"

"We will!" Perrine waved at them before the kids left for Cadmium Town.

* * *

 **Meh, don't really like how this chapter turned out. Don't worry, guys. They'll get to Olivine City in the next chapter. Promise! Sorry if I sound kinda bummed. I should be happy since it's Thanksgiving break!**

 **But nope! I LOST MY PRECIOUS COPY OF ALPHA SAPPHIRE! WITH ALL MY SHINIES AND RARE EVENT LEGENDARIES IN IIIIIIIIIT! Of all the games I desperately didn't want to lose, that was the absolute number one! I tore my house apart all week but it's NOWHERE! Uuuuuugh! I'm so sad! I worked so hard to fill up the PokeDex and get that Shiny Charm, too! If I lost it at school or if its in the trash forever, I'm gonna cry! Oh wait, I already am crying!**

 **Also, I've been addicted to Super Mystery Dungeon.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Ladybug (Ledian, Female, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Iron Fist**

 **Attacks: Flash, Comet Punch, Tackle, Silver Wind**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Geo (Graveler, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude**


	24. The Oceans of Olivine City!

Chapter 18: The Oceans of Olivine City!

Like the Everharts said, Cadmium Town wasn't anything special. It was just a small town full of greenery and plenty of rest stops, with some schools and shops in between. It didn't have a Pokemon Center for reasons they weren't able to find out, but they did provide little bed and breakfasts the kids could stay at for the night, ATMs included. The kids made absolutely sure to stock up on much needed items such as toilet paper, paper toilets, potions, non-perishable food, pokemon food, water bottles, plastic bowls, toothpaste, etc. This made the rest of the eight day journey to Olivine City far more bearable. There were no visual phones, so Julia couldn't call her parents and see their faces. Already, she was homesick, but knew she had to press on.

Finally, after a grueling ten days on the road, the kids saw a sign pointing north that read, _"Olivine City, 100 feet up ahead"_ in bold black paint. Julia was practically beaming. "We're getting close, aren't we?!" She chirruped, jumping up and down excitedly like a little kid.

"I'll check," Perrine pulled out her PokeGear and brought up the map function. "Wow!" Her blue eyes lit up with joy. "We're practically almost there!"

She was right. They passed through a wooden gate that had a line on it with some flags hanging from it. Soon, a shining white metropolis appeared before them, spreading all the way out to a pristine, glittering blue ocean. Boats of all shapes and sizes sat at the ports. A metallic, mineral-like smell wafted in the air, giving the city a very modern air about it. A grey stone lighthouse towered over everything else, overlooking the vast ocean as though it had watched the ocean for centuries.

It didn't look nearly as modern as Goldenrod City. Nothing could compare to Goldenrod City's skyscrapers, the buildings made entirely of glass windows (or so Julia thought), the bright lights, and the big houses. But that didn't mean Olivine City didn't have any charm of its own. All of the houses were made of stone or brick, with steel roofs reflecting the sunlight back into the sky. People bustled about to and fro, going wherever they were going, without a care in the world. Shiny cars, old fashioned or brand spanking new, rode across the streets.

"Wow...so this is Olivine City!" Perrine's blue eyes were sparkling, just like the ocean reflecting sunlight. "It's so different from Goldenrod!"

"Yeah. Really," Julia agreed. As much as she liked Goldenrod City, Olivine felt more open and spaced out. None of the buildings looked too cramped together like Goldenrod's buildings were. It made it come off as less overwhelming and suffocating. Still, the mineral-like smell in the air didn't quite sit right with her. She wasn't sure why.

Caiseal held a hand over his eyes and looked around. "I wonder where the gym is at?" He asked out loud. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"So...who's the gym leader here again?" Julia asked.

"Jasmine Pitt is the gym leader," Perrine began, holding her index finger up. "She uses steel type pokemon, but rumor has it she has pokemon of other types as well."

Immediately, Julia began strategizing. Fairy types like Saoirse and Tokiko were weak against steel types. Saoirse knew Fire Fang, sure, but that could only go so far, she told herself. But she did know that steel types were weak against ground types, fighting types, and fire types. However, she didn't catch any fire, fighting, or ground pokemon during her travels. She knew Nidoran could evolve into ground types, but as of now, both Rina and Rino wouldn't stand a chance. Poison types had absolutely no effect on steel types. She wondered if any of her pokemon knew fighting type moves.

"Do you think we should go to the Pokemon Center?" Julia suggested to Caiseal. "Someone there might show us where the gym is."

"Good point," Caiseal stretched his arms outward. "My pokemon do need some TLC."

It didn't take long for them to find the Pokemon Center, with the help of the map function on the PokeGear. However, the minute they laid eyes on it, their jaws fell agape. The Pokemon Center was in shambles. The glass windows were completely broken, with some pieces still hanging onto the frames for dear life. Other glass shards had fallen to the floor, breaking into even smaller pieces. Black burn marks painted the once pristine white walls, along with large holes that even an eevee could easily crawl through. Some roof tiles were missing, looking as though they had been ripped right off. The P and K and T signs in Pokemon Center were missing as well.

"Whoa!" Perrine yelped. "What in the world happened here?!"

"I have no idea!" Caiseal brushed a hand through his blonde hair. "But man! This sucks! My pokemon need to be healed!"

Julia was the first to notice a large sign standing in front of the doors. She ambled up to it to get a closer look. The sign read, in big black letters, _'NOTICE: Last week, the Pokemon Center was completely decimated by unknown vandals, possibly members of Team Rocket. All of our machines are destroyed and out of order. We will reopen when all of our machines are running again. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.'_

"It says here someone vandalized it last week!" Julia pointed the sign out to them.

Perrine cracked her knuckles. "I'll bet Team Rocket tried to steal some pokemon," The kids shivered upon feeling the deathly air she gave off all of a sudden. "If I see them lurking around, I'll kick their sorry butts into oblivion!"

"I'm pretty sure Tsubasa will do that for you," Julia pointed out. She couldn't help but wonder how her pidgeotto and the rest of the gang are doing. She hoped they were well and behaving themselves. Knowing Tsubasa, for all she knew she might be causing her poor parents a lot of grief.

"Still, our pokemon are in no shape for gym battles yet," Caiseal grumbled. He sat down on the ground and crossed his arms, like he was put in time-out. "I want to battle Jasmine already!"

"That's not possible right now," An old man's voice pulled the kids out of their thoughts. They looked up to find a large man in his sixties, dressed in red fishing gear. He had three fishing rods in his arms, a red hat, a red vest full of lures, white pants, and brown rain boots.

Not possible? "Why's that?" Julia asked.

"The gym's closed," The old man explained. The kids all stared down at their feet, further drowning in disappointment. "See that lighthouse over there?" He pointed to the stone lighthouse near the ocean.

"Yeah."

"That there's the Glitter Lighthouse. Jasmine's ampharos, Ampere, lights it up so sailors and boaters can dock at night and so people don't lose their way," The old man elaborated further. "But now, Ampere's mighty sick. Too sick to use its tail light," The old man shook his head glumly. "Jasmine's been takin' care of him, but nothin's workin' good. Ampere'd be healed right now if the Pokemon Center hadn't been vandalized."

Julia looked down at the stone beneath her feet, her heart going out to Ampere. "I see. I hope Ampere gets better," She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if her own pokemon got sick and she couldn't access a Pokemon Center.

"I dunno…" The old man scratched his head with his free hand, keeping the three fishing rods in the other. "Since he's sick, boats don't go out at sea no more 'cause of the potential dangers, and the only medicine that can help is somethin' called a Secret Potion, and you can only get those at Cianwood City. But it's across the sea."

Another good point. It didn't help that none of the kids had any pokemon that could swim across large bodies of water with ease. Then again, Caiseal had Flippy, his beloved quagsire. Could a quagsire be able to cross the ocean? They weren't sure at this point.

"By the way," The old man pulled out one of his fishing rods. "Do any of you kids want a free fishing rod?" The one he held out was a long, shiny black one that stood taller than the three kids. It still had a line on it, so one could easily use it right as they received it. "I have too many of them."

Before anyone could think about it, Perrine suddenly raised her hand before shouting, "Oh! Oh! I'll take it!" With a smile, the man handed her the fishing rod without hesitation. "Thanks, sir!"

Fishing rods in hand, the old man left the kids to their own devices. But hearing the story about Jasmine's absence only made things worse. Not only could they not get their pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center, they couldn't battle Jasmine at the gym either. Could things get any worse?

"So...we came here for nothing," Julia mused to herself glumly.

"It's not a total loss!" Perrine held her fishing rod high in the air. "The beach is nearby, so the pokemon can go for a little swim if they like! Plus, we can use this to fish for water pokemon! Maybe one good enough to cross the ocean with!"

Caiseal and Julia looked at each other. Perrine did raise some valid points. Perhaps a day in the sunshine and beach water could help the pokemon somewhat. Except Geo, Apollo, Kitsune, and Mallow. Fire, ground, and rock types don't do well in water. It helps that Olivine City's ports were well known fishing spots. Who knows? Maybe they could catch a good water pokemon.

It took them an hour to get to the nearest beach, since it was so far away on foot. The sight of the vast ocean and white sand didn't disappoint. Perrine found herself wishing they bought bathing suits so they could go for a swim. All the kids let their pokemon out so they could play. Immediately, Hikaru, Saoirse, Lucretia, and Tokiko danced across the burning white sand, splashing water at each other. Apollo and Kitsune sat in the sand making sand sculptures. Geo simply curled into a ball and let Papillon, Fuwari, and Baloo jump all over him. Florian laid down on the sand, content to rest underneath the sun's warm rays. Chirin and Fukuro just sat down and watched everyone.

Perrine faced the ocean, her brown shoes digging into the hot sand. She held the fishing rod back before swiping it forward. The thin line flew gracefully across the sky before the lure splashed right into the water. Soon, it was bobbing up and down as Perrine sat down on the sand. The orange haired girl kept her blue eyes glued to the lure, determined to get at least one new pokemon. She hadn't caught any new pokemon since she was in Ilex Forest, and that was a long time ago.

"Yeowch!" Some sand creeped down into one of Julia's socks, hot as fire. She yanked her shoe and sock off, letting the sand flow right out. Her foot and toes felt as though someone stuck them in a hot oven. "Hot hot hot!"

"You okay?" Caiseal asked.

"Sorta. This sand burns! Yeesh!" Already, Julia found herself uncomfortable with everything. The blindingly bright sun shining in her face, the intense sparkling reflection on the ocean, the burning sand, it was all just too much. She was never a fan of the beach, especially when there were little kids running around screaming, shouting, crying, or a combination of the three. That especially grated on every nerve she had on her body, like nails on a chalkboard. But at least with why the sand was hot, she knew the answer: sunlight was beating down on it the whole time.

All of a sudden, the lure was pulled downward. Perrine felt a yank on the fishing rod. "Oh! I got one! I got a bite!" She screamed, pulling the rod closer to herself. Her feet planted firmly on the sand, and her grip tightened around the rod.

"Bay bay!" Florian raced over to his trainer and wrapped his vines around her, should Perrine wind up getting sucked in by a big pokemon. Baloo ran over and put her hands on Perrine's right leg. Kitsune gently pulled on her skirt. Even Caiseal and Julia stepped in to help.

With their combined efforts, they managed to yank whatever was at the end of the line out from the water. The force wasn't strong enough to send them all sprawling on the sand. Once Perrine regained her bearings, she came face to face with a round, blue fish pokemon. Its round, yellow eyes only had black plus-shaped crosses for pupils. Small fins waved up and down, and the pokemon waddled around on its small, stubby feet. Two thin antenna sprung out from its head, with large, yellow, tear-drop shaped orbs.

"Chinchou!" The pokemon squeaked, taking notice of the welcoming committee.

"Awwwww!" Julia clasped her hands together and found herself squealing, her green eyes brimming with unbridled joy. "How cute! A little chinchou!"

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to examine it. "Chinchou, the angler pokemon. Chinchou have the ability to conduct electrical currents from their two tentacles which flow positive from one end and negative to the other. Chinchou can also communicate underwater by flashing their tentacles, especially when they live in depths beyond sunlight's reach. Chinchou's two antennas are filled with cells that generate strong electricity. This Pokémon's cells create so much electrical power, it even makes itself tingle slightly," A pink female sign appeared.

Hikaru found herself crawling up to the fish pokemon, her little black nose crinkling up and down as she got a whiff of the new pokemon. All chinchou did was stare at the yellow mouse with a confused yet curious look on her face. "Pichu pichuuuu?" ( _"Do you really live underwater?"_ ) She asked.

"Chinchou chinchou!" The blue fish pokemon waved her fins in a welcoming manner. ( _"Oh! There really are pokemon who live above the sea!"_ )

"Come on, Perrine!" Julia begged. "Catch her! Catch her!"

Perrine had already pulled out a pokeball. "Of course! Florian!" The dinosaur pokemon adopted a battle stance. "Use Razor Leaf!"

"Bay-eeee!" Florian flung his leaf in a circular motion, sending four sharp, crescent shaped leaves right at the chinchou. Since she wasn't underwater, she didn't have time to get used to the new environment. Thus, she couldn't evade the attack. The leaves cut through her slimy blue skin, leaving some fresh scratches.

All of a sudden, the blue pokemon opened her mouth to emit a sharp, shrill cry that made everyone cover their ears. The high pitched sound seemed to rip through everyone's eardrums. By the time it was over, Florian found himself wobbling back and forth, his eyesight completely blurred. "Bay...leef...bay…" He couldn't even keep his footing and almost slipped.

"Owowowow! That's some Supersonic!" Julia yelped, her hands desperately trying to block out the awful noise.

Perrine wanted to catch that chinchou at any cost. But now that Florian was confused, two things could happen: he could hurt himself, or he could manage to hit the chinchou with another attack. It was too risky. The possibility of her friend getting hurt was too high. She couldn't put Florian through this. "Fuwari! Use Bullet Seed, and don't go easy on her!"

"Popo!" Fuwari was quick to hop onto the scene and fire a barrage of green seeds at the helpless fish. Once again, the chinchou was unable to dodge the attack. Chinchou did attempt to run, but the sand was hot on her stubby feet, and the pain made her slip and fall.

"Now's my chance!" Perrine wasted no time throwing the pokeball. "Pokeball, go!" Chinchou tried to push herself up, but her fins were too short, and she couldn't stand upright, leaving her wide open. Once the pokeball tapped her on the back, she turned into red light and was sucked right inside. The tension was already thick like someone poured too much maple syrup on their pancakes. The pokeball wiggled from side to side, with the red light flashing. Perrine crossed her fingers.

"Come on...come on…" She kept praying in her heart that the chinchou stay inside. Thankfully, her prayers were answered. _Click!_ The red light stopped flashing and the pokeball stayed completely still. "Yay!" She jumped up once and cheered. "I caught a cute little chinchou!" Julia clasped her friend's hands and the two girls began jumping and skipping merrily, rejoicing in the capture.

Florian shook his head. No longer did his head hurt. His eyesight returned, and the first thing he noticed was that the chinchou was gone. "Bay? Bayleef?" ( _"What happened? Did I miss something?"_ )

Kitsune put a paw on her big friend's leg reassuringly. "Vulpix vulpix vul," ( _"You're good. Looks like we have a new friend."_ )

Pleased with her victory, Perrine picked the pokeball up and cupped it in her hands. A warm smile touched her round face. Just looking at her new friend made an idea pop up in her head immediately. "You'll be called Luminita. Nita for short," Perrine whispered out loud, hoping her new friend could hear it.

Catching a pokemon was all well and good, but the kids knew the pokeball would disappear, since Perrine already had six pokemon on her. The orange haired girl didn't mind. Her parents did arrange for her pokemon to be sent to her house, so she wasn't worried. However, after a few seconds, it dawned on them: the pokeball didn't disappear.

"How come it's not going to your house?" Julia asked, scratching her hair with one finger. "You have six pokemon already."

"I was just wondering the same thing."

"I wonder if it's because the transporter is broken," Caiseal chimed in. "The Pokemon Center was vandalized, right? That's the only place where we can exchange our pokemon," The girls nodded in agreement. "I don't know any other places around here that have transporters."

Julia stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Is that even possible?"

"Possible or not," Perrine interrupted. "I don't mind. I caught a new friend! Come on out, Luminita!" A white light sprung forth from the pokeball, taking the shape of a chinchou before turning into Luminita herself. The scratches from Florian's Razor Leaf were still there. Perrine was quick to pull out a potion and kneel down to her friend's level. "Hi there. I'm Perrine, your new trainer," She told her in a soft, dulcet voice. "You got hurt. Sorry about that. This'll help."

She expected Luminita to back away or resist being sprayed. Oddly enough, the angler pokemon didn't even protest. She just stayed silent as Perrine sprayed the disinfectant on her wounds. Gradually, the scratches disappeared, and the angler's blue skin retained it sleek, shiny look. The orbs at the end of her antennae gave off a soft yellow light for a brief moment.

Light...lighthouse…Ampere being too sick to do so... "Hey! I got it!" Julia pounded her palm with her fist. "We should go to the lighthouse!" She exclaimed.

Everyone turned their heads to face her. "What brought that on?"

"Did you see her antennae glow just now?" Julia pointed her index finger right at Luminita. "What if we go see Miss Jasmine at the lighthouse? Luminita can light up the lighthouse so Ampere won't have to, since he's too sick to do so!" Julia wasn't sure what gender Jasmine's ampharos was, so she wound up using male pronouns on impulse. This was a habit she never did manage to break.

"I see what you mean," Perrine told her dubiously. "But will Nita's light be bright enough?"

"We won't know if we don't try!" Julia protested. "I don't know if it'll help, but we should at least do something!"

Caiseal stood up, calling his pokemon back to their pokeballs. "I don't see why not. Let's go and see her. Maybe we can help her out somehow."

Perrine could tell that they both seemed pretty set on it. Their minds were made up. Doubts were already running through her mind. How could they help? Wasn't Ampere's welfare Jasmine's business? It didn't feel right to just barge in on her, even if it was out of good intentions. But then again, it doesn't hurt to ask. "Alright. Off to the lighthouse!"

Thankfully, Olivine City had taxis, so the kids were able to get in one. No walking all the way to the lighthouse on foot. By car, it took them an hour and a half to get there with no traffic. Just being in front of the stone lighthouse made the kids look like ants since it was so tall. It looked to be about as tall as the Tin and Brass Towers, or just a little bit shorter. It didn't make it any less awe-inspiring. But this was no time to be sightseeing.

The inside of the lighthouse was oddly dark, only being dimly lit by some small glass windows. They took an elevator to the upper floor, thinking Jasmine might be there. It really said something when the elevator looked brighter and safer than the actual lighthouse. The kids waited in the elevator for about five minutes, standing in silence as they ascended to the top. Finally, a robotic woman's voice said, without any emotion, _"Level 5. Top floor,"_ The shiny metal doors pulled themselves back, allowing the kids to step out.

Sitting in the center of the room was a pretty young woman who looked to be in her very early twenties, with long, flowing light brown hair that cascaded down to her lower back, with two small, pointed pigtails pointing upward, held up by orange, pearl shaped hair clips. The woman was wearing a simple, pure white dress going past her knees with a large bow on the torso, along with matching sandals. Lying next to her was an ampharos, just like the one back at Julia's house.

The first thing they heard was harsh wheezing, coming right out of the ampharos's mouth. With every breath it took, it sounded like he was dying. Julia's hands flew to ears, it's breathing was that bad. Not only that, sweat trickled down the sheep pokemon's yellow face, completely dampening the pillow its head rested on. The ampharos lied down on a makeshift bed consisting of a grey blanket and a white pillow, nothing else. The woman kept gazing down at him abjectly, her brown eyes trembling, looking as though she would burst into tears at any given moment. The women exhaled an audible sigh that even the kids could hear.

"Ampere…please hang on..." The woman pleaded in a soft, trembling voice. Even looking at them made the kids look back.

But Perrine wasn't one to just stand idly by. "Excuse me!" The sound of the girl's voice was enough to make the woman gasp, like someone snuck up on her.

A hand flew to her chest as she whipped around, her long hair flowing in a circular motion, eyes wide like saucers. "My goodness! You scared me!" Once she took a breath, she got a better look at them. "Oh. You're just some trainers."

"Sorry," Perrine apologized, feeling bad that she unknowingly frightened the young woman. "We didn't mean to scare you. "Would you happen to be Jasmine by any chance?"

Jasmine nodded, confirming Perrine's suspicions. "Yes. I'm the...Olivine gym leader and Ampere's trainer."

Caiseal held up his PokeDex to examine Ampere. _"Ampharos, the light pokemon, and the final evolved form of Mareep. The orb at the end of its tail can glow with a light so bright, it can be seen far from the ocean, and even from space, no matter how dark. Because of this, ampharos have been treasured as a beacon for lost travelers since ancient times. People in the old days used to use ampharos's light to send signals to each other from far away, guiding lost people to safety,"_ A blue male sign appeared.

All of a sudden, one of Perrine's pokeballs opened by itself. Chirin came popping right out, approaching Ampere with a concerned look on his face. "Flaaaaffy…" ( _"You don't look so good."_ ) He said, stroking Ampere's forehead with his pink paw. The only response he received was more wheezing.

"Chirin…" Perrine found herself touched by her flaaffy's kindness.

"What in the world happened to him?" Julia asked. Hearing Ampere's wheezing made her tremble somewhat.

Jasmine hung her head down, continuing to stroke her yellow friend abjectly. "Ampere always kept the sea lit at night when he slept. But last week, he...suddenly came down with pneumonia," She seemed to spit the word out like it was just too horrible a word to utter. "The Pokemon Center's been...completely decimated...so I can't take him there, and...Nurse Joy doesn't have the means to take care of him right now."

"I can imagine why," Caiseal crossed his arms.

"I suppose...you came here having heard about what happened," Jasmine assumed, using her free hand to knead the large bow on her dress. She kept on twirling the end of one ribbon around her finger, back and forth, like she was expecting something to happen. "I'm afraid...I can't battle you all right now," She told them kindly. "I can't leave Ampere unattended."

"We weren't gonna ask for a battle," Julia chimed in. "We were wondering if we could help you and Ampere out, if that's okay."

"What?" This caught Jasmine's attention.

"Yeah! We heard from a fisherman that something called a Secret Potion can make him feel better! Is that true?" Julia asked.

"Yes," Jasmine nodded. "I've heard of such a thing."

"You're forgetting something," Perrine interrupted. "That fisherman said you can only get those at Cianwood City, and it's way across the sea. None of our pokemon are big enough to carry us across the ocean."

Julia hung her head down, disappointed. "Oh. You're right."

"It'd be one thing if the sailors went there on their boats," Jasmine mused sadly, continuing to stroke Ampere's red hot fur. "But with Ampere being as sick as he is, the sailors are scared to go out to sea. There's also the matter of the Whirl Islands. There's whirlpools everywhere, and they're very dangerous."

"Actually…" Caiseal let the word drift away as he let Flippy out of her pokeball.

"Quaaaaag," As usual, Flippy drew out her soothing, laid back hello. The girls stood there and got a good look at Flippy. She stood at least two feet taller than Caiseal, and her body was quite large and wide, enough so that Caiseal could easily ride on top of her.

"Flippy and I could go to Cianwood and get that Secret Potion for you," Caiseal suggested without a hint of irony.

"That's a great idea!" Julia exclaimed happily.

Perrine raised an eyebrow, giving him a quizzical look. "But can quagsire even withstand whirlpools?"

Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine Flippy despite having done it before. _"Quagsire, the water fish pokemon. Although quagsire prefer living in freshwater lakes and other areas of the like, they are capable of living in any kind of watery environment. They can swim across the ocean for as long as a whole two days without rest. Their heavy bodies allow them to resist whirlpools."_

"That answer your question?" Caiseal asked.

Jasmine looked down at Ampere. Her heart was aswirl with lingering doubt. As much as she appreciated their kindness and offers to help, she wasn't sure. Sending one child off to cross the ocean seemed too dangerous. She didn't even dare try to think about what would happen if he died on the journey. The guilt would be too much for her to bear. At the same time, she had no other options. The Pokemon Center's machines were down. The sailors won't go out to sea. Ampere needed that Secret Potion, and he needed it RIGHT NOW.

"I know...this is a tall order…" Jasmine confessed, her soft voice catching in her throat. "And I can't imagine what I'd do if you got hurt or killed, but...I'm out of options," She clasped her hands together and sat in front of Caiseal. "Won't you please...go to Cianwood and get the Secret Potion for Ampere?" Caiseal could hear twinges of regret in her voice. "I'd go myself, but I can't leave Ampere unattended, and my own pokemon can't fly such a long distance."

The blonde boy had heard stories of the beautiful steel type trainer, Jasmine. How she looked sweet and nice, but could prove to be a formidable force in battle, and how she supposedly doesn't take garbage from anybody. Seeing her so sad, so desperate just wounded his heart. He balled his fists.

"I'll do what I can," Caiseal replied.

A small, involuntary sob escaped Jasmine's mouth. Tears came strolling right out, trickling down her pale cheeks, but a light dawned in the woman's eyes as she took Caiseal's hand in her own. "Thank you. Thank you so much. All of you. I'm so sorry for all the trouble I might be causing you."

"No problem!" Julia exclaimed. "Ampere needs to get better, after all."

Caiseal slowly took his hand out of Jasmine's. Not because he hated the touch. In fact, Jasmine's hands were soft, warm, full of kindness. He only wished his mother would touch him in that way (NO, not like that!). But an idea hatched in his head. "Here's what I plan to do," He began. "I'll go to Cianwood on Flippy, and as soon as I get the Secret Potion, I'll send Ravenclaw back to Olivine with it. Flying pokemon can get to cities faster than most water types can, and that way I won't have to deal with Whirl Islands again."

"I can see that working!" Julia exclaimed.

"A brilliant idea," Jasmine chimed in. "But even on a quagsire, it'll take at least a day for you to get there without stopping. Can you handle it?"

"Quaaaaaag…" ( _"Sure I can...no worries…"_ )

"No need to worry!" Caiseal pounded his chest with one fist. "I'm a pokemon trainer! We live for stuff like this!" He exclaimed boldly.

"Just don't bite off more than you can chew," Perrine added.

With that, Caiseal and Flippy immediately set off for Cianwood. He still had food on him, so nobody was worried about that. He had his other pokemon with him, too. Julia and Perrine stayed with Jasmine to take care of Ampere.

"I hope Caiseal gets there okay," Julia mused.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Perrine told her reassuringly. But doubts were swimming in her own heart as well, like a pod of gyarados.

"Oh!" Jasmine's mouth made an O shape, and one of her hands almost covered it. "I never got to ask your names, did I? How rude of me!" She exclaimed, the revelation hitting her like a Dynamic Punch attack.

"It's okay!" Perrine told her reassuringly. "I'm Perrine, and that's my friend Julia," Julia bowed a little bit, preferring not to speak right now.

A warm smile touched Jasmine's face. "It's nice to meet you two. You seem like good pokemon trainers."

* * *

To say Olivine and Cianwood Cities were vastly different would be a massive understatement. Comparing the two would be like comparing jello to a rock. Cianwood City was practically a beach town, boasting of crashing waves and white sands. Some white regalia tied to wooden poles stood at the ends of the beach, allowing for any travelers to know that they had come to Cianwood. Rows and rows of wooden houses with blue tile roofs lined up behind the boardwalk. The sun had almost set, with the orange sphere shining over the ocean, turning it into a pool of liquid amber.

This was no time for sightseeing, however. As soon as Flippy reached the shore, Caiseal leaped off of his friend and searched for the pharmacy. Thankfully, it didn't take long to find it. A small house made of brown bricks and a grey stone roof stood out from the wooden houses sitting behind the boardwalk. A small chalkboard hung from the door, reading in white chalk, 'Cianwood City Pharmacy. 500 Years of Tradition. We Await Your Medicinal Queries.'

"Here it is!" Caiseal mused to himself. Flippy laid down on the sand, her big body dead tired from so much swimming. She wasn't going anywhere, so Caiseal left her out of her pokeball.

Impatient as usual, Caiseal burst through the door. A yellow bell atop the door chimed and rang with a gentle sound, catching the attention of the pharmacist behind the counter. Said pharmacist was an odd sort: a middle aged man with a thick brown afro resembling a bird's nest, with a long beard covering his chest. Black sunglasses covered his eyes, and a mustache tickled his nostrils. The man was wearing a mauve-pink sweater, blue jean pants, and brown boots.

A minty smell assailed Caiseal's nostrils. Mahogany shelves filled to the brim with glass bottles, medicine bottles, and other assorted things lined the entire inside of the pharmacy. Some of the bottles even had strange plants and herbs in them. Caiseal was able to recognize some. Many of them were flowers. Parsley. Rosemary. Sage. Thyme. Chamomile. Basil. Lemon Balm. Marigold. Peppermint.

"Hello there," The pharmacist greeted him with a hearty welcome. His voice was clearly on the cusp of mid-adulthood, deep and hoarse. "What can I do for you today?"

Caiseal wasted no time approaching the front desk. "I hear I can get a Secret Potion here?"

"Secret Potion?" The pharmacist raised an eyebrow, giving the boy a quizzical look. "What do you need that for?" The blonde boy was quick to explain the situation. "The lighthouse pokemon is sick with pneumonia and the Pokemon Center's down?" The pharmacist nodded to himself before going in the back. Within a few seconds, he came back with a small yellow bag in hand. "Here's the Secret Potion. It works too well, so I only use it for emergencies. Hurry, boy! Send it over to Jasmine!"

"Thank you, sir!" Caiseal raced out the door and released Ravenclaw from her pokeball.

"Murkrow!" ( _"This is my cue, isn't it?"_ ) Ravenclaw sat down on the grass as Caiseal tied the bag around her neck. It was light enough for her to carry, and not heavy so it won't slow her down.

"Take it to the lighthouse in Olivine City. It's the tallest structure there," Caiseal told her. "Whatever you do, DO NOT let ANY pokemon attack you or peck at it no matter what!" He wagged his finger at her to empathize his point. "It is extremely important that you give it to Julia and Perrine. Go straight there, and don't let anything distract you. Get it?"

Ravenclaw held one of her wings up in a sailor's salute. "Murkrow murkrow!" ( _"You can count on me, Cash!"_ ) She squawked before ascending to the sky, the bag bouncing against her torso as she flew.

' _Please…'_ Caiseal held his hands together and prayed with all his heart. _'Please get there in one piece.'_ While he was at it, the Pokemon Center was open. This was the perfect time to transfer one of his pokemon out for that pinsir he caught in National Park.

* * *

Milky morning light poured into the top of the lighthouse. The kids, Jasmine, and Ampere all camped out there, eager for Ravenclaw's delivery of the Secret Potion. The only problem was, Ampere's harsh, incessant wheezing kept everyone up at night, so by the time morning came, they all had bags under their eyes.

"Uuuuugh," Julia groaned, her eyesight blurry. "I know it's not Ampere's fault, but jeez!" She blearily rubbed her eyes with her fists. "That wheezing noise is so annoying!"

Jasmine, being the devoted trainer that she was, was quick to hold a bottle of water to Ampere's mouth. The sickly ampharos gulped it all down without hesitation. It didn't do anything to stop the wheezing, but it would at least help cool down his throat. Perrine was still asleep, holding onto a sleeping Kitsune, both of them laying against Florian's body.

The brown haired girl looked out the window. The morning sun was bright, causing her to recoil and cover her eyes with her hands. She rubbed them once more before noticing a black silhouette in the distance. It grew bigger and bigger until she made out a set of wings. Hanging from its neck was a yellow bag.

The Secret Potion.

It was a success! Caiseal received it! "Perrine! Perrine! Wake up wake up wake up!" Julia kneeled down to her friend's level and shook her back and forth, forcefully pulling her out of dreamland.

"Ugh! I need some sleep, by Arceus!" Perrine complained, not happy with her friend yanking her out of sleep mode.

"Ravenclaw's back! She's got the Secret Potion!" Julia pointed out the window like she saw a meteor about to crash down and destroy the world.

All of a sudden, Perrine was awake and alert. "Murkrow!" True to her world, the faithful murkrow perched inside the lighthouse. Jasmine kneeled down to the black bird and untied the bag from her neck before stroking her head gently. The woman gave the bird a grateful smile, beaming with relief. "Thank you, my friend. You are very kind."

"Murkrow!" ("You're welcome!") Ravenclaw replied politely.

"I'm sorry, but...Ampere is very fussy around strangers," Jasmine apologized. "He won't take anything from anyone but me. Please don't be offended," She told them before ambling over to the ampharos. But the smiles on the girls' faces told her that they were everything but offended. In fact, the girls were beaming.

Ampere continued to wheeze. His mouth was wide open, ready for anything. Jasmine pulled out a small, round, brown ball that resembled a chocolate ball. "Ampere...take this," Desperate to get better, Ampere scarfed down the single brown ball. The effects were immediate. No longer was he hot to the touch. His airway cleared, returning his breathing back to normal. His body no longer felt as though a pile of cinder blocks had been piled on him. His black eyes shot wide open, and the orb on his tail flashed a bright yellow light. It was so dazzling that the entire room lit up.

"Palulululuuuuuuu!" Ampere let out a cheerful, happy squeal, standing on his two roly-poly legs, like he was on top of the world.

"We did it!" Julia clasped Perrine's hands cheerfully. "Ampere's all better!"

"Oh…" Jasmine wrapped her skinny arms around her friend. Tender tears dropped from her face, melting into Ampere's golden fur. "I'm so relieved you're alright now…" She turned to the children. "Thank you. All of you."

"No problem," Julia stroke Ampere's cone shaped ears gently. "We're just happy he's okay now."

With a firm resolve in her heart, Jasmine stood up, facing the children. "I'd love to battle you after this, but I want to help Nurse Joy and the others rebuild the Pokemon Center," She told them kindly, in her sweet, pretty voice. "It'll take a while. But I happen to know a sailor named Gilbert who runs a boat called the S. S. Minerali. He goes to Cianwood every now and again, and Cianwood has a gym. If you talk to him, he might be able to take you to Cianwood City."

"It's okay," Perrine told her kindly. "We appreciate it. What does this Gilbert guy look like?"

Jasmine explained everything to them before showing them pictures of both Gilbert and the boat. "It should take you about a day to get to Cianwood. Tell your friend Caiseal thanks for helping Ampere."

"We will!" With that, the girls left Jasmine and Ampere with light hearts, happy that they did a good deed.

* * *

Raikou, Suicune, and Entei dashed across the ocean as though they were running away from something. Their paws touched the water gracefully, looking as though they were walking on it, making no splashes whatsoever. But the looks in their eyes were solemn. Finally, a small crop of land appeared before them. The three beasts gathered at the crop of land, watching as a mighty whirlpool roared as it swirled.

"This isn't good…" Suicune mused out loud, gazing at the roaring whirlpool, his ears memorizing the cacophony of the waves. "That pokemon hunter is after us…"

Entei shot a murderous glare at Raikou. "This is your fault!" He roared. The spines on his back stood straight up, and his smoky mane billowed. "If you hadn't shot that lightning bolt into the sky, that woman wouldn't be chasing us right now!"

"My fault?!" Raikou growled defensively. Electricity crackled across his body, dying to come right out. "How was I supposed to know my lightning would catch her attention?! It's not like I knew she was there!"

"Humans have pursued us for generations!" Entei countered, stamping one paw into the sand. "You should know that every move we make attracts their attention!"

A roar from Suicune frightened the two bickering beasts into silence. "This is no time to be arguing like children!" Suicune scolded harshly, his streaming, aurora-like mane sparkling in the morning light. "We must throw her off somehow. We can't allow her to catch us, Mother, or Lugia. You both know this well."

"How about we split up?" Raikou suggested. "It's not as though she has the means to pursue all three of us at the same time. Not only that," He elaborated. "It'll divert her attention away from both Mother and Lugia."

"I don't know…" Entei growled. "Humans are fickle. For all we know, she might let us go and still go after both Mother and Lugia."

"No," Suicune interjected, shaking his large head in disagreement. "We are legendary pokemon. She will catch all of us by any means necessary, whether we split up or not. I say Raikou's right," Entei found himself rendered silent. He hated it when Suicune agreed with Raikou, even if he knew it was for a good reason. "Let us all split up. I will head to that beach town over there," Suicune pointed toward Cianwood City. "You two go wherever you please. Make sure no other humans or pokemon get hurt at that woman's hand, and be careful not to disturb Lugia here. He prefers not to be involved in our affairs."

Both Raikou and Entei nodded in agreement. In Entei's case, reluctantly. With that, the three beasts went their separate ways. The whirlpools continued to swirl in the ocean. A deep, dark shadow loomed right underneath, with long wings and a long neck.

"Ho-Oh…" A deep, solemn voice echoed underneath the ocean, heard and understood by no one but the speaker. "...is in danger?" Ripples ripped through the ocean, and the pull of the whirlpools grew stronger.

* * *

 **I found out something awesome: All of the cities in the Kanto region are named after colors. Same with Johto being named after flowers. How cool is that?! In fact, one city I made up, Cadmium Town, is based on the cadmium green color!**

 **By the way, for those of you who've played Mother 3 (Awesome game, by the way. Everyone should play it!), guess what the name of the boat is supposed to be borrowed from.**

 **Random Fact: I used Jasmine's original Gold/Silver/Crystal design for her this time around. I don't hate her new design. I actually kinda like it. But I felt her original plain white dress seemed easier to describe without going into pretentious purple prose.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Ladybug (Ledian, Female, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Iron Fist**

 **Attacks: Flash, Comet Punch, Tackle, Silver Wind**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	25. Chucking Out Some Dynamic Punches!

Chapter 19: Chucking Out Some Dynamic Punches!

"Alright, everyone! Breakfast is ready!" Truman had just finished pouring another full bag of pokemon food into a big bowl. Bowls, big and small, were arranged in a circle. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes scurried over to the food, some proceeding to scarf them down like they had been starved. Others, such as Aqua and Lavinia, two of Julia's pokemon, took their sweet time and ate the food piece by piece.

One large pokemon, on the other hand, wasn't eating with them. The large turtle had a rock hard brown shell, a yellow belly, bulky blue limbs, and two grey cannons shooting up from his shell like new grass shoots. "Blastoise!" It warbled in a deep voice.

Truman looked up at his friend and smiled. "Good morning, Blastoise!" The cheerful man stroke the blastoise's head gently with one hand. Blastoise smiled, basking in his trainer's warm touch. "You're looking cheerful today. Be sure to eat your fill. I don't want you pushing yourself too hard again."

"Blast blastoise!" The faithful blastoise wrapped one of his bulky arms around Truman, pulling him into a tight bear hug. The giant turtle's limbs were hard like rock, but that didn't mean he wasn't affectionate.

"You're the best, buddy," Truman told him.

"Pijooooooo!" A bird pokemon's caws sent shivers down both of their spines. Truman let out a groan. Oh dear. Tsubasa is up to her usual antics again. All of a sudden, Tsubasa soared right toward Truman, pecking him on his head with her small pink beak repeatedly.

"Stop it, Tsubasa!" Truman demanded, waving his arm around to push the annoying bird away. "Get back! Get back!"

"Blastoise blastoise!" ( _"Stop harassing him, you chicken!"_ ) Blastoise yelled, waving one of his large fists at the naughty bird. Nobody messed with his beloved trainer.

"Pijo pijo pijoooo!" ( _"You didn't give me enough food, you wimp!"_ ) Tsubasa cawed defiantly, continuing to peck at the helpless man. She even went as far as to attempt to pull off the band-aids he had on his cheeks and forehead.

"Marill marill!" ( _"Quit it, Tsubasa!"_ ) Aqua yelled before shooting a jet of water at the bird, giving Truman time to tend to the other pokemon. _"Why do you keep picking on him?!"_ Aqua scolded, waving her stubby arms at the defiant bird. _"He's Julia's father!"_

Truman watched the two pokemon argue as he cradled a sandshrew in his arms. "Goodness. I don't know what Julia was thinking when she caught that pidgeotto," He wondered out loud. Come to think of it, Julia hadn't called him and her mother for a while now. He figured she was too wrapped up in her journey to think much about them. It was a parent's nature to worry about their children, no matter how much they prepared for them to leave the nest.

As much as he loved taking care of pokemon and the ranch, however, Tsubasa was an absolute _pain_ to deal with. He had dealt with worse, yes, but that didn't stop Tsubasa from giving him and the others a hard time. As soon as the rowdy pidgeotto came to the Parisa house, the first thing she did when she saw Truman was peck him on his hair. In fact, that was all she did if she got annoyed by something. Truman didn't give her enough food? Pecking. He didn't tell her about Julia? Pecking. He tried to hold her responsible for her actions? Pecking. Yell at her for bullying other pokemon? Peck peck peck!

" _What was Julia thinking leaving me with that spineless pushover?!"_ Tsubasa yelled, pointing one of her wings at Truman. If there was one thing Tsubasa hated, it was pushovers. Truman found himself glaring at the bird. She was saying something about him, and whatever it was, he was sure it was insulting. He may not understand what pokemon were saying half the time, but he could tell when something was up. _"If I have to spend one more minute with him, I'm gonna send him knocking on Heaven's door!"_ Tsubasa cawed.

Aqua crossed her little arms. _"You know Julia's gonna get mad if you do that, right?"_

" _Do I look like I care about what she thinks?"_ Tsubasa retorted without any hint of guilt or remorse. _"It's her fault for sending me here in the first place!"_

"Sentreeeeeet!" A crying sentret suddenly scurried up to Truman, showing him a bleeding scab on her arm.

"You okay?" Truman put down the sandshrew and scooped the sentret in his arms. Said sandshrew ran off to play with it's friends. "Don't worry. I'll make it better," True to his word, Truman disinfected the wound with a potion before wrapping some gauze around it. "There. How's that?"

The tiny sentret smiled gratefully, nuzzling against the man as thanks for helping her. "Sentret sentret!"

"Fuuuurret!" Neji scooted into the living room, watching as Truman sat down on the couch.

"Goodness. Taking care of so many pokemon is not easy," It wasn't. It was only ten in the morning, and already his back was aching from three straight hours of watching the pokemon. Feeding them, checking on them, taking care of injuries, breaking up fights, etc. His feet became snug in his large sneakers from too much standing around. As soon as he plopped down on the couch, his feet relaxed. His back ached, like it was being forced to stand straight for days, and his arms felt like plum pudding. It was taxing work, not helped by his aging body.

"Furret?" Neji hopped on the couch next to Julia's father and licked the red wound on Truman's forehead. The ferret's prickly tongue moistened the wound, wiping away any leftover blood.

With a smile, Truman stroke his daughter's long, furry friend. "Thanks. You're real sweet, Neji."

"Fuuuurret!" The sentret leaped into Neji's small arms, begging for cuddles. Unable to resist the smaller sentret's innocent demeanor, Neji nuzzled his small friend, blowing a raspberry into her belly. Soon, both furry pokemon were on the floor laughing, like they were brother and sister.

The tired father looked over at a photo sitting on the mantle. Snugly tucked inside a mahogany picture frame was a picture of the whole family. Truman, Kassia, Amara, and Julia, in that order. All four of them were wearing winter clothes, standing in front of a meadow covered in a smooth, pristine white blanket with warm, beaming smiles on their faces. Truman remembered it well. It was two years ago, when they went to Truman's parents' house for a one week vacation. Everyone was so happy and joyful back then.

Now, the family was drifting apart. Kassia was at work, Julia was on her travels, and Amara was still on the run. As much as Truman wanted to go look for Amara, he couldn't leave the pokemon unattended. Nobody he knew in the area would know how to care for them all, nor would they have the stamina or training to handle taking care of almost forty at once. Some of those pokemon had special needs or needed round-the-clock care, or wouldn't trust anyone but the Parisa family. He just wouldn't know who to trust with his cherished pokemon. It didn't help that his other job at Magcargo Express took up much of his night hours.

Even so, he hated sitting here and doing nothing. Both of his daughters were out there. Especially Amara. He needed to be out there looking for her. No, he needed to find her, be there for her, tell her that he still loves her no matter what, that even though he's not proud of what she's recently done, that she's still his daughter. It tore at his heart to not just know that Amara was doing bad things, but that he couldn't go out to find her and talk to her.

(flashback)

 _A six-year-old Amara sat in her new bedroom, wailing and crying for all the house to hear. Her bright, cotton candy pink comforter was thrown on the floor in a crumpled heap, along with many stuffed animals and shirts scattered about the room. Hearing her cries, Truman came into the room with a concerned look on his face. He sat down next to Amara and stroke her back._

" _What's wrong?" Truman asked in a low, kind voice. "Want to tell me?"_

 _Little Amara used her arm to wipe her tears. "My class was making owls out of paper bags," Amara began in a shaky voice. "Stupid Lizzy said I copied her!" She spat out, the tears returning. "I told Mrs. Briggs that wasn't true. But when I was in the nurse's office, I heard her say,_ 'I had to deal with some kids acting up today. What a nuisance.' _It's not fair!" Amara smashed her hand down on the bed, wanting to let off some steam._

" _That's not very nice of her," Truman said._

" _No it isn't! I'm not a copycat!" Amara exclaimed, her voice still shaking._

 _Like any father would, Truman wrapped his arms around his daughter and gave her a hug, resting his head on her light brown hair. "I know you're not. You're a good girl."_

" _Daddy?"_

" _Yes?"_

" _Are teachers always mean?"_

 _Teachers? Mean? Truman wasn't sure what to think of it. He had received reports from Amara's teachers that her spelling needs a lot of work, she spends more time talking to friends than paying attention in class, and that while Amara is a delightful social butterfree, she tended to show off sometimes. Of course the teachers would want her to listen to them. But none of them came off as mean in any way._

" _No, Amara," Truman told her. "I'd call them strict."_

 _Amara cocked her head to one side, giving her father a confused look. "Strict?"_

" _Yes, strict. That means they act tough and mean so they can make the kids follow the rules. They usually mean well, though," He explained, hoping Amara would understand. "When I was little, I had a teacher named Mrs. Weaver. She was very nice and often stayed after school to help me when I was struggling with my English. But when kids were being naughty, she would make them stand in the corner of the classroom or yell at them."_

 _Amara's blue eyes widened. "Really?"_

" _Yep. But she wasn't being mean. Kids can be silly or do silly things," He winked at Amara. "Sometimes people have to be strict so others won't walk all over them. Know what I mean?" Amara looked at him, wondering if he was just making a joke. "Besides, I've talked to Mrs. Briggs a few times. She seems very nice, and I'm sure she wasn't calling you a nuisance. If that's what you're worried about, why don't you ask her?"_

" _Ask her?"_

" _It never hurts to ask. Maybe she was talking about something else when she said the word nuisance. I'm sure she doesn't think you're a nuisance."_

 _This made Amara feel better. A smile returned to the girl's face and she hugged her father. "Okay. I will. You're the best, Daddy! I love you!"_

" _I love you, too."_

 _As it turned out, Mrs. Briggs never thought Amara was a nuisance. She said having to deal with messes related to glue were a nuisance. Another incident. This left both Amara and Truman very pleased._

 _When Amara was ten, Truman offered to show up at her entrance ceremony, since Kassia was busy with both the ranch and taking care of Julia. But work went on longer than he planned, so he found himself driving anxiously toward Amara's new school. Dressed in a black tuxedo, a white dress shirt, and a purple tie, Truman parked at an open parking spot and stealthily snuck into the auditorium._

" _Good! I made it!" He whispered to himself as he found an open seat. Pulling out a video camera, he turned it on and aimed it right at the stage. There was Amara, standing amongst many other children, dressed in a pretty white dress that sparkled under the spotlight. The girl's hair was in a straight ponytail, held up by a fake white rose accessory. Her blue eyes shined like light the minute she noticed Truman in the audience, flashing a smile so bright it would make any parent's heart melt._

 _Pride filled Truman's heart that day, and it always did whenever his daughters were happy._

(end flashback)

It's a shame he was ungracefully yanked from his happy memories by a certain bird. "Pijooooo!" Tsubasa flew into the living room, almost hitting the wall had she not flapped her wings in time. Truman scrambled out of the couch, ready to deal with her.

"Stop that right now!" Truman scolded.

Annoyed by his presence, Tsubasa glared at him, shaking her tail before trilling, "Pijo pijo pijo!" ( _"Shut up, you spineless fool!"_ ) Truman leaped to try and catch the bird, lurching forward. The bird pokemon leaped out of the way, dug her talons into his shirt, and yanked on his hair.

"Owwww!" Life as a pokemon rancher was truly a hard one, indeed. His heart was internally screaming for Julia to take her back. He wasn't sure if he could take more of this annoying bird terrorizing him over the most trivial things.

"Juliaaaaa...when are you going to caaaaaaall…?" He complained. The bird continued to pull his hair with her beak, happy to have someone to take her anger out on.

* * *

"Poliwrath, use Dynamic Punch!"

"Block it with Vice Grip, Stacey!"

Inside a pokemon gym, Caiseal and a big, bulky, shirtless man stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, engaged in battle. Stacey, Caiseal's pinsir, held her large thorns out right as a blue tadpole pokemon raced with a fist out and ready for punching. As the blue humanoid raced toward Stacey to land a punch, the brown bug lurched forward, wrapping her horns right around poliwrath's arm.

"Toss it in the air!" Feeling the blue pokemon's weight on her, Stacey lifted her head up and released poliwrath from her horns. Poliwrath spun in the air, unable to regain his balance.

"Use Hydro Pump!" A man with thinning brown hair roared, his large hands curled into fists as he made a punch gesture. He was wearing nothing but tattered maroon pants with a soft black belt tied around them to keep them secure.

"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath shot a powerful geyser of water from the black spiral on his body. Stacey didn't even dodge. She just stood there in one spot, taking on the water blast. Her feet were firmly planted on the battlefield, not budging so much as an inch.

"Now, Stacey!" Caiseal cried courageously, his hazel eyes shining with determination. This was his chance. He believed in Stacey. "Cut through that Hydro Pump and use X-Scissor! Slice'em and dice'em!"

"Kuki!" Stacey buzzed, her horns glowing in a harsh green light. Poliwrath's eyes widened as he turned up the pressure on the water. But that didn't stop Stacey from taking a majestic leap into the air, cutting right through the Hydro Pump like it was jello.

Poliwrath struggled to move away from the X-Scissor attack, but since he was still blowing water at the big beetle, he didn't have time to stop it. As soon as he stopped the water, Stacey had already sliced through it, making a green X shape as the beetle slammed right onto the spiral pattern on his body. "Poliwrath! No!"

"Alright! You go, Stacey!" Caiseal swung his fist in the air. This was it. The final blow. "Finish it with Double Hit!"

"Kukiiiiii!" Both of Stacey's thin arms glowed in a white light as she slammed the helpless poliwrath with two solid punches, sending the tadpole onto the battlefield. As soon as the blue pokemon made contact with the ground, a brown cloud of sand exploded, covering the entire battlefield, billowing even after Caiseal and the large man covered their faces to keep sand out of their eyes.

Did Stacey win? Or did poliwrath? Neither one was sure, as the thick sand cloud made it hard to see. Soon, the billowing cloud dissipated, showing poliwrath lying on the ground, completely unconscious. Dormant and unmoving. Stacey stood on her feet, the smaller thorns on her horns having broken off. The brown beetle didn't seem bothered by it, as she just stared at poliwrath with a smug, victorious smile.

"Poliwrath is unable to battle!" A female referee pointed a yellow flag at Caiseal's direction. "The winner is Stacey the pinsir, and the victory goes to Caiseal Brownstone of Blackthorn City!"

Caiseal couldn't contain his joy. He leaped into the air with a resounding, "Awwwww yeah!" Stacey flew into his arms and hugged him tight. "You did it, girl! You were awesome!"

"Kuki kukiiiii!" Stacey made sure not to scratch Caiseal's clothes or skin with her small claws. Even so, the two danced around their half of the battlefield with joy.

The pot bellied man with the brown mustache called his poliwrath back into his pokeball before letting out a roar of laughter. "WAHAHAHA! You really steamrolled me there, Cash!" He roared as he walked over to the victor. "I lost, huh? How about that! I enjoyed battling with you!"

"Thanks, Mr. Chuck," Caiseal told him politely. Even Stacey was polite enough to curtsy before Chuck like she was a proper lady raised in high society. "But don't rest easy. I have friends who are on their way here from Olivine to challenge you."

"GOOD!" Chuck howled, punching the air twice as though he was facing an invisible enemy. "That'll keep me and my pokemon on my toes! Oh! Almost forgot!" He pulled out a small, bronze badge shaped like a closed fist ready for punching. "You proved yourself worthy of the Storm Badge. Here ya go!" He flicked it like it was a coin. It gracefully spun in the air in a perfect arch until Caiseal caught it with one hand.

"Awesome!"

"Kukiii!" ( _"Awesome!"_ ) Stacey agreed.

"So!" Chuck crossed his arms, towering over Caiseal like a tower. "Who're these friends who're coming to challenge me?"

* * *

Suicune gracefully tapped his paws on the white sand of Cianwood City. Harsh sunlight beamed down on long stretches of white sand, heating it right up to the point where they felt like fire. But to the aurora pokemon, the sand did nothing but tickle his paws. He gazed upon the glistening ocean, watching from afar as a nice boat came within the city's vicinity. The white streamers flowing beside him moved in sync with the ebbing waves, the body of water rumbling with a soothing euphony.

Groups of magikarp and other assorted water pokemon leaped out from the water, showing off their fins or just saying hello. A smile tickled the aurora pokemon's long face. But in his heart of hearts, he knew this peace was not to last. A pursuer was on his tail, along with Raikou and Entei. For now, he decided to stay here in case said pursuer was to come by. He kept his ears wide open, ready for anything, whether it be a flock of pidgey or an army of machines.

' _Mother...Lugia…'_ Suicune's mind was somewhere else. Silhouettes of two bird pokemon flashed through his mind. Ho-Oh was one of them. _'I can only pray that the hunter doesn't catch you…'_ Suicune told himself.

No one but he and his brothers knew what was to come. Said white boat rode the waves with grace, en route to Cianwood City. Perrine stood on the deck, the ocean breeze making her wavy orange hair float upward. Fukuro and Ravenclaw, with their wings outstretched, soared across the wind, staying close to the boat so as to not leave their trainers' line of sight.

"Baaaaaay!" ( _"We're riding on water! Cool!"_ ) Florian exclaimed, his red eyes twinkling with delight. He kept a vine wrapped around Baloo so she wouldn't fall off the railing.

"Jigglypuff jiggly!" ( _"I wanna ride on a water pokemon!"_ ) Baloo chirruped, attempting to spin on the rail. Good thing Florian was there to pull her away. Disappointed, Baloo's face puckered into a pout as she found herself ballooning outward. "Jiggly!" ( _"No fair!"_ )

Florian put the pouty puff ball down on the deck. Good thing she didn't slip and fall, or Perrine would have a potential disaster on her hands. The reliable bayleef simply smiled contentedly. Chirin stood next to Perrine, his white fur taking in the refreshing sea breeze.

"Flaaaaaaffy!" ( _"This is so nice!"_ ) The pink sheep stretched his arms out, already feeling refreshed just from being outside.

"Hey, Chirin," Perrine chimed in. "Want to hear a funny story?"

The pink sheep nodded, tilting his head to one side right afterward. He didn't know Perrine had funny stories to tell. Not even the other pokemon did. Everyone gathered around to listen as though they were circled around a campfire. Luminita's antennae flashed twice in yellow lights, signifying interest.

"My parents and I went on a cruise to Sinnoh once when I was three," Perrine began, drifting down memory lane. A small chuckle escaped her lips. "I was quite a rambunctious little toddler. I yanked on people's things, knocked food plates over, and wanted to explore every new place I wanted. During that cruise, I wanted to see the deck. My mom said that when I wasn't looking," The orange haired girl scratched her skirt somewhat to get rid of an itch. "I was bending way over the deck. I almost fell right into the ocean!"

It was true. The memory flashed right back in Perrine's mind: her three year old self climbing on the rails. Her terrified parents scrambling over to try and grab her before she could fall, which they did, thank goodness. The crowd watching in horror as the three year old girl almost falling into the water without the tiniest hint of fear. The pokemon's eyes widened, shocked at this revelation. Perrine being a rambunctious kid who almost got herself killed never crossed their minds before, so this was quite a shock.

"I know, it was pretty stupid," Perrine chuckled, picturing herself as a fearless toddler almost falling into the ocean. "But wanna know something else?"

"Flaaffy?" ( _"What else?"_ )

"Bay bay!" ( _"Tell us more!"_ )

"Chinchou chou!" ( _"We wanna know!"_ )

Perrine let out another chuckle. "When I was six, I saw the movie Olympic(1). After that, I was absolutely terrified of all boats and ships, thinking they'd all sink deep into the ocean," She explained, unable to hold back laughter. Even the pokemon found themselves laughing. Chirin in particular was rolling on the deck, his wool cackling as he giggled. Another memory flashed through Perrine's mind: her six-year-old self clutching the couch as her mother tried to pry her off.

" _Come on, Perrine! I can't leave you alone in the house! The cruise will be fun!"_

" _Nooooo! Boats are scary!"_

" _No they're not."_

" _It'll sink and we'll all die!"_

" _I never should have let you watch that movie."_

Little Luminita folded her fins and put them on her sides. If she was human, she'd have them on her hips. "Chinchou chinchou!" ( _"We water pokemon NEVER sink!"_ ) The blue angler boasted. _"In fact, we water pokemon can survive anything humans throw at us!"_

Kitsune, Perrine's most trusted companion, rolled her eyes. Baloo followed suit. _"That is so not true and you know it,"_ The fluffy orange fox cooed.

That was when Perrine looked over her shoulder. "I wonder why Julia and her pokemon aren't out here?" She wondered out loud. "The view is great."

"Popo! Popo!" Fuwari cooed.

A shout from inside the boat caught their attention. "Ahh! Saoirse! Are you okay?!" Ladybug shot right out, pulled on Perrine's arm, and pointed to the inside of the boat.

"Ledian ledi ledian!" ( _"Come inside quickly! Julia needs help!"_ ) Ladybug almost dragged Perrine inside the boat, the five star pokemon was that desperate. It didn't help that Perrine could see the worry in her eyes.

What happened? Did one of the pokemon get sick? Perrine was sure everybody was accounted for, so they couldn't have fallen off the boat. With Ladybug by her side, Perrine raced inside the boat. Immediately, the noisome, pungent scent of vomit and stomach acid assailed her nostrils, and her hands flew to her nose and mouth.

"Ewww! What in the world?!"

"Perrine!" Julia cried. The orange haired girl opened her eyes to find both Julia and Saoirse on the floor. A splatter of vomit made a huge mark on the carpet right in front of them. That certainly explained the awful smell. Saoirse was on her knees, making harsh wheezing sounds. "I need help!" Julia cried as she placed a paper towel in front of her fairy friend's mouth. It didn't stop the vomiting, nor could it properly contain it and prevent any more stains from falling on the carpet.

Quickly, Perrine raced to her bookbag, pulled out a plastic bowl, and handed it to her. "Here! This should help!" Julia took it without a word and placed it in front of Saoirse.

"It's okay, girl," Julia rubbed the fairy's back gently. All of her other pokemon watched with worry, guilty for not being able to really do much to help. They hoped Saoirse would be okay.

Unbeknownst to them, there was another passenger, who happened to witness the whole thing. A tall, fair skinned man watched the scene with his blue eyes wide with disgust, his mouth turning into a frown. His pale brown hair was pushed back, with one big strand sticking out from the rest, dangling above his forehead in a circular arc. He was wearing a purple tuxedo over a white dress shirt, a large red ribbon, and a small, snow white cape reaching down to his upper back with matching shoes. Lighter purple diamonds embroidered his tuxedo jacket. Despite his disgust, he watched the girls closely, wondering if there was anything he could do to help.

"What happened?" Perrine asked worriedly. With a harsh wheeze, brownish green liquid came shooting out from Saoirse's mouth, falling right into the plastic bowl. Both girls winced upon hearing the awful sound.

"I don't know," Julia replied uneasily, continuing to stroke her friend's back. "I think she might be seasick. She was kinda weary when we got on the boat, but she kept telling me she was fine," She explained further. "But just now she started throwing up," She looked down at her friend. Saoirse stopped puking, but Arceus only knew when she would start up again. "I should have brought some medicine with me."

Medicine? The man in the purple tuxedo marched forward with a sympathetic expression. "Pardon me, girls," The man chimed in. His voice was calm, suave, but still had a youthful sound about it. The girls looked up, seeing the man in his early thirties towering over them. "I happened to overhear. I have something that may help."

"You do?" Julia asked.

The man in the purple tuxedo dug through a pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a hard, rock shaped root with a sandy color about it. Julia looked at the weird root with a disgusted look, thinking it looked like someone's liver.

"This is a ginger root," The man in the purple tuxedo explained. "These help with seasickness. I keep it with me if I ever get nauseous on a boat," He pulled out a small knife and cut a piece of it off. Saoirse looked up wearily, her pink face green from too much vomiting, her sensitive nose catching the spicy scent of the root.

"Snub snubbull…"

The man looked down at the snubbull. "Here. Try it," Without hesitation, Saoirse grabbed the piece of ginger and scarfed it down like she was eating a whole meal.

"Will she get better?" Julia asked worriedly.

"She will in due time," The man replied.

Saoirse looked down at the vomit with a dejected expression. "Snubbull…" ( _"Sorry…"_ )

"It's not your fault, Saoirse!" Julia told her reassuringly, like a mother would if their child was sick. "You can't help getting sick. It happens all the time. I've puked a couple times myself when I was little!"

"Choki choki!" Little Tokiko toddled over to her big sister and patted her on the back, just like Julia did. A small smile creeped up on the fairy pokemon's face.

"I'll ask someone to clean this mess up," The purple tuxedo man said.

Perrine put a hand on Julia's shoulder. "We'll be arriving in Cianwood soon, so it won't be much longer now."

"Thanks, sir!" Julia told him kindly.

"Not a problem."

Soon, the island city was within their vicinity. As soon as the boat rested at the dock, the ramp descended downward, allowing any passengers to get off the boat. Julia was the first to get out, with Saoirse cradled in her arms, with all of her other pokemon close behind. Perrine had recalled all of her pokemon. As soon as she set foot on the sand, Luminita's pokeball turned into white light and disappeared.

"Oh, NOW it goes to my house!" Perrine exclaimed.

"Heeeeeeey!" The girls and the purple tuxedo man whipped their heads around to find Caiseal and Chuck waiting for them. Caiseal waved his arm at them, greeting them as he ran right toward them. Stacey and Mallow raced along with him, staying close to their trainer.

"Caiseal! We're back!" Perrine was the first to approach him.

"Murkrow!" Overjoyed to see her trainer again, Ravenclaw allowed her trainer to pull her close and trap her in a warm hug.

"You're back, girl! I sure did miss you!" Caiseal nuzzled the black bird pokemon's beak happily. "Good job for taking the Secret Potion to them."

"Murk murkrow!" Ravenclaw replied gratefully, basking in her trainer's praise.

"Chuck?!" The purple tuxedo man exclaimed.

"Hey!" The big man behind Caiseal shouted. "If it isn't my man Eusine!"

The kids all whipped their heads around in confusion. "Eusine?" Chuck and Eusine shook hands the minute they got close. Julia was the first to put the pieces together. "Oh! Is that your name?"

"Yes it is, dear," Eusine replied, brushing some hair out of his face. "I'm a pokemon researcher."

"Like Professor Elm?"

"Not quite to that level, no," Eusine replied sheepishly, rubbing his hair with one hand. "I mostly research legendary pokemon."

"Oh!" Caiseal exclaimed. "Julia! Perrine!" He pointed to the pot-bellied black belt next to him. "This is Chuck Bergman, the gym leader!" He looked up at the gym leader. "Chuck, these are my friends Julia and Perrine. They're here to battle you!"

Chuck crossed his arms. "Is that so! A pleasure to meet you, ladies, and I'd be more than happy to accept your challenges!" He leaned closer. "To tell you the truth, Caiseal here wiped the floor with my pokemon, so I can't battle you right off."

"We understand!" Julia exclaimed. "My snubbull's sick anyway, so she might need some TLC."

"I just gotta heal my pokemon at the center there," He pointed to the Pokemon Center, which was only a couple meters away. "Help my wife with some stuff and I'll be ready to chuck out some good ol' punches!" He punched the air once more.

"Chuck uses fighting types," Caiseal told them.

Immediately, the girls began strategizing. Fighting types...as far as they knew, they were weak against psychic, flying, and fairy pokemon and their moves. Many of Julia's pokemon were fairy types, or at the very least knew fairy type moves. Tokiko knew Extrasensory and Dazzling Gleam, which were strong moves, Papillon knew Confusion and Gust, and Hikaru knew Disarming Voice. She could swap Ladybug for Tsubasa and Lucretia for Aqua and she would be all set. Lucretia would be no match for fighting types. Eevee were normal types. On the other hand, Perrine's only fairy type was Baloo, but Fuwari knew Fairy Wind, so she could be a backup plan. Kitsune knew Extrasensory as well, and Fukuro knew Confusion and was a flying type. Perrine could already envision herself winning a Storm Badge.

"We'd better get our pokemon healed, too," Perrine suggested.

Since the Pokemon Center at Olivine City was in shambles, the kids were relieved to finally be at a real, working Pokemon Center for the first time in what felt like months. It was only a few days, yes, but the journey was tough. As soon as the kids and Chuck gave their pokemon to Nurse Joy, they found themselves breathing sighs of relief. Finally, their pokemon would get the help they needed. Nurse Joy would be able to monitor Saoirse and help with her seasickness.

"So, Caiseal!" Perrine was the first to start a conversation as they waited in the lobby. "Chuck says you beat him. What was the battle like?"

"It was really tough," Caiseal told them in no uncertain terms. "He uses a machoke, a primeape, and a poliwrath. All of them are super strong."

The cogs in the girls' brains moved once more. Poliwrath was part water type. Julia could use Blossom and Hikaru against his poliwrath if she could. Perrine figured she could use Florian, Chirin, or Fuwari against it. Maybe even Mushi, since she hadn't interacted with her paras since she caught him at Ilex Forest. Perhaps she could swap one of her pokemon for Mushi. But all of them were strong against poliwrath in some way or another, whereas she hadn't trained with her paras once.

"His primeape knows Rock Slide, and his poliwrath knows Dynamic Punch and Hypnosis," Caiseal explained. "Watch out for those."

"Will do," Perrine deadpanned.

The girls then told them about Ampere and how the Secret Potion completely cured his pneumonia. Caiseal wished he could have Ravenclaw with him right now. He felt she deserved some massive praise for doing her job well. But then again, she was his pokemon. The black bird pokemon would always be great in his eyes. All of his pokemon are great in his book. Now that they were in Cianwood City, they could focus on training and battling Chuck. Hopefully this would prepare them for their upcoming battle with Jasmine soon enough.

"Caiseal? Perrine? Julia?" Nurse Joy called out. "All of your pokemon are in tip-top shape!"

Upon hearing the announcement, the kids all raced to get their pokemon. Julia quickly released Saoirse and Ladybug from their pokeballs. She kneeled down to the fairy pokemon's level and asked, in a dulcet voice, "How are you feeling, girl?"

Saoirse looked down at her feet, still looking a little weary. "Snubbull snubbull…" ( _"I'm still a little groggy."_ ) She replied evasively. Ladybug gave her friend a sympathetic look before putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Ledian ledian ledi!" ( _"We're not on the ocean anymore, so it's okay!"_ ) Ladybug told her kindly.

"Would the two of you like to go to my house and see Mom and Dad?" Julia asked. "I'll bet some time at my house might do you some good, Saoirse."

The two pokemon looked at each other, their minds searching for an answer. Since Julia rotated them, they had become stronger and saw far more of the world than they ever knew existed at home. Ladybug evolved, and Saoirse got to know Julia and her friends. But perhaps some time at her house would be nice. They would get to relax and play with the other pokemon and not have to worry about training or battling. Maybe the fresh air from the Parisa family's backyard would help Saoirse's nausea.

Ladybug nodded in agreement. Saoirse did the same. "Snubbull!" "Ledi!"

"Good!" Julia replied. "I'll call Mom or Dad and let them know!" She raced right over to the visual phone and punched in some numbers. The dormant screen flickered, projecting static until the static came together to form a good quality video. Julia had expected to see either one of her parents, smiling happily and saying something like, "Julia! We missed you!" or "It's so good to hear your voice!"

Not the case here. Instead, Truman answered the phone, his blue eyes wide with desperation. His hair was a disheveled mess, with strands standing right up facing the ceiling. Band-aids covered his face and arms, and holes dotted his shirt. _"Oh, Arceus! Julia! I'm so glad you called!"_ Truman cried, sounding like he saw a ghost in a movie.

All the kids found themselves taken aback. "Hey, Dad...what happened to you?" Julia asked, her voice bordering on confused. "You don't look so good."

" _Your pidgeotto is a menace!"_ Truman yelled so loud, Julia had to pull the phone away and back off from the screen. He didn't sound angry, but the desperation in his voice was thick. _"I'm begging you! Please take Tsubasa back! I don't know how much more I can-"_

" _Pijooooo!"_ Tsubasa bereaved him of the opportunity to finish by headbutting him so hard, he fell off his chair. Tsubasa faced the screen, taking note of Julia's presence, before squawking, _"Pijo pijo pijo pijoooooo!"_ ( _"How dare you leave me with that spineless excuse of a human being?!_ ")

Of course. Julia's surprise turned into the maternal kind of anger. Her poor father. Immediately, her heart went out to him. Still, Tsubasa's behavior was unacceptable, and she let her bird pokemon know that in no uncertain terms. "Tsubasa! You've been terrorizing my poor dad, haven't you?!" She scolded in the same way her mother would scold Amara when she would do something bad. "That's not nice, and neither is calling him names!"

" _Marill!"_ ( _"Cut it out!"_ ) Aqua grabbed Tsubasa's tall and pulled her back, allowing Truman to get back on the screen.

" _Uuuugh!"_ Truman groaned, rubbing his chest. _"Sorry, Julia. I'm afraid your pidgeotto is quite a little…"_ He didn't know a nicer word to describe Tsubasa. _"...brat. I've tried to understand her and befriend her, but goodness! I've been pecked more times than I can count!"_

Caiseal and Perrine covered their mouths, stifling back giggles. As much as their hearts went out to poor, hapless Truman, imagining Tsubasa terrorizing him was quite humorous. "Sorry, Dad. Good thing you told me this, because I was gonna ask you to send Aqua, Blossom, and Tsubasa to me."

Hearing those words was like entering heaven for Truman. Waterfalls of tears came pouring right out of his eyes. _"Thank you, my sweet girl! Thank you thank you thank yoooooou!"_ Truman wailed before recalling the two to their pokeballs. Julia placed Ladybug, Lucretia, and Saoirse's pokeballs on the transporters, watching them disappear into white light. Soon, three more lights materialized, forming two pokeballs. The stickers, reading Aqua and Tsubasa, were right where she placed them.

"They're here! Thanks, Dad!" Julia held up the pokeballs for him to see.

" _I just received Saoirse, Lucretia, and Ladybug,"_ Truman replied, holding up the pokeballs Julia sent him. _"That's a big load off my back. Have I told you I love you lately?"_

"No."

" _Well, I do, and I always will!"_ Truman beamed as soon as he said that.

Julia found herself smiling. She always liked her father's goofy ways, humorous nature, and exaggerated way of expressing his love for pretty much anything. Before, she used to hate it when he would tell a bad joke or say something silly when she was trying to be serious. Now, her little heart began to yearn for her father's light humor. _"By the way, where are you, anyway?"_ Truman asked curiously.

"Guess what? I'm in Cianwood City!"

" _Cianwood City?!"_ To Truman, hearing that his youngest daughter was in Cianwood City was like she got invited to go inside a huge, fancy castle. His eyes were wide with shock, but not the desperate kind of shock. _"You're that far?! Goodness!"_ Truman found himself rubbing his head of dark chocolate brown hair. _"My little girl really is growing up!"_

Julia simply smiled silently. "How's Mom doing?"

" _She's at work right now,"_ Truman answered. _"But she told me about what happened at Ecruteak and your new friends. Can I see them?"_

On cue, Caiseal and Perrine leaned closer to get a look at Julia's father. "Hello!" Perrine waved her hand at the screen. "You're Julia's dad, right?" Perrine couldn't help but think that Truman's soft faced features made him look much nicer than Eduardo. "I'm Perrine!"

"The name's Caiseal."

Truman beamed. "It's so nice to meet you two, even if it is through a tiny screen!" He told them joyfully.

After that, Julia and Truman talked for a while longer before the latter had to go take care of the pokemon. Saying their goodbyes, both parties hung up the phone. Julia released Aqua and Tsubasa from their pokeballs. Aqua's round eyes glimmered with joy as soon as she saw Julia's face. The blue mouse leaped into her friend's arms.

"Aqua! I haven't seen you in so long!" Julia chirruped, nuzzling her friend's cheek with her own. "Sorry I've been neglecting you," She couldn't think of a better word to describe their absence. But Julia knew her old friend probably missed her, and truth be told, she missed her blue mouse friend also. Tsubasa simply let out a terse chirp.

Her trainer's hypersensitive ears caught that, and the girl glared down at the bird as she set Aqua down on the ground. Crossing her arms, she said in an authoritative tone, "Tsubasa? Have you been bullying my father and everyone at the ranch?"

"Pijo pijo!" ( _"It's their fault for being too weak for my awesomeness!"_ )

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" Julia wagged her finger at the bird pokemon like a parent scolding a naughty child. Once again, Perrine and Caiseal found themselves giggling under their breath. Watching Tsubasa be scolded was just too funny. "That kind of behavior is unacceptable, and since you've been a bad girl, you're grounded!" Then it hit her. Tsubasa loved battling. That'll do the trick. "No battling for a whole week!"

Tsubasa's expression went from disinterested to utterly flabbergasted within milliseconds. No battling? For a whole week? After all that time being cooped up at the ranch? Tsubasa found herself squawking like a chicken. _"You can't do that to me! Battling is my life! That's not fair!"_ Tsubasa whined like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum. Everyone in the Pokemon Center turned to watch the scene play out before them.

Julia's stern expression didn't change. Not one bit. A good trainer always scolded their pokemon for doing something wrong. "You should have thought of that before you pecked everyone. You brought this on yourself, Tsubasa. If I see you bullying someone again, whether it's my friends or my parents, you won't battle for two weeks! Got it?"

Two weeks?! Wasn't one week bad enough? But Tsubasa could see the stoic look in Julia's eyes. She was dead serious. Knowing it wouldn't do any good to go against her, Tsubasa relented. To think she used to pick on Julia when they first met. Seeing the dejected bird made Julia's heart melt. Shedding her authoritative air, she kneeled down to Tsubasa and said, "I'm only doing this because I love you. I don't want people thinking you're a bad pokemon, and I know you're not. Would you like it if someone kept attacking your friends all the time?"

The bird pokemon wasn't sure how to answer that. Julia could see she was sorry, but still wanted to go through with the grounding. No cutting corners or playing favorites. With that, Julia put Tsubasa in her pokeball. She turned to her friends and asked, "So who's up for training?"

* * *

Now that Chuck and Eusine's pokemon were healed, and that Perrine switched Chirin for Mushi, all five of them decided to head to the same place: a small, uninhabited area north of the city. It was relatively close by if one took a car, but was still a trek on foot, not that anyone minded. Julia looked down at Chuck's feet. No shoes covered them. She couldn't help but wonder how Chuck was managing to deal with dirt, grime, or whatever else on his feet.

She couldn't resist the urge to ask. "Mr. Bergman?"

"Wahahaha!" Chuck roared in laughter. Julia's hands flew to her ears. "Don't be so formal! You can call me Chuck if you want!"

"Sorry…" Julia murmured. "My mom says it's not nice to call someone who's older than you by their first name," She was one to stick to the rules no matter what. But that didn't mean she wouldn't bend them every now and again.

"I don't mind at all!" Chuck exclaimed.

"Uhh...Mr. Chuck then. How come you're not wearing shoes?" She asked. "I mean, won't you get rocks or splinters or dirt on your feet?" Julia remembered trying to walk outside in her bare feet many times. The feeling of splinters in her toes resembled that of a beedrill's stinger, and she could always feel the little things poking her skin. It would always hurt, too. There was also a time when she ran too fast, tripped on the sidewalk, and ripped a big bloody hole on her large toe.

She mentally prepared herself for a potential scolding. She assumed somebody around her was going to say something like, "It's not appropriate to ask questions like that," or "Some people have their own way of doing things, and it's not our place to ask." Maybe even something like, "That's really rude," She was sure Amara would say something like that. She always did whenever Julia asked personal questions. But she never asked them to be mean. Just out of curiosity or concern for their safety.

Oddly enough, Chuck simply flashed a big, toothy smile. "Training requires someone to endure any and all kinds of trials and tribulations, and walking barefoot is one such trial!" He exclaimed boldly. "If I can't handle a little grit and grime on my feet, then I won't be a proper fighting type master! Overcoming life's obstacles is what living is all about!"

' _I wish I could live by that philosophy,'_ Julia thought. As much as she liked his philosophy and having already endured such trials, Julia wasn't sure if she could be strong like he was. In her mind, she was just a young autistic girl who cried at almost everything, was sensitive to little things others weren't bothered by, and who was scared of everything. She wished she had his fearless, go-getter personality.

"But what if something stabs your foot, like a rock or a piece of wood?" Julia asked further. "Who knows what kinds of germs and infections are in those. They might even be fatal."

"Ehehehe…" Chuck let out a sheepish laugh. "If it happens, it happens, and all I gotta do is deal with it. That's all. But thanks for your concern, uhh...sorry," He gave her a confused look. "I never did ask yer names, did I?"

"Julia."

"I'm Perrine."

Caiseal glanced at Eusine before saying, "Caiseal's the name."

"Nothin' wrong with being curious!" Chuck announced. "In fact, curiosity is what drives people to do great things! It'd be so boring if we all didn't want to learn about stuff we didn't know about!" He glanced at Eusine, waggling his thick, bushy eyebrows. "Ain't that right, Eusine?"

The purple tuxedo clad man held a hand up, as though to keep Chuck out of his personal space. "You are, yes, but I have grand visions in mind-"

"Hey! Hikaru!" All of a sudden, Hikaru darted away from the group. "Come back!" Julia raced after her friend. Everyone else did the same.

Hikaru heard a soft growl from afar. She recognized it immediately. It was one of her father's friends! Her tiny arms and legs raced across the white sand, not caring that said sand was hot like a cyndaquil's flame. Her tiny feet kicked some sand upward, some of it getting into the kids' shoes as they chased after her. Soon, something came into view. A large, diamond shaped crest and a purple, aurora-like mane.

"Pichu!" ( _"Suicune!"_ )

Everyone stopped in their tracks, eyes wide with bewilderment. There was Suicune, standing before some rocks in his usual regal manner. His aurora-like mane flowed beautifully like the ocean waves, the diamond-shaped crest on his head reflecting the sunlight. Hikaru didn't stop to stare in awe of Suicune's presence. She just approached Suicune and talked to him like he was any other pokemon.

"Hikaru!"

"Suicune!" Eusine suddenly exclaimed, interrupting their conversation. "For ten years, I have searched for you far and wide!" He opened his arms up to Suicune like he was expecting a hug. "My search has come to fruition, as now I'm seeing you up close and personal, like I've always dreamed!"

The three kids all stared at each other in confusion. Neither Hikaru nor Suicune noticed his presence, as they continued their conversation. Julia could hear it quite clearly.

" _How is Daddy doing?"_

" _He is alive and well, little one,"_ Suicune gently nudged Hikaru with his muzzle.

"Huh?" Eusine finally took notice of their conversation, turning to Julia and immediately putting her on the spot. "What is this? Does your pichu know Suicune?"

"Well…" Julia wasn't sure how to explain it.

"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru suddenly cried, her smile fading. Julia knew what she said. _"Don't go! I want to talk more!"_

" _I'm sorry, little one,"_ Suicune let out a light growl. _"I cannot allow humans to find me here, lest I put you and the others in danger,"_ He flashed a soft smile at the tiny mouse. _"But I will let Raikou know you're well. Au revoir!"_ With that, Suicune gracefully raced away from the area, hopping on the ocean as though his large paws never even touched the large body of water. Hikaru tried to race toward the ocean but stopped once her feet touched the wet sand. There was no way a tiny pichu would be able to cross an entire ocean.

"Hikaru…" Julia cradled the mouse in her arms and nuzzled her. "You really miss Raikou, don't you?"

"Chuuu…"

"What was that?!" Eusine suddenly raced over to Julia, bending so close to her that he got into her personal space. She was quick to get out of his way. "Are you in some way acquainted with Suicune?! How can a child gaze upon Suicune in all of its glory?!"

"Calm down, Eusine," Chuck told him. "Let the kid explain."

Knowing there was no other alternative, Julia figured she might as well come clean. She told Eusine and Chuck about Hikaru, how Raikou was acquainted with her, how Julia can understand pokemon, etc. Immediately she regretted it, as she could see the disbelief written all over Eusine's face. Seeing it made her feel as though she was some pathological liar. She had seen it far too often to mistake it for anything else.

"A human who can understand the language of pokemon…" Eusine mused to himself, putting a hand on his chin. "That's not something I've heard of in all my years of research," He flashed a smug smile. "I'm not sure if I believe you, but…" He pulled out a pokeball. "Since we have both seen Suicune with our eyes, I would very much like to challenge you to a battle."

"No thanks," Julia was quick to interrupt. "I wanna train for my battle with Chuck, and I'm not gonna battle you just to convince you I can talk to pokemon," She told him without mincing words. "Besides, you're probably gonna beat me anyway."

"Pichu!" ( _"She makes a good point!"_ ) Hikaru added.

Eusine put his pokeball away. "Oh well. I would have liked to battle you, but I do want to continue my search for Suicune," He told them. "It was nice meeting you, though," With that, the man in the purple tuxedo went about his way.

"Man! That suicune was a sight to see!" Chuck exclaimed.

"Wait!" Perrine held her hands up, facing Julia. "Who's gonna battle Chuck? Me or you?"

"Rock paper scissors?" Julia suggested.

With a nod, the two girls held their fists out. "Rock paper scissors, shoot!" Two fists. "Rock paper scissors, shoot!" Two flat hands. One more try. "Rock paper scissors, shoot!" Perrine had two fingers out, Julia had her hand flat. "Woohoo!" Perrine cheered, jumping up once. "I get to battle Chuck first!"

To prepare for their battle with Chuck, the two girls had a practice battle. Chuck himself went off on his own to do some of his own training, leaving the girls alone. Perrine sent out Mushi and Julia sent out Blossom, since they figured they deserved some training.

"Use Scratch, Mushi!"

The orange bug pokemon scurried forward, with one of his large claws out and ready. "Parassss!" Mushi hissed.

"Defend yourself with Acid!" Julia commanded. With a light chirp, Blossom sprayed a yellowish green substance on Mushi's face. As soon as it made contact with the orange bug's face, the substance burned like a blazing flame. Mushi hissed and scurried around desperately trying to shake it off. "Now use Mega Drain!" A blue and green light shot out from the leaves on Blossom's head, wrapping right around the hapless Mushi.

"Don't give up, boy!" Perrine shouted. "Set yourself free with Scratch!"

Encouraged by his trainer's words, Mushi managed to use his large claws to cut the Mega Drain, freeing himself. Soon, the orange bug raced toward the sentient plant and scratched her face three times. Blossom held up her small feet to try and block it, but Mushi was too big and too fast for her. "You can do it, Blossom! I know you can!" Julia exclaimed. "I believe in you!"

She believed in her. Blossom opened her red eyes before slamming Mushi so hard she sent the orange bug rolling on the sand. That was when it happened. Blossom shone in a bright white light, blinding everything and everyone around her. The plant pokemon grew a little bit bigger, the leaves on her head morphing into a round, pumpkin-like shape. Soon, the light faded. Out came a new Blossom. Her body was still the same deep blue color, but her eyes were closed, her feet grew longer, and a set of small, stubby arms grew out. Drool came trickling out of Blossom's mouth. A brownish orange flower crowned her head, with orange leaves curling outward.

"Glooooooom…" Blossom cooed in a small voice.

"Yay!" Julia cheered, jumping up and down. "You evolved, Blossom! Yay yay yay!"

"Gloom gloom!" Blossom found herself jumping up and down as well, rejoicing in her new evolution.

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex and examined Blossom's new form. _"Gloom, the weed pokemon._ _The fluid that oozes from its mouth isn't drool. It is a nectar that is used to attract prey. It is very sticky and clings stubbornly if touched. One whiff of the honey can result in memory loss. Gloom releases a foul fragrance from the pistil of its flower. When faced with danger, the stench worsens. If this Pokémon is feeling calm and secure, it does not release its usual stinky aroma."_

"I think we're done here," Perrine cradled her friend in her arms. "You were great out there, Mushi."

Mushi waved his big claws around. "Paras paras!"

All Caiseal could do was smile as he watched Julia and Blossom dance, holding hands and jumping around like little kids.

* * *

Finally, the time had come. Chuck and Perrine both stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. The inside of Cianwood Gym pretty much had nothing in it save for some large bleachers, rocks, and a small built-in bond. Julia, Caiseal, and their pokemon all sat on the bleachers as a female referee made her announcement.

"The gym battle between Chuck Bergman, the Cianwood City gym leader, and Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City is set to begin in a moment!" The plump referee announced in a bold albeit husky voice. "The gym leader may only use three pokemon with no substitutions. The challenger is allowed to use six pokemon and is allowed substitutions!"

"Fine with me!" Chuck pulled out a pokeball, flashing a confident smile. "Machoke! Let's rock, buddy!"

A white light materialized on Chuck's side of the battlefield before forming a machoke. Said grey humanoid flexed his muscles, ready for battle. "Maaaaachoke!" Machoke proclaimed in a deep, husky voice.

"A fighting type, huh?" Perrine pulled out a pokeball. "This'll be over quick! Baloo, knock'em dead!" The pink balloon pokemon gracefully popped out of her pokeball, floating onto the battlefield gracefully, like she was a ballerina.

"Jiggly!"

"Ready?" The female referee asked. With both parties nodding, she raised two flags in the air. "Battle, begin!"

Perrine was the first to make a move. "Baloo, start off with Disarming Voice!"

"Jiggly!" Baloo let out a charming yet shrill cry, shooting waves of glowing pink circles right at Chuck's machoke. Pinkish red hearts accompanied the sound waves, flying right toward machoke.

"Machoke, punch'em out with Karate Chop!" Chuck commanded.

On cue, machoke flattened his hands before completely cutting the hearts into smithereens with both hands. Even though the sound waves managed to strike the grey humanoid, his flat hands made contact with the hearts, turning them into dust.

"Now use Low Sweep!"

Machoke stuck his foot out as he raced toward Baloo, almost swiping at her feet. "Inflate yourself and dodge it!" Perrine exclaimed. Baloo sucked in a breath of air as she ballooned right up, floating into the air right as Machoke's foot barely made contact with one of her own. Since the balloon pokemon managed to fly up in the nick of time, the Low Sweep didn't do much damage.

"Now use-" Before Perrine could call out an attack, Chuck suddenly interrupted her with his roaring.

"Poison Jab!"

"Huh?!" Everyone's mouth fell agape. What was with pokemon and knowing impossible moves? Perrine was so dumbfounded that she didn't give Baloo a commanded. The balloon pokemon was helpless as machoke's hand glowed in a purple light. Without mercy, machoke jabbed his hand right on Baloo's side. A sharp, burning pain shot all throughout Baloo's body like she had been set on fire.

Immediately, Baloo deflated and floated down to the ground, unable to continue.

"Baloo the jigglypuff is unable to battle!" The female referee pointed a brown flag in Chuck's direction. "Machoke is the winner!"

Perrine facepalmed before calling Baloo back to her pokeball. "What in the world? How is this even possible?" She asked herself. She had planned her battle down to the last detail. She trained and practiced with her pokemon whenever she could. Now it was all going down in flames thanks to machoke's Poison Jab. Then again...she still had a chance.

She sent Fuwari out next. Machoke knocked her out with Poison Jab. Next came Fukuro. "Use Confusion!" Perrine commanded.

"Toooooh!" Thankfully, Fukuro's eyes glowed in a purple light. Machoke found himself unable to move for a while as a sharp pain surged through his muscular body. Soon, machoke was stumbling all over the place.

"Now's our chance!" Perrine knew this could turn things around. "Use Peck and don't hold back!"

On cue, Fukuro dashed right toward machoke's face and pecked at him with his beak with everything he had.

"Dynamic Punch!" Chuck roared, balling his fists.

"Maaachoke!" Machoke's left hand glowed in a white light as he raised it upward. Fukuro was occupied with pecking machoke's face, so he failed to notice the fist flying right at him. But Perrine did.

"FUKURO! MOVE AWAY!" Perrine screamed. But Fukuro didn't react in time. The fist collided, and the bird was sent rolling on the battlefield. The referee announced that Fukuro was unable to battle.

"No…" Perrine found herself shaking. "Why is this happening?!" She asked herself. Her pokemon were losing left and right and Chuck still had machoke out. Either Chuck was really strong or Perrine didn't train with her pokemon hard enough. But she still had three more. Maybe she could try and turn it around?

Unfortunately, her other three didn't fare any better. Mushi was knocked out with Poison Jab, as was Florian despite knowing Reflect. Kitsune barely stood a chance, as she was rendered confused with one Dynamic Punch.

"Flamethrower! Come on!" Anger seized Perrine, and she found herself shouting commands like an angry military officer.

"I can't watch!" Julia covered her face with her hands.

Kitsune spat out a stream of fire, but machoke was able to dodge it by doing a few backflips. Chuck punched the air. "Now, finish it with Karate Chop!"

The grey humanoid struck Kitsune with a flat hand, sending the fox rolling across the battlefield. Kitsune tried to get back up, but her battered body refused to obey her commands. Soon, her legs buckled and she collapsed on the battlefield.

"Kitsune the vulpix is unable to battle!" The referee announced. "The winner is machoke, and the victory goes to Chuck Bergman, the Cianwood City gym leader!"

"We did it, buddy!" Chuck and his machoke wrapped their arms around each other in affectionate embraces, laughing and rejoicing in their victory.

But they were the only ones who were happy. Perrine just fell to her knees, her expression a mask of utter shock and disbelief. Her mind was aswirl with questions for which she had no answers. What happened? What went wrong? She knew everything about Chuck and his battling style. She researched him and all of the other gym leaders before her journey. She knew all there was to know, and yet…

"Perrine?" Julia was quick to run over to her. But something about Perrine's gait told the girl that she did not want to be touched. Julia kept her hands to herself. Still, the urge to wrap her arms around her friend and comfort her was strong. She looked at Caiseal, silently wondering if she should do what her heart was telling her to.

All she got in response was Caiseal shaking his head side to side. No. Discouraged, Julia looked down, her heart going out to Perrine. What could she say?

"Vul?" Thankfully, Kitsune managed to get back up, finding the strength to walk up to her trainer. The dejection in the fox's eyes was all too imminent. Kitsune stuck her tongue out, kneeling down to Perrine's hand to give her a comforting lick.

Everyone thought Perrine would accept her best friend's comfort and realize that it wasn't the end of the world. She could always battle Chuck again another time. But what Perrine did right afterward took everyone's breath away, and not in a good way.

Perrine glared at Kitsune, her blue eyes blazing with anger. A swipe of her hand forced Kitsune to back away five steps. Perrine's mind was shouting at her not to react this way, but her heart did not listen. "You're so stupid!" Perrine screamed. "You're supposed to be stronger than this! We trained all day for this and you completely blew it! Now we lost and it's all your fault!"

Where did this angry Perrine come from? Julia found herself breathless, her eyes wide with terror. How could Perrine talk to her friend like that? Seeing Perrine so angry reminded Julia of Amara. This was too much. Terror suddenly morphed into anger. This was very unlike her friend. Kitsune didn't deserve to be talked to like that!

"Hey!" Julia stood in between Kitsune and Perrine, her green eyes glaring right at the orange haired girl. "Don't talk to Kitsune like that!" She yelled. "She battled hard for you! It's not the end of the world!"

"Perrine," Chuck's deep voice pulled everyone back to reality. But Julia could see the hurt in Kitsune's eyes. The small vulpix looked away from her trainer, staring down at the battlefield beneath her paws. The girl's heart went out to the small fox. "I enjoyed battling with you. But you still have much to learn," Chuck began. "Your battling style is too rigid. It's good to plan ahead and strategize, but you have to be able to adapt when there's unexpected changes."

Everyone's ears perked up. Didn't Morty say something similar back in Ecruteak?

"I know you can be a good trainer. But if a small change is enough to render you completely unable to battle, then it leaves you and your pokemon open for defeat," Chuck told her in no uncertain terms. "You have to be flexible. You can't be narrow-minded about your battling or your goals in life," He held his hand out with a smile. "But I'd be more than happy to battle you again."

Once again, Perrine swiped at his hand before storming off in tears. "Perrine!" Julia was about to go after her, but Caiseal grabbed her by the arm, holding her back.

"Let's give her some space," Caiseal whispered calmly.

As much as Julia wanted to listen to him, seeing Perrine in her current state wounded her heart. Then again, the one who was the most hurt was Kitsune. The fox pokemon continued to stare at her own paws, lost in her own mind. This was a first for the fox pokemon. Perrine had always been unfailingly kind and generous toward her. She took her in during a dark time in her life. How could one loss suddenly bring out the worst in her? Perrine never treated Kitsune like that before.

What changed?

* * *

 **Yes yes, I know. I suck at writing battles. They never seem to come out right, and I don't want to end up dragging them out. As for Perrine's anger at the end, one of my best online friends said that Perrine comes off as a bit too idealistic of a friend. I see where he's coming from, so I'm trying to give Perrine some flaws that'll help her be more rounded. If I'm doing it wrong, feel free to offer suggestions and let me know how I can rectify it!**

 **Also, another pokemon evolves in the next chapter! Try to guess who!**

 **Random fact: I thought about having the kids battle Eusine in a triple battle, but I'll save that for a future chapter. A triple battle might have made the chapter drag out far too long and I don't want to bore you.**

* * *

Footnotes:

1\. This is actually a reference to the Titanic. Or, to be more specific, the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic. Olympic was drafted into service in World War I as a troopship, and once engaged a German submarine. The sub fired a torpedo at the ship but missed. Olympic in return rammed the submarine and sank it. This is on top of the fact that she was one of the largest commercial ocean liners at the time, and was only drafted due to a shortage of ships. Large troopships were extremely vulnerable targets because if one sunk they would take with them a lot more lives than smaller troopships. The Olympic not only rammed a submarine to death, but survived the entire war intact. This earned her the name "Old Reliable."

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	26. Fading Flames, Forsaken Feelings

Chapter 20: Fading Flames, Forsaken Feelings

Nobody understood what had gotten into Perrine. She had never treated her pokemon that way before. She always treated them with kindness and affection. Seeing her swipe at Kitsune like she was bothering her was extremely out of character for her.

As for Perrine herself, she just sat on the sand, watching the waves ebb back and forth with scorn. Julia and Caiseal watched as Perrine sat there. Even the other pokemon didn't seem to feel like playing, as Perrine's bad mood was rubbing off on them. Julia could see Perrine's gait become rigid, the atmosphere around her becoming tense. In a way, Julia knew how she was feeling. Of course someone would get mad if something didn't go their way. She herself had done it a few times, and Amara was no stranger to it either. But she just couldn't picture nice, polite, and bold Perrine taking her anger out on her pokemon.

"Uugh!" Julia found herself grunting like a hungry ursaring. "I can't stand sitting here like this!" She stood up from the sand, not caring that some had gotten into her shoes. "I'm gonna talk to her."

This time, Caiseal didn't object like he usually did. Julia had been antsy about talking to Perrine for a few hours now, so at this point, telling her to give her space wasn't going to help. Not only that, he knew Julia knew he meant well, and didn't want her or the others to get hurt, so he silently approved.

Julia sat down next to Perrine. She made sure to stay about a couple feet away from her to give her some space. "Perrine?" She asked in a soft voice, hoping it wouldn't set her off. She got no response. Julia forced a smile. "It's okay. Everyone loses a battle at some point. I've lost a few myself," Julia told her. "You can always battle him again. It's not like it's the end of everything."

"Sure," Perrine muttered tersely. For a moment, Julia thought the terse voice didn't belong to her friend. That certainly didn't sound like the Perrine she knew.

"Do you...want something to eat?" Julia suggested. "I bought some taiyaki(1) from the store earlier. Battling can really make your stomach growl."

"No thanks," Perrine replied in a low voice. The anger was still there, but it was faint. "Sorry, but...can you leave me alone for a while? I need to think about some stuff."

Julia stood up without hesitation. "Alright. But if you ever wanna talk or vent, Caiseal and I are here if you need us," With that, she returned to her pokemon.

"She's really bummed, isn't she?" Caiseal asked as he gave Viole some pokemon food.

"Yeah," Julia turned to look at her friend again, this time from a distance. "I've never seen her act like this before. It's really unsettling," She put a hand on one arm, as goosebumps crawled all up her arms, possibly from the ocean breeze. "Well, at least she isn't yelling at me or anyone else right now, so that's good."

Caiseal scratched one of his arms, pulling back his sleeve to do so. "I suppose," Mallow immediately leaped onto his lap. "Hey, buddy."

Just because Perrine wasn't yelling right now, didn't mean she didn't want to later. Julia knew this from experience. Years of seeing her parents fight sometimes and being on the receiving end of Amara's anger taught her that rage doesn't go away in the snap of a finger. The awful feeling resulting from being yelled at would linger for days, even weeks, depending on if the conflict got resolved. Kitsune sat on another part of the area, simply batting sand around with one paw, staring at nothing as tears dripped out of her grey eyes.

' _Poor Kitsune,'_ Julia thought. Perhaps a little cheering up was in order. With a smile, Julia ambled over to the sad fox and kneeled to her level. "Kitsune? You doing alright?"

"Vul…" ( _"No…"_ ) Kitsune shook her head, letting out a soft cry.

The dejection in the vulpix's voice was too noticeable to ignore. Julia stroke the fox's warm, soft fur with one hand gently. "Don't be sad, Kit. I'm sure Perrine didn't mean it," She told her reassuringly. "Some people yell when they get mad. I've done it, too. You battled really hard, so I'm proud of you."

At least someone was proud of her. Kitsune flashed a soft smile, nuzzled Julia's hand, and gave her some licks, tickling the skin on her hand. "It's okay. Maybe Perrine will cool off after a while. Let's leave her alone for now, okay?" Julia suggested kindly. Kitsune nodded in agreement. "Here's an idea. I just bought a frisbee, so maybe you, me, and some other pokemon can play frisbee. How about that?"

Kitsune had seen people play with frisbees before but never got to play with one herself. The fox found it to be a good idea. Perhaps getting some exercise and playtime would take her mind off things. Seeing the approval on the fox's face, Julia pulled out a purple frisbee. Julia stole a glance over at Baloo, Florian, and Flippy, who stared at them curiously.

"Do you guys wanna play frisbee with us?"

Cheering with delight, the pokemon joined Kitsune and Julia in their game. Blossom and Stacey did the same. "Ready? Catch!" Julia threw the frisbee in the sky, watching it soar like it was an alien's UFO. Florian was the first to catch it with his vines before throwing it himself. Stacey managed to jump up and grab it with her stick-like hands before throwing it toward Flippy. Instead of catching it, Flippy just stood there, letting it bump her head before it rolled on the floor.

"Are you okay, Flippy?" Julia asked.

"Saaaaah," ( _"Sorry about that…"_ ) Stacey apologized, scratching her large horn with one hand, wondering why Flippy didn't catch it in time.

"Jiggly jiggly?" Baloo asked.

"Quaaaaaag…" Flippy bent downward, picked up the frisbee, and threw it. It only floated a few feet into the air, enough for Blossom to catch it. But since the plant pokemon's arms were so short and stubby, it slipped right out of her hands.

"Gloom gloom!" ( _"It's rolling away!"_ ) Blossom exclaimed.

"Vulpix vul!" ( _"I'll get it!"_ ) Kitsune darted after the rolling frisbee, running as fast as she could. But the fox pokemon kicked sand in the air with her paws as she ran, and the frisbee was rolling right toward Perrine. If that frisbee were to hit her, Perrine was sure to get angry. For all Kitsune knew, her trainer might still be in a bad mood. She couldn't let that happen. With that in mind, Kitsune ran faster, finally managing to outrun the frisbee and block it. Unfortunately, Kitsune slipped and rolled right onto Perrine's back, sending her spiraling into the sand.

"Ugh!" Perrine yelped.

"Vulpix!" ( _"Sorry, Perrine!"_ ) Kitsune was quick to get off of Perrine.

Seeing what happened, everyone else ran toward the orange haired girl. Some sand had gotten caught in her hair and clothes, and part of her skirt had a splotch of salt water on it. "Perrine! Are you okay?"

Instead of responding or understanding the situation, Perrine sat up and glared right at Kitsune. If looks could kill, Perrine's blue eyes would strike Kitsune dead. Kitsune could see and feel the anger in her trainer, backing away two steps. Perrine wanted to stop herself from yelling, but her mouth was not listening to her heart. Perrine found herself yelling, "You just knocked me into the sand! Look what you did!"

"Vul…" Already, Kitsune found herself cowering.

"I'm in no mood for your stupid games!" Perrine yelled. "Just...go away and stay away!" She flapped her fists up and down.

Julia's worry immediately morphed into an angry grimace upon hearing Perrine's now shrill voice. As much as she hated yelling, Julia hated this even more. Why was Perrine acting like this? How could she treat Kitsune like that? Julia stepped in and exclaimed, "Hey! Don't talk to her like that! It was an accident! She didn't mean it!"

Surprisingly enough, that was enough to make Perrine stop yelling. Even this caught Julia off guard. Nobody stopped yelling the minute she called them out before. Usually, anyone who she would hear yelling would continue to do so. Nevertheless, Perrine was her friend. A good friend would make sure to call them out on any wrongdoing and stop them from doing it further. Kitsune didn't deserve any of this. Perrine looked down at the fox, who shivered behind Julia, looking up at her trainer like she was lost.

The sadness in her friend's eyes was all too blatant. Perrine let out a sigh and put both hands on her head. "Sorry...I...I need to go cool off…" With that, Perrine marched off to the Pokemon Center, her gait wobbly and unsteady.

Julia facepalmed. "Awww man. I really messed up this time," She said ruefully.

"It's alright," Caiseal put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She'll come around. I get that way, too. They'll make up sooner or later."

"I hope so," Julia replied bitterly. "Kitsune doesn't deserve to get yelled at like that. Amara does that to her own pokemon enough."

What neither of them noticed was that a tearful Kitsune walked away from the premises, ambling into a cave that happened to be nearby. Thankfully, someone did notice. Baloo saw Kitsune's tails disappear into the cave, blinking once in confusion before saying, "Jiggly?" ( _"Kitsune?"_ )

* * *

The dirt beneath her paws was bumpy and uneven, and some zubat hung from the ceiling, dormant and unmoving. But Kitsune didn't mind. She liked the silence of the cave, the darkness that hung over her even though the cave wasn't so dark that she couldn't see, and the uneven ground she walked on. It felt great to be away from angry Perrine. That didn't stop the tears from falling out from her eyes, dripping onto the ground. Soon, she saw a light in the distance. Good. She walked outside, greeted by a fast moving river, fresh green grass, and a school of pidgey flying in the sky.

As much as she loved this beautiful scenery, the hole in her heart was so big that there was no bandage big enough to cover it. She walked along the river, watching as magikarp leaped in round arcs, basking in the sunlight, showing off their fins before diving right back in. Not even seeing those magikarp could fill the hole that Perrine left in her heart. Actually, there was already a hole in her heart. Perrine had sewn it right back up, only to rip it open once more.

" _Perrine…"_ Kitsune mused to herself sadly. _"...she acted just like my old trainer…"_

" _Kitsune!"_ A familiar voice echoed inside the cave. Kitsune stood back up on her paws to see who that was. The pink balloon pokemon popped out from the exit, smiling with delight. Her large eyes glistened as she caught up to her friend. "There you are!"

The fox pokemon frowned and looked away. _"What are you doing here?"_ She asked tersely, her orange tails curling inward.

Baloo waved her arms up and down before saying, _"Looking for you, of course! I was worried! Won't you please-?"_

" _No,"_ Kitsune interrupted, calmly but with a solemn expression about her. She knew what Baloo was going to say, and she was sticking to her answer like a geodude on a rock path. _"I'm not going back with her and that's final."_

" _Why not?"_ Baloo asked. _"She's just in a bad mood, that's all. She'll get over it."_

Kitsune turned around, glaring at the balloon pokemon, before hissing, _"You don't get it! She acted just like my old trainer!"_ Her tails straightened outward, and Baloo stepped back two steps, surprised by the change in demeanor.

' _Why is everybody cranky today?'_ Baloo asked herself. But something Kitsune said made her ears perk up. Old trainer? She and Perrine had heard some stories about how Kitsune's previous trainer wasn't exactly the best person. But Perrine? Acting like her old trainer? The pink balloon thought maybe she was exaggerating. "It was just one outburst," Baloo explained. _"Don't you think you're overreacting a little? Perrine didn't mean it-"_

Once again, Kitsune cut her off. _"Yes she did!"_ She walked alongside the river. Not wanting to lose sight of her friend, Baloo followed her. _"I'm sick of always being everyone's scapegoat! I hate it!"_

" _Come on,"_ Baloo interjected. _"Has Perrine ever treated you like that before?"_

" _No."_

" _Has she ever lied to you before?"_

Kitsune found herself dumbfounded. What was with this line of questions? _"No, but that doesn't mean she doesn't secretly hate me!"_

Baloo facepalmed. _"If Perrine really hated you, she'd have gotten rid of you by now. Maybe even all of us. But she hasn't, now has she?"_

The fox pokemon stopped in her tracks. Her friend raised a point. In fact, Perrine had been nothing but nice to them since they first met. Perrine was the one who took her in and raised her like she was her own for a couple years. They played together, trained together, slept together, and endured hardship together. Kitsune could really feel a connection with Perrine. She didn't have one with her previous trainer. Still, there was no excuse for Perrine's behavior. No excuse at all.

She held her head up, took on a regal stance, and said, in no uncertain terms, _"Until she stops being a crankypants, I refuse to go back and that's final."_

Baloo let out a defeated sigh. _"Come on, Kitsune. Let's be rational here."_

" _What's there to be rational about?"_ Kitsune noticed a small stone by her feet. Perrine's cold words ran through her head once more. Go away and stay away. Anger seized her. She kicked that stone with enough force to make it fly into a perfect arch. The stone fell into a bush, causing the leaves to rustle loudly.

Unfortunately, an angry spearow suddenly popped out from the bushes, glaring at them. "Spearooooow!" ( _"You just hit me!"_ ) The spearow cawed with a shrill squawk. It looked up at the sky and cried out, "Spearoooooow!" ( _"Bad pokemon just threw a rock at meeeeeee!"_ )

All of a sudden, a flock of spearow came descending from the sky. Kitsune and Baloo knew this was the perfect time to run for their lives. The two scurried away as the flock of spearow flapped their wings vigorously, absolutely determined to catch up to them at any moment.

" _They're gaining on us!"_ Kitsune cried. _"Can't you use Sing?!"_

" _I can't sing and run at the same time!"_ Baloo yelled.

" _Grrrr!"_ Kitsune turned around and expelled a stream of fire at the bird pokemon. Some of them ascended to the sky to dodge, while others weren't so lucky. Some spearow caught on fire, flying away with flames on their feathers. One spearow took a chance and flapped its wings, generating a huge gust of wind. Baloo and Kitsune tried to run, but the wind was so strong it made them fly into the air, sending them right into the river.

The water current was too strong. Baloo clung to Kitsune for dear life, but the fox pokemon was faring no better than her friend was. She had already swallowed some water, making it hurt to even breathe. The fox kept bobbing her head on the surface of the water to breathe. Her small legs were too weak to paddle away. Soon, the two pokemon disappeared down a steep waterfall. The flock of spearow finally flew away, hoping that they died as soon as they hit their heads on some rocks.

Was this the end, Kitsune thought to herself. Was this how her journey would end?

* * *

"Uuugh!" Perrine laid down on a bed and groaned as she buried her face in a pillow. "Why am I being such a brat?!" The orange haired girl's feelings were all over the place, with anger being one such feeling she wanted to boot out. She banged her fists on her pillow, hoping to beat the anger out of her system. She couldn't believe she had been doing nothing but yell at Kitsune over something that wasn't her fault. How could she treat her first pokemon this way? Kitsune had done nothing wrong. Perrine knew this, yet she still took her anger out on her.

Guilt weighed down on her, pressing her body down on the bed. Gradually, the anger began to dissipate, her heart overflowing with remorse. Even if she did lose her battle with Chuck, it wasn't an excuse to yell at her pokemon, especially after they battled to the best of her ability. Being angry and angsty wasn't a sign of good sportsmanship. Still, it was so frustrating to lose. But even she knew there were better ways to deal with it.

She sat up and wiped some tears out of her eyes with one hand. "Kitsune…" Seeing the hurt in her dear friend's eyes was too much to bear. Guilt gnawed at her heart. "I should go and apologize. I shouldn't have treated her the way I did," With resolve in her heart, she left the Pokemon Center. On the way to the beach, her stomach growled like a roaring donphan begging for food.

"Ehehehe…" Perrine put both hands on her stomach. "I guess my being hungry played a part in this too," The scent of hash browns suddenly caressed her nostrils. A warm, summery, burning scent. She looked to her right and saw someone at a small stand selling hash browns. Perhaps one of those would work. It had been a while since she had hash browns. She ambled over to the stand and asked for two hash browns. One for herself and another for Kitsune.

"Oh! Hot hot hot!" The paper bags stung the soft skin on her hands, burning like the heat from a fire. Then again, this was obvious. It was freshly made, after all. That didn't stop Perrine from taking a bite of the soft yet crunchy hash brown. The soft, wet insides bounced around in her mouth, warming it right up. As soon as she swallowed the piece she tore off, her hunger gradually dissipated.

Julia and Caiseal came within her vicinity. Her friends, who stuck by her since her journey. Guilt weighed her heart down once more. They didn't deserve the treatment she gave them. Swallowing hard, she approached them with an apologetic expression and said, "Guys? I'm sorry. I've been such a brat lately. You guys didn't deserve that."

Without hesitation, Julia smiled as she put Tokiko down. "It's okay!" She put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "We all have days when we get all grumpy," Julia's hand was warm, like the hash brown she just ate. Comforting and soothing, indeed.

"You feeling better now?" Caiseal asked.

"I think so," Perrine replied sheepishly. "I guess Chuck is right. I do need to start thinking up better strategies."

"How about we do some training?" Caiseal suggested, waving his index finger around. "We have all the time in the world to do so."

Perrine nodded in agreement. This would be a good time to train. But she did need to apologize to her pokemon first. She looked around, managing to spot Fuwari, Mushi, Fukuro, Florian, and-hang on.

Hang on.

Baloo and Kitsune weren't there.

Immediately, fear seized her, and the girl found herself almost unable to breathe. "Guys?" She croaked out. "Where are Kitsune and Baloo?"

The kids and their pokemon looked around. Perrine was right. There was no sign of the fox pokemon or the pink balloon. Where could they have gone? "They were just here a while ago," Julia mused. "I was playing frisbee with them earlier."

Caiseal was quick to cup his hands over his mouth and shout, "Kitsune! Baloo!" He shouted, his voice echoing on the waves. No answer.

All kinds of terrible thoughts were running through Perrine's mind. What if Kitsune got angry and ran away? Perrine did yell at her a few times earlier, so she might have left because her feelings were hurt. What if she got kidnapped by a Team Rocket member? Or sold on the black market? What if she fell into a river and drowned? Kitsune was a fire type, so water probably wouldn't be good for her. What about Baloo? Her pink friend just wasn't the type to run off like that, not in all the time she's known her. Maybe she went after Kitsune. What if they…?

Perrine shook her head to push those thoughts out. No! They couldn't be dead. They just couldn't be! The urge to look for them sprung forth like a newly discovered wellspring. She needed to find them, and fast. This was no time to be freaking out. Immediately, she ran all around the beach, looking for any sign of them she could think of.

"Kitsune! Baloo!"

"Where are you?!" Caiseal shouted.

"Come on out, guys!" Julia exclaimed. She knew they were both girls, but she had grown used to referring to her friends as guys. She considered it a neutral term for friends, since Perrine and Caiseal used it.

"I have a better idea," Caiseal pulled out a pokeball and flung it in the air. "Ravenclaw, come on out!"

A white light shot out of the pokeball, materializing to form the black bird. "Murkrow!"

"Hey, girl. Kitsune and Baloo are missing. Can you fly around and see if you can find them from the air?" Caiseal asked.

"Krow murkrow!" With a nod, Ravenclaw soared from the group, disappearing past a mountain that towered over them.

"I'll have Tsubasa help out, too!" Julia sent Tsubasa out and had her search for them, too. Oddly enough, Tsubasa didn't disobey Julia this time. She just up and flew away, possibly knowing that defying her trainer wasn't going to be a good idea.

Perrine clasped her hands together, squeezed her eyes shut, and prayed with her whole heart. Please let them be safe. Guilt consumed her heart. If something happened to her dear friends, she wasn't sure if she could go on. Would she be able to go on without them? Perrine refused to imagine such a scenario, especially with the mixture of worry and fear tearing her heart asunder. If only she hadn't yelled at Kitsune for doing her best in battling Chuck.

Skinny arms wrapped around her, trapping her arms in place. Swallowing hard, Perrine whipped her head around. Julia's face hovered over her shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll find them. We're not gonna rest until we find them," She whispered in her dainty voice.

The doubt in her heart was saying they'd never find her. But another part of her agreed with Julia. They couldn't have gone far. Plus, they all had flying types on them. Tsubasa and Ravenclaw could have better luck finding them than they could. They had to be hopeful. A small, hopeful smile tickled Perrine's face as she nodded.

"Alright. Let's find our friends."

* * *

A beautiful set of gardens dotted a green meadow by the columns, with flowers in a myriad of different colors giving it a joyful, pleasant atmosphere. Grass pokemon with sunflowers on their heads danced around the flowers, singing an acapella in perfect unison. They waved their leaf arms all around as a bellossom watered the flowers with a small pink watering can. Droplets sprinkled some red flowers, and the resulting dew reflected the sun's rays. Soon, a small, elderly woman ambled into the garden, with a mauve colored shawl wrapped around her upper body, her snow white hair covered by a matching cashmere hat. Her face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, with lots of stories to tell in her decades of living. A black skirt flowed elegantly as she took single steps with her matching shoes.

The bellossom looked up at the woman and chirruped, "Bella bella!" ( _"I watered the flowers for you!"_ )

Even though humans can't usually understand pokemon talk, the old woman smiled in understanding. She kneeled down and stroke the flowers on her friend's head. "Did you water the flowers for me? Thank you, dearie," She crooned in a sweet yet scratchy voice.

The bellossom flashed a warm smile, happy to bask in the older woman's affection. The woman's hands were thin and wrinkly, worn from decades upon decades of living and doing Arceus knows what. That didn't bother the woman one bit. If she could still maintain the garden and care for these pokemon, then she was all set.

All of a sudden, a trio of small hoppip floated toward the woman with worried expressions. The weeds on their heads spun around like the propellers on a helicopter as they descended on the ground. "Hoppip hoppip hoppip!" One of them pulled on the woman's skirt.

"What's wrong?" It took the woman a brief moment to register what the hoppip wanted. "Do you want me to follow you?" All three of them nodded as they marched toward a river. Once the woman caught up with them, a hand almost flew to her mouth.

Lying beside the river were two pokemon. A vulpix and a jigglypuff, both unconscious. The woman didn't hesitate to run over and carry them in her arms. "My goodness! The poor things!" She ran into the house with the hoppip following from behind.

The woman was quick to dry them off with a bundle of towels and a hair dryer before laying them in front of the fireplace. Orange flames crackled inside the fireplace, with the artificial food and the white wrapping surrounding it being eaten up by the fire. The pokemons' small bodies rose and fell in tune with their breathing, lifting the worry off of the woman's shoulders as a smile split her face. With that, she stood up and left them to sleep.

For a few minutes, the two pokemon slept soundly, the heat from the fire warming them right up. Kitsune's ears twitched as they heard the fire crackling. Her grey eyes peeled open, taking in her new surroundings. She saw simple but neatly arranged furniture, photos adorning the walls, and felt the yellow blanket caressing her fur. She crawled out, twitching her nose to smell the new scents.

' _Where am I?'_ Kitsune thought, confused. _'Last I remembered, I was in a river with...Baloo!'_ She whipped her head around. Where was Baloo? She didn't drown, did she? She looked down. There she was, sleeping like a togepi, her big mouth opening and closing with every breath she took. A smile split the fox's face as she sat down, relieved. _'Thank goodness. I thought she was dead or gone for a moment there.'_

Kitsune sat by Baloo's side as she examined her new surroundings. But one thing happened to catch her eye. Sitting on a small pillow on the green couch was a pretty, orange stone that glistened in the light of the flames. Speaking of flames, a red and yellow, flame-like mark covered the front side. A strange yet warm, comforting energy was radiating from it. Kitsune knew exactly what that stone was: a fire stone.

Just what she needed to evolve.

With that in mind, she attempted to approach the stone. She could evolve into a beautiful yellow fox, just like the one in a book she read with Perrine, with long, elegant tails that flowed like a veil, walking in graceful steps with a regal demeanor. It would be absolutely perfect! But she didn't even manage a single step as her body stopped in her tracks. Was she ready to evolve yet? If she evolved now, she would never be a vulpix. Besides, if she did evolve, would Perrine recognize her?

' _Ugh!'_ Kitsune shook her head, her tails bobbing along with her. _'Why am I thinking about that stupid crankypants?!'_ She scolded herself for thinking about her trainer. Alas, the anger in her heart still lingered.

"Oh! You're awake!" Kitsune's eyes flitted open, turning around to find the old woman standing before her with a smile. The old woman kneeled down to the fox's level. "I'm so glad you're okay, dearie."

"Vul?" Kitsune tilted her head to one side, registering the woman's presence and what it entailed. Did this woman save her? She couldn't think of an alternative explanation, as this one seemed the most plausible. One thing was for sure: they would have died had she not saved them.

"I'm Margaret. Would you like something to eat?" Margaret offered.

A rumbling sound from Kitsune's stomach was pretty much a gigantic yes. Not wanting to contradict herself, and her body's needs, Kitsune accepted the woman's offer. With that, the fox followed the woman into the kitchen. Baloo continued to sleep in front of the fire, content as can be. The balloon pokemon rolled to her left side, squishing her arm enough to wake herself up.

"Jiggly…" Baloo mused to herself, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the light. "Boy, was that the loveliest dream I ever had!"

Unbeknownst to the balloon pokemon, a pidgeotto's head glanced through the glass window, watching Baloo as she awoke from her slumber. Good, she was okay. Tsubasa nodded to herself, happy that both she and Kitsune are alive. This was a good time to let the kids know where they are. Stretching her wings out for flight, Tsubasa ascended to the sky, soaring back in the direction she came, leaving the house behind. Not for long.

It didn't take too long for the bird pokemon to find the three kids. Julia met back up with Caiseal and Perrine with a worried look on her face. "Any luck?"

"No," Perrine mused grimly.

"We've looked everywhere we can think of," Caiseal answered.

Julia could see the despair all over Perrine. Her fists were trembling, her nose was crinkling up, and her blue eyes looked like glass that got water spilled all over them. She could tell her friend was close to breaking at any moment. Seeing the sad sight wounded the girl's heart. It was too much to see. But even so, Perrine needed her. This was no time to be thinking the worst.

With resolve in her heart, Julia put a firm hand on Perrine's shoulder. "We'll find them, Perrine," She told her calmly in a reassuring voice. Perrine looked up, surprised by the kind gesture. "Tsubasa and Ravenclaw can cover more ground than we can since they can fly. Maybe they'll find something. We can't give up yet."

"Murkrowwwww!" Ravenclaw perched on Caiseal's shoulder with a glum look on her face. Caiseal could tell that she hadn't found anything.

"It's okay, girl," He stroke his feathered friend's head. "You did great."

"Pijooooo!" Then came Tsubasa, who kept flying in the air.

Julia looked up. "Tsubasa! Did you find them?"

"Pijo pijo!" ( _"Yeah, I did!"_ ) Tsubasa pointed in the direction she came from. _"Follow me!"_

"Tsubasa said she found them! Come on" Julia gestured her friends to follow them. Unbeknownst to them, a humanoid with lime green hair and brown eyes was staring at them from within a thicket, watching as they ran in the river's direction.

Hope surged back into Perrine's heart. Thank Arceus! Kitsune must be okay. The three kids and their pokemon ran past the river, wondering where Tsubasa was going to take them. Perrine found herself imagining all kinds of scenarios. Did a nice person save Kitsune and take her in? Or did some poacher shoot her and take her for her fur? Perrine forced that last thought out of her head with a low grunt. That wasn't going to happen, she told herself. Kitsune was strong. There's no way she'd let a hunter take her down. Perhaps Kitsune and Baloo hid in a bush or a thicket somewhere, taking cover.

The sight of a log cabin pulled Perrine out of her reverie. Said log cabin was held up by straight log foundations, parts of them used to make a fence, merging onto a porch that led to the entrance. The cabin looked big enough to fit six people, and it wouldn't look out of place in a fairytale or a scary ghost story. A stone chimney stood next to the cabin, still as can be, with no smoke coming out. Some hoppip hopped around on the roof, playing tag.

"This is where Kitsune and Baloo are?" Julia asked Tsubasa.

"Pijo pijo!" ( _"I saw them here, I swear!"_ ) Tsubasa trilled, flapping her wings as she descended to the ground.

Noting the flower gardens nearby, the kids tip-toed toward it, wondering if anyone was here. Sure enough, an old woman stood over one flower bed with interest. Standing next to her were…

Perrine's heart soared, and the tears came into existence. "Kitsune! Baloo!"

Hearing her trainer's voice, Baloo turned around, flashing a mile. "Jiggly!" The balloon pokemon leaped into her trainer's arms, basking in her affection.

"Baloo!" Perrine squeezed her pink friend quite tight. "You're okay! Thank Arceus!"

"Oh," Margaret exclaimed. "So you're its trainer?"

"Yes I am!" Perrine exclaimed gratefully, taking a glance at Kitsune. "Both the jigglypuff and vulpix!"

Kitsune didn't move from her spot. She just shot a glare at Perrine before turning away to look at some flowers. It made everyone stop dead in their tracks. Margaret raised an eyebrow. Not in a disbelieving way, just confused. Perrine's shoulders slumped as she looked down remorsefully.

"Your vulpix doesn't seem too happy to see you," Margaret pointed out. Baloo facepalmed.

Margaret introduced herself and invited the kids inside. The kids explained their side of the story to Margaret, and the old woman told them how she found them washed up by the river. Perrine bowed before the old woman gratefully. "Miss Margaret, thank you so so so much for saving my pokemon. You have no idea how worried I've been."

"No need to be so formal, dearie," Margaret waved a hand at her modestly. "I'm just happy your pokemon are alright."

It seemed as though a weight had been lifted off of Perrine's being. Kitsune and Baloo are safe and sound, all thanks to Margaret. That's one disaster averted. Still, Perrine stole a glance at the fox, who simply sat on the couch with her tails curled around her paws. Kitsune kept facing the wall, averting Perrine's gaze, as though she was making every attempt possible to not even so much as look at Perrine. The orange haired girl sighed. She didn't blame her. But she figured it was time to kiss and make up.

"Kitsune?" Perrine sat down next to her friend. "Listen...I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you earlier. It was wrong of me to do that to you, and you didn't deserve it," She told her apologetically. "Can we be-"

Before she could finish, Kitsune leaped off the couch and walked out the front door without a care in the world. Everyone watched the little fox step out of the house with such a regal manner about her, but they were rendered silent once more. She didn't even listen. "Whoa. Kitsune's gotta be boiling mad," Caiseal mused.

"She can't stay mad forever," Julia piped in. "I wonder why she's ignoring Perrine?"

"Kitsune!" Perrine ran out the front door. Everyone else, Margaret included, followed. Kitsune didn't go far. She just stood in front of some flowers as the bellossom and hoppip played hide and seek. "Kitsune? Please forgive me," Perrine pleaded, clasping her hands together. "I'm not mad anymore."

"I don't think you should force it," Margaret advised. "It may take some time."

"I don't want to wait!" Perrine suddenly exclaimed.

All of a sudden, Kitsune turned around and spat out a stream of fire. It wasn't so strong as to hit them, as it couldn't reach far enough, disappearing before it could land a hit on them. But the heat was definitely strong enough to make everyone step back at least five feet. Julia found herself trembling all over, clinging to Caiseal like she was almost attacked by a beedrill horde. Caiseal's mouth simply fell open, hazel eyes wide with an expression that screamed, "What the heck was that for?!" He didn't dare say this out loud.

On the other hand, Perrine was downright bewildered. This was completely out of character for Kitsune. She never attacked humans before, especially not Perrine herself. What really made her stop dead in her tracks was the glare in Kitsune's grey eyes. They were brimming with undiluted rage. The fox's teeth were clenched together, and she glared at her trainer like she was a predator about to eat her.

"Kitsune...why?" That was all Perrine could make out.

"Vulpix vulpix vul!" Kitsune roared, her voice changing to a shrill, almost nasally tone that didn't sound like it belonged to her.

"She says, _'You're not sorry at all! You don't get it!'_ " Julia translated.

Perrine whirled herself around to face Julia. "What?!"

Kitsune continued to roar and howl like the little fox she was. Whatever she had to say, she was dead serious, and everyone knew it, even Margaret. Julia continued to translate Kitsune's barking. "She also says, _'You told me to go away and stay away! Do you have any idea who you sound like?!'_ " A hand flew to Julia's chest, like someone poked her with a needle. "She says, _'You acted just like my previous trainer!'_ "

Speechless, Perrine didn't say anything. Kitsune's words were like a knife through her heart, twisting in a circular motion to make the blood spill forth. She acted like...Kitsune's previous trainer? Did what she say to her really hurt her friend that much? Perrine didn't go through what her friend did, so she couldn't comprehend her pain.

But...it didn't hurt to ask, did it? "What was...your old trainer like?"

Kitsune hissed at the grass. Julia translated, "She's asking why do you want to know."

But in her heart, Kitsune already knew why. "I want to understand," Perrine affirmed. No way did she want Kitsune to think she meant so little to her, like their friendship was meaningless. She couldn't bear for it to be broken over this.

At first, Kitsune gave her current trainer a quizzical look, like she was wondering if Perrine was actually sorry or just pulling out croconaw tears to receive easy sympathy. But upon further reflection...not once did Perrine ever ask about Kitsune's past. She tried to once, but upon realizing it was a sore subject, she just dropped it and moved on. Not only that...Perrine was nothing like her old trainer. Finally, she relented. "Vul vulpix," ( _"I'll tell you."_ )

The kids sat down and listened to Kitsune's story through Julia. The first years of Kitsune's life were relatively happy and peaceful. She lived in a nice meadow, had lots of friends, a loving family, and was a healthy, happy little fox. At one point in her life, she had seen humans walk by her meadow, with pokemon she hadn't seen before by their side. She had heard stories that humans were bad, but after seeing the humans treat their pokemon with kindness and love, she found their warnings to be unfounded.

With a desire to study humans further, she left her happy home to go into the city that was nearby. Kitsune had to admit, the city was very different from her peaceful meadow. A female trainer-Kitsune vaguely remembered her name being Sharpay-captured her. Kitsune thought all humans would be nice. But as it turned out, Sharpay was selfish, stubborn, and pushed her pokemon to battle all the time, with almost no breaks, only giving them leftovers of her own food. If anyone didn't meet her expectations, she'd release them without a second thought. Kitsune realized that she saw pokemon as fighting machines, not living creatures with feelings. If they were sick, she'd release them. If they disobeyed her, she released them.

Not wanting to suffer at her hand, Kitsune hatched a plan: she'd free herself of that girl and save herself. When Sharpay wasn't looking, Kitsune destroyed her pokeball with extrasensory before making her escape. She had traveled across three cities, unable to return to her meadow. Pokemon such as rattata and koffing would attack her if they caught her eating food from the trash cans. Sometimes, she ate other pokemons' food from their bowls if they didn't eat. She had to drink water from gutters and small ponds. There were some humans who tried to catch her, but she either escaped or made them retreat with flamethrower.

"Oh lord…" Perrine kept staring down at her hands. "I had no idea…"

"Man," Caiseal scratched his nose. "I have to admit, that was a bold move you made there, Kit," He meant it as a compliment, though wasn't sure if Kitsune would interpret it that way. Hearing it softened her expression, and her eyes got rid of the glare she gave Perrine before. "I've never heard of pokemon who deliberately abandoned their trainers."

Julia gave Kitsune a thumb's up. "Good thing you did. That Sharpay girl sounds horrible."

"Pichu pichu!" Hikaru agreed, flashing her own thumb's up.

"Vul vulpix!" ( _"Good Arceus, she was!"_ ) Kitsune snapped.

Oddly enough, instead of feeling irritated and grumpy like earlier, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her. Kitsune felt light as a feather, and her anger seemed to fade somewhat. She had never talked about her past to anyone, because she wanted to just leave it in the past. There was no point in bringing it up now, now that she had moved on. But...it had been a long time since she had even thought about Sharpay. The fox was surprised she even managed to remember her name.

Remorse overtook her. Perrine was nothing like Sharpay.

However, before she could reflect further, a glowing blue net shot out from the sky. Hearing it descend, Kitsune leaped in front of the kids, allowing the net to trap her completely. "Kitsune!" Perrine lurched forward, her hands attempting to grip the net. But someone-or rather, something-pulled it away.

"I'll call the police!" Margaret exclaimed. The kids nodded and chased after whatever was dragging Kitsune away. "Wait! Don't go!" She yelled, but the kids had already left, ignoring her warning.

The fox breathed fire at the net. Alas, the flames didn't do any good, as the net was glowing in a blue light. The fox looked up to see that the net was attached to the rear of what appeared to be a tank. It was big and grey, resembling a military tank, complete with the long gun and road wheels. But it wasn't big by military standards, being smaller than a traditional tank.

Inside the hatch, trapped inside the small confines, was a woman with lime green hair tied in a braid, driving the tank. Her brown eyes were obscured by small glasses, even as tears came into existence. The woman was wearing a black Team Rocket uniform consisting of a shirt and pants and grey gloves and boots. However, unlike Margeaux and Yannick, she didn't look as though she was enjoying this at all. Her hands trembled, gripping the steering wheel tightly, and her brown eyes were brimming with remorse.

"I don't want to do this…" She mused to herself in a small voice.

"KITSUNE!" The fox's ears twitched as Perrine's voice echoed in the air. Perrine was right behind her, running right toward the net. It helped that said tank wasn't moving very fast. Probably about seven miles per hour. Slow enough for even a couple of kids to catch up. Right as she got close, Perrine grabbed onto the glowing net. The blue light singed the skin on her palms, and with a grimace, she grunted from the pain.

"Vuuuul!" ( _"It's dangerous!"_ ) Kitsune cried.

"Kitsune...I'm not letting whoever it is take you!" Perrine continued to cling to the net in spite of the pain. One eye was closed as she yanked on the net to no avail.

"Tokiko! Help them out!"

"You too, Flippy! Use Mud Shot!"

An idea hatched in Kitsune's head. What if she could dismantle the net with her psychic attack? That's it! She could tell Julia and Caiseal had the same idea. Well, somewhat. Kitsune's eyes glowed in an eerie purple light as the net glowed. All of a sudden, Perrine herself was consumed by light, being pulled away from the net. Tokiko carried her back to the gang.

"Thanks, Tokiko!" Julia gave her little friend a small high five with her finger.

"Choki!" Tokiko returned the gesture.

Flippy shot three balls of mud at the net, breaking the piece that attached it to the back of the tank. Oddly enough, the tank didn't stop to get Kitsune back. It just kept on going forward. Finally, the net began to unravel as Kitsune used the chance to rip the net apart with just her eyes. Finally, the light in her eyes faded.

"Kitsune!"

"Vul!" The eager fox leaped into her trainer's loving arms, her anger having finally subsided. It was true. Perrine truly was a good trainer. Immediately, remorse overtook her once more. With a small cry, she looked down at Perrine's vest and cried, "Vulpix vul…" ( _"I'm sorry I've been so rude…"_ )

Perrine didn't need Julia's ability to know what Kitsune said. All she did was smile and nuzzle her friend's hair. "It's okay. I've been a jerk, too. We both have, so that makes us even," The two of them burst into laughter. Caiseal and Julia smiled at each other, thinking the same thing. They made up.

"I wonder who tried to kidnap Kitsune, though?" Caiseal asked out loud. "And what was with that tank? You don't think it was Team Rocket, do you?"

"I can't think of anyone else, so that might be it," Julia added.

It didn't take long for the police to arrive. Once they took their statements, they followed the tracks it left on the dirt, leaving the kids and Margaret back at the house. But they wouldn't stay back there for long. "I think it's about time we got going," Perrine said. "Thanks for having us here...and for saving Kitsune and Baloo."

"Not a problem, dears," Margaret told them. "By the way…" She walked over to the couch, picked up the Fire Stone from earlier, and presented it to Perrine. "You can use this if you want."

Perrine looked at the Fire Stone, then back at Kitsune, then at the stone, then back at Kitsune once more. It all clicked. On one hand, if she used this Fire Stone on Kitsune, she could evolve. But at the same time, what if Kitsune didn't want to? What if she wasn't ready to evolve yet? If she wanted to evolve, would she be okay with it?

' _I might as well ask,'_ Perrine thought to herself before catching her fox's attention. "Kitsune? See the Fire Stone?" Kitsune nodded. "If I use this on you, you'll evolve into a ninetales. Would you like to evolve? Or would you rather not?"

"Vul…" Kitsune whispered, tilting her head. She gazed at the stone with her grey eyes before bringing them up to fix them on her trainer. Her real trainer. It seemed as if she wanted her to say more.

Perrine knew exactly what she needed to say. "Kitsune...I'm so happy to have met you. You're the best friend a trainer could have. My best friend. I want us both to be strong together, grow up together, and stay together. I'm sorry I said what I did, honest," She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you have your own feelings and opinions. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But…" She paused for a brief moment. "I couldn't have come this far if it weren't for you. If there's any pokemon who deserves to evolve, it's you," Another pause, then she asked, "So...what do you say?"

A long silence ensued. Then, finally, "Vulpix!" She said, nodding her head in an undeniable yes.

A smile split the orange haired girl's face. "I was hoping you'd say that. Thank you. Now do your thing!"

"Vulpix!" Perrine took the stone from Margaret's hand and presented it to the fox. Kitsune tapped it with one paw, keeping it on there. Soon, the fox was glowing in a piercing white light, increasing inside. Within seconds, she grew taller than the kids and even Margaret. Her tails grew longer, fuller, and her legs became thinner, leaner.

Soon, the light dissipated. Out came a beautiful, elegant, sun colored fox with a long body and nine long, flowing tails with pale orange tips. A large tuft of fur sprung out from atop her head, and her legs were thin yet graceful. Her red irises shone with life as she presented herself in her utmost regal manner. "Nine…" The yellow fox cooed in a high pitched voice.

Everyone's eyes twinkled with joy. "My, a ninetales! How beautiful!" Margaret exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Kitsune nuzzled her trainer with her head, forcing a giggle out of Perrine. Caiseal took the chance to pull his PokeDex out and examine her.

" _Ninetales, the fox pokemon,"_ The PokeDex informed in its usual robotic, lifeless voice. _"The evolved form of vulpix. Ninetales are very intelligent pokemon, but when wronged, can be very vengeful. Each of their tails contains psychic powers unlike any other, and they're said to give it the power to live for a millennium at most if used. Ninetales can understand human speech, and legend has it that it came about when nine wizards possessing sacred powers merged into one being. However, no solid evidence has confirmed this theory. If anyone grabs one of its tails, no matter the intention, ninetales is said to subject them to a thousand year curse, but only if it wishes it. They can also control people's minds."_

"Hehehe," Julia chuckled to herself upon hearing that last part. She even had a smirk like she was imitating an evil villain.

With that, the kids said goodbye to Margaret and left for Cianwood again. While on the road, Julia was the first to say, "My mom had a ninetales once. She was really pretty."

"I'll bet," Caiseal piped in.

"Wanna hear a funny story?" Julia smirked like a loon. "One time, I accidentally broke my sister's clay sculpture for art class, and she claimed I did it on purpose and yelled at me. When Mom and Dad tried to make her apologize, for calling me names and screaming about it I mean, Amara was still mad even when I said sorry. I tried to make Mom's ninetales control her mind to make her apologize."

Everyone's eyes shot open in shock. "No way!" Perrine exclaimed.

"Seriously?!"

"Super seriously!" Julia crossed her arms. "Uuuuunfortunately she didn't want to do it. Ninetales, I mean," She clarified. "She said she doesn't like to control people's minds and said we should work things out ourselves. But we worked things out in the end."

"Pichuuuuu…" ( _"Julia must have some secretly evil side,"_ ) Hikaru joked to herself. She had no idea Julia had such a naughty side to her. Perhaps even good people could do the occasional naughty thing if they wanted to.

"By the way, Perrine!" Julia asked. "Are you gonna battle Chuck again?"

"Not right now. I'm gonna do some training," Perrine replied. "If you want, you can battle him."

Julia liked the idea and nodded. "Sure!"

* * *

The next day, Julia came to the gym with every intention of battling Chuck. The man welcomed her desire to battle with enthusiasm and accepted her challenge. Soon, Caiseal and Perrine were on the bleachers, with Chuck and Julia on different sides of the battlefield. The female referee announced, "The gym challenge between Chuck Bergman the Cianwood gym leader and Julia Parisa of New Bark Town will commence! Choose your pokemon!"

"Machoke! Knock'em dead!"

"Tokiko, I choose you!"

The large, muscular machoke from before looked as though he could easily trump the tiny togepi that materialized before him. Oddly enough, Tokiko didn't look the least bit scared. She just kept that sweet, friendly, welcoming smile. Machoke found this to be unsettling, but kept his fists and guard up.

"Here's to a good battle!" Chuck exclaimed, flashing a thumb's up.

"Don't hold back!" Julia replied.

"Battle, begin!"

"Machoke! Start off with Karate Chop!"

The grey humanoid raced over to the togepi, flattened his hand, and almost pummeled little Tokiko...but she simply leaped away. Machoke attempted another Karate Chop. Once again, Tokiko leaped out of the way, standing on her tiptoes like she was a ballerina, smiling the whole time. Machoke slammed the battlefield with a multitude of Karate Chop attacks, but all of them missed. Little Tokiko was having too much fun dancing around the battlefield.

"Wow, Tokiko's really rockin' the dodging," Caiseal complimented.

"Togepi are small and are light on their feet," Perrine told him. "But she can't dodge forever. Julia's gotta have some kind of plan if she wants to defeat Chuck."

Nobody could tell what Julia was thinking. With a smirk, Julia announced, "Use Charm!" Tokiko walked right up to the towering machoke and danced in front of him. Hearts fluttered out from her being as she winked at him. The grey humanoid's face turned beet red. "Now jump on his face!" On cue, Tokiko leaped on machoke's face so fast he didn't have time to react.

"Machoke! Pull it off!"

"Dazzling Gleam!"

Without warning, Tokiko flashed a brilliant white light that lit up the entire battlefield. Machoke found feel the flash singing his skin and muscles. Thankfully, since Tokiko's grip wasn't too good, he was able to push the spike ball off of his face and escape from the rest of the attack.

"Use Poison Jab!"

"Protect!"

Machoke's fingers turned purple as he raced toward the spike ball. Tokiko didn't move as a green dome of light trapped her inside. The grey humanoid stabbed the dome five times in a futile attempt to attack her. No way was Tokiko going to fall for this attack. But both of them knew that Protect wouldn't help them forever. Now was the chance to risk it all.

"Hurry and use Extrasensory!"

The spike ball's eyes glowed in a purple light as machoke was levitated off the ground. Soon, machoke was being thrown around the battlefield like a rag doll. Machoke howled and wailed, unable to break free. Tokiko simply laughed the whole time, like she was watching a funny comedy show. It wasn't long before the glow in her eyes faded, and machoke fell to the ground with a strong thud.

"Can you get up, machoke?" Chuck asked worriedly.

Machoke was able to get on one knee, but the spike ball wasn't going to let him get up. "Use Headbutt on him! No mercy!" On cue, Tokiko rammed herself into the grey humanoid three times, knocking him to the ground. Finally, machoke's body gave out as he fell to the ground once more, unconscious and unable to move.

"Machoke is unable to battle!" The female referee pointed a pink flag in Julia's direction. "The winner is Tokiko the togepi!"

"Yay!" Julia ran into the battlefield, scooped the fairy in her arms, and spun around, trapping her friend in a hug. Tokiko didn't mind, as she liked it. The two of them were laughing and rejoicing in their first win. "You did it, Tokiko!"

"Choki choki!" ( _"Let's do it again! That was fun!"_ ) Tokiko waved her stubby arms up and down.

Chuck silently recalled his machoke before sending out another pokemon. It was a pokemon whose round body was covered with shaggy, beige colored hair, had brown arms and legs with black bracelets and anklets on them, angry eyes, and a light pink snout. A stress mark streaked the left side of its forehead, like its veins were about to pop right out. "Priiiiiiiimeape!"

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to check its information. " _Primeape, the pig monkey pokemon,"_ The Pokedex informed them. _"_ _When Primeape becomes furious, its blood circulation is boosted. In turn, its muscles are made even stronger. However, it also becomes much less intelligent at the same time. It is always outrageously furious. If it gives chase, it will tenaciously track the target no matter how far. Because it is impossible to tell what made it angry, there is no soothing it. It stops being angry only when nobody else is around. To view this moment is very difficult."_

"Do you want to keep battling, Tokiko?" Julia asked.

"Choki!" Tokiko affirmed with a nod before returning to the battlefield. With that, the battle resumed.

"Let's see your cute little friend handle this! Primeape!" Chuck punched an invisible enemy, his eyes blazing with the flames of determination. "Use Dynamic Punch!"

"Priiiiiime!" The pig monkey screeched in a nasally, pig-like voice as his fists glowed in a white light. The monkey stamped both feet, bumped his fists together, and charged at the small pokemon.

"Tokiko! Send him flying with Extrasensory!" Julia commanded. Tokiko knew what she had planned and rolled with it. Her eyes glowed in a purple light as she once again levitated the enemy, throwing the pig monkey all across the battlefield. Unfortunately, the primeape stood right back up.

"Use Double Team!" Chuck roared.

All of a sudden, the primeape ran around in circles. Tokiko found herself confused. What was going on? Before long, she thought she was seeing clones of him. That's right. Now there were many primeape surrounding her all at once. Even Julia found herself stumped. How were they going to find the real one? Right as she thought that, the real primeape swooped in front of Tokiko.

"Low Sweep!" Primeape extended his one leg out, swiping Tokiko with it, striking her to the point where she rolled across the battlefield. The clones were still present.

"Tokiko!" Julia cried worriedly. "Are you okay?!"

Thankfully, Tokiko was able to get back on her feet. "Choki!" She affirmed with a forced smile. Still, the primeape clones were still there. They went back to running all around her, leaving her confused.

' _Come on, Julia!'_ She found herself lost in her thoughts. _'Think! Think! There's gotta be a way to...dispel the clones!'_ She opened her eyes and looked at the clones closely. Then it hit her. None of them had shadows. Upon closer inspection, some of them looked almost holographic in the light. The fluorescent lights in the gym shot right through them. Except for one.

A light bulb flashed. Speaking of light… "Tokiko! We can do this! Use Dazzling Gleam and knock out every single one of the copies! Make it as bright as you can!"

"Choki!" Doubt completely left Tokiko's being. After all, she trusted her trainer with her whole heart. Wishing with all her might, Tokiko's body was enveloped by a white light that flashed all throughout the battlefield. The copies vanished in its wake, and the real primeape was sent flying across the battlefield.

Instead of looking disappointed, Chuck found himself smiling. He crossed his arms, eyes glimmering with delight. "That's a fine way to use a move like that, Jules!" Chuck bellowed happily. "It's good that you're thinkin' outside the box! Sometimes you gotta go the unorthodox in order to get through a sticky situation like that one!"

Julia wasn't sure what unorthodox meant, making a mental note to look it up on a computer later, but Chuck's praise lit a fire in her heart and Tokiko's. She didn't think unorthodox was the right word for it. All she knew was that the copies were just that, copies. They didn't have substance and were merely projections. Was that really worthy of praise? It seemed to be for Chuck. But there was a battle going on, and she wanted to help Tokiko win.

"Thanks!"

"Good! But we're not done yet! Primeape, use Rock Slide!"

"Primeaaaaaape!" The pig monkey screeched as green, oval shaped lights appeared in the sky, dropping large rocks bigger than Tokiko herself on the ground. Tokiko squealed as she ran all around the battlefield, evading every rock she could dodge. Some of them she was just barely able to escape, coming close to her feet and her shell. She couldn't find the time to use Protect, so that was out of the question.

Another light bulb hatched in Julia's head. "Tokiko! Use Extrasensory on the rocks!"

On instinct, Tokiko did as ordered. Her eyes glowed, and the rocks in the air stopped in their tracks, being levitated by her powers. "Now throw them all at primeape with everything you've got!"

The spike ball spun around in a circular motion before releasing the rocks from her grasp. The large rocks soared across the battlefield, heading right for primeape. "Use Dynamic Punch to break them all!" Chuck bellowed. Primeape smashed most of the rocks just by smashing them to smithereens with two fists.

"Now use Headbutt!" Without even waiting for primeape to stop, Tokiko charged right at the primeape, her horns ready for headbutting. Once she got close, she leaped right toward primeape and shoved her spikes right into primeape's nose. Her spikes dug into primeape's fur, even though they weren't particularly sharp. But the force of the headbutt was so strong that it sent primeape spiraling toward the wall. Before long, primeape fell flat on his face, dormant and unmoving.

The only sound everyone heard at that moment was Tokiko's Soothe Bell's gentle ringing. But the referee broke the silence. "Primeape is unable to battle! Once again, the winner is Tokiko the togepi!"

Once again, the girl and her togepi rejoiced in their second victory. Tokiko ran over to her trainer and leaped into her arms. "You're awesome, Tokiko! You did it again!" She held her little friend tight in her skinny arms. "You're one of my best friends ever!"

"Choki!" ( _"I'm so happy you're happy!"_ ) Tokiko chirruped. The spike ball's entire body and soul were just overflowing with happiness. Julia's radiant smile warmed her little heart. In fact, Tokiko wasn't sure if she could picture life without her pseudo-mother. If she hadn't met Julia, she wouldn't have met Hikaru, Perrine, and the others, and she wouldn't have battled and become so strong. The victory, Julia's kindness, everyone else rejoicing...it all came pouring into Tokiko's being. She wanted to burst into song.

Only she burst into evolution instead.

"What?!" Everyone's eyes widened as a white light enveloped Tokiko. But Julia knew this wasn't Dazzling Gleam. Everyone knew. Tokiko gradually grew bigger, but only reached just a few inches past Hikaru's height. A neck grew out, her arms got bigger, her feet grew legs, and a small set of wings sprouted right out.

Finally, the light dissipated, and Tokiko gave a cute, high pitched, "Chokikko!" to announce her rebirth. Her whole body was white like an eggshell, but the red and blue markings on her body remained the same, if scattered about in different places. Small wings sprouted from her back, not making a single flap. Tokiko only had three spikes on her head now, her eyes grew longer, she had a neck and pronounced legs, and her hands were bigger. But she was still Tokiko.

"You evolved!" Julia cheered, hugging her newly transformed friend tighter with even more affection and joy. "Woohoo! Look at you now!"

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. _"Togetic, the happiness pokemon, and the evolved form of togepi. Togetic is a very rare pokemon seen by very few people. This is because they prefer to only appear before caring, kind hearted people and shower them with happiness in the form of a glowing powder that its wings give off called joy dust. They are said to bring good fortune, and become dispirited if they are not with kind people. They can float in midair without using their wings."_

Immediately, an image flashed through Julia's mind: Falkner's togetic, the one who comforted her after Mrs. Amoretto abused her back when she was seven. Not once did she ever think she'd get a togetic in her lifetime, considering they were rare pokemon. But now she had one. A very cute, beautiful little friend, at that. "Chokikko!" ( _"I love you, Julia!"_ )

"I love you too!"

Chuck recalled his primeape. "I can see the bond between you and your pokemon," He told her kindly, crossing his arms. "I like trainers like you, kid. You cherish the bonds you have with all of your pokemon and put them first above all else. It's good that you take advantage of your pokemon's natural abilities and trust in them with your whole heart," Once again, he punched an invisible enemy by extending his fist out. "And that trust will help you and your pokemon overcome any endeavor no matter how difficult!"

The karate man's words suddenly rang through Julia's mind. In a way, he was right. Julia kept going in life because she had her family and pokemon supporting her all the way. Pokemon stayed with her when she was lonely. Knowledge of pokemon helped her learn their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. Growing up with pokemon taught her that they had feelings, opinions, rights, and voices, too. Understanding them helped her reach them on a deep level she wasn't sure she knew she could achieve. Pokemon helped her have courage when she was scared. Her family played a big part in it too, yes, and she didn't forget that. But she wasn't sure where she'd be now if it weren't for her precious friends.

"Chokkiko?"

"Hey Tokiko. Do you want to take a break?" Julia asked. "You're probably tired."

Without hesitation, Tokiko nodded and returned to her pokeball with a smile, happy that she was able to evolve and help her friend achieve two victories. One more to go. Julia pulled out another pokeball. "You're right, Mr. Chuck. I love pokemon. I really do. They're the reason I'm still here today...and nothing can change that!" She threw her pokeball. "Blossom, go!"

The stinky flower materialized onto the battlefield. Chuck cracked his knuckles. "I like your courage, Jules! Poliwrath, let's win this!" Soon, a poliwrath materialized onto the battlefield, also cracking his knuckles. Again, the battle resumed. "Use Water Pulse!"

"Counter it with Acid!"

Poliwrath put his hands together as a sphere of water materialized in between them before throwing it like a dodge ball. Blossom was ready for it and spat out a greasy stream of pukey green acid that collided with the water sphere. However, the water sphere pushed through the acid and struck Blossom. The impact wasn't so strong that it sent Blossom flying, but it did bring her to her knees.

"Are you okay, Blossom?" Julia asked worriedly.

"Gloom gloom!" ( _"That was nothing!"_ ) Blossom got back on her feet quickly.

"Poliwrath! Knock it out with Dynamic Punch!"

"Poison Powder, and spread it all over the battlefield!"

With no intention of giving up, Blossom sprayed a glittering purple powder all over the field, right as poliwrath charged at her. Blossom was able to dodge it by leaping on poliwrath's head, knocking him to his knees. Just enough to make him inhale the poisoned purple cloud. Immediately, poliwrath's body burned like fire from the inside. Even moving an inch made his limbs feel as though someone was lighting him with a flame.

"Use Mega Drain!"

"Dodge it and use Water Pulse!" Despite Chuck's orders, the poison rendered poliwrath unable to properly move, leaving him wide open for an attack. A green stream of light shot out from the flower on Blossom's head, wrapping right around the tadpole and sucking his energy. Blossom herself glowed in a green light, and the injuries she sustained gradually disappeared, like she was never hurt. "Alright then!" Chuck announced. "Charge at Blossom and use Dynamic Punch!"

Oddly enough, poliwrath didn't even try to break free from the Mega Drain. Instead, he ran right toward Blossom with his fist glowing in a white light, with the Mega Drain still around him. Blossom had no time to stop the Mega Drain or move, since she was occupied. Once the fist made contact, Blossom was sent rolling across the sandy battlefield. She got back up, but her gait was unsteady, and the flower found herself wobbling with every step she took.

"Oh no! She's confused!" Julia mused to herself. Dynamic Punch was a move that could confuse an opponent sometimes. Blossom was confused now. Julia thought about switching Blossom out. That was the best way for her to recover from the confusion. But at the same time, some of her other pokemon didn't have an advantage over poliwrath. They had certain attacks, but those could only do so much, and Chuck could pick up on them and use them against her. She wasn't sure if Hikaru could handle poliwrath's brute strength, Tsubasa was still grounded, and Tokiko went through two straight battles already. She couldn't risk tiring her out and getting her defeated.

All of a sudden, her nose caught a noisome smell. She had no idea how to describe it, only that it smelled like animal poop and rotting cheese mixed together in a dumpster full of decaying carcasses. It wasn't so strong that it'd knock someone out, but it was definitely enough to make her face grimace in disgust. Wait a minute...gloom normally emit a gross scent when they're disturbed. Perhaps…

"Blossom! Make the whole place stink!" Julia yelled.

"Huh?" Perrine stood up from the bleachers, eyes and mouth wide with surprise.

"What is she doing?!" Caiseal yelped.

"Gloom?" ( _"Pardon?"_ ) Blossom asked. Despite still being confused, she could still hear and comprehend Julia's words just fine.

"You heard me!" Julia waved her arms up and down. "Use that smelly aroma of yours to bring poliwrath to his knees! Let it all out, Blossom! Make it nice and stinky and gross and disgusting!"

It was a gamble that even she knew was risky. If gloom was disturbed enough, her scent could knock anyone within a two mile radius completely unconscious. But at this point, it was worth a shot. Even in her confused status, there was a chance that Blossom could pull this off. Blossom seemed to comprehend it and screeched, "Glooooooom!" All of a sudden, a yellow cloud floated out from the flower on Blossom's head. It increased in size until it covered the entire battlefield. Everyone's hands flew to their noses and mouths as soon as the noisome aroma assailed their nostrils.

"GOOD ARCEUS!" Caiseal screamed, his voice muffled by his hands. "IT FREAKIN' REEKS LIKE HECK!"

"I know!" Perrine wailed. "What is Julia thinking?! I can't…"

Not even Chuck and Julia were spared from Blossom's awful aroma. They coughed and voiced their unadulterated disgust as poliwrath was knocked unconscious. Before long, Blossom found that her mind was no longer asunder. Everything fell into place now. Poliwrath laid down on the ground face up.

"Good job, Blossom! Finish it with one more Mega Drain!" Julia commanded despite her voice being muffled by her hands.

Blossom heard it loud and clear, and used Mega Drain once more. This time, there was nothing that could interrupt the energy sucking process this time. Blossom concentrated, sucking out any health that poliwrath had left. She had to defeat him right here and now. Oddly enough, poliwrath didn't wake up, nor did he make any attempt to escape. Soon, Blossom ceased her attack. The female referee was quick to open the nearest window, and the unpleasant aroma began to dissipate. Finally, the stinky cloud of...whatever that stench was supposed to be, faded, and poliwrath continued to lay on the ground.

"Poliwrath...is unable...to battle…" The female referee wheezed, holding a pink flag in Julia's direction. "Oh, screw it! Victor is Julia Parisa, blah blah blah, I need a shower right now!" The referee wasted no time fleeing the premises, like she couldn't run fast enough.

The flower pokemon scratched her head with one hand. "Gloom gloom?" ( _"Did I overdo it?"_ ) Understatement of the millennium, not that anyone would tell her this.

Since the gym smelled like animal poop and corpses, everyone fled outside. Chuck coughed a little before bursting into merry laughter. "WAHAHAHAHA! You really steamrolled me there, Jules!" He bellowed happily. Julia covered her ears, but didn't tell him to lower his voice. He was happy, and so was she and everyone else. "Your tactics are unorthodox but darn amazing! How about that!"

"Sorry about Blossom's stench," Julia told him apologetically. "I wanted to try something with her...and I think it worked a little too well…"

"YEAH! IT DID!" Both Perrine and Caiseal screamed in unison. They weren't angry at _her_ , just the fact that they smelled the most awful thing that the universe could subject them to.

Chuck put a hand out to calm them down. "Now now, kids. No need to yell. I like it when trainers think on their feet and use their pokemon's abilities to their advantage," He nodded to himself. "A loss is a loss, and with that…" He pulled out a Storm Badge. "You're worthy of this!"

Julia took the Storm Badge from his hand, examining it closely as she pulled it to her face. "You call this the...Storm Badge, right?" She asked. "Why is it called that?" When she thought of storms, she thought of dark clouds, lightning bolts, and torrential rains. Not people's fists. "Why didn't you call it the punch badge or the fist badge or something?"

The big man laughed once more. "Because storm badge sounded cooler!...that, and fist badge and punch badge didn't have that oomph to it! Know what I mean?"

"Yeah. Thanks, sir."

"You're welcome, kid!" He turned to Perrine. "I'll be ready to battle you soon, lassie!"

Perrine's eyes glimmered. "I'll be ready for sure! You can count on it!"

Here's hoping Blossom doesn't knock them dead with her stench. One thing was on everyone's minds at the moment: a shower to get rid of that noisome aroma. It still lingered, much to their displeasure.

* * *

Somewhere, in an unknown location, a woman in a black coat sat in a leather chair, reading some packets of paper at her desk. The woman's silvery grey hair glistened in the sunset, and her black goggles blocked any harmful UV rays that could damage her eyes. The orange sunset brightened the dim room, its light reflecting off the silver titanium walls. White clouds floated aimlessly past, with no destination other than forward.

The papers in her hands were reports from Team Rocket grunts, detailing sightings of the legendary beasts: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. One report came with a colored photograph showing Raikou, the beast of lightning, elegantly leaping across the sands of Olivine City. The woman removed her goggles, showing a pair of steely, cobalt blue eyes that shined just like the walls of her room. But there was no warmth in them. No compassion, no caring, nothing of the sort.

"I'll start with Raikou," She mused to herself in a cold, icy, yet womanly voice that spoke of many experiences throughout her decades of living. Four decades, to be precise. "We're in close proximity to his location," She told herself in a calculating tone of voice.

She reached for a pitch black cell phone, punched in some numbers, and held it to her ear. It rang a few times before a young, manly voice answered. "This is Archer, Team Rocket Executive, and Second-In-Command."

"Archer."

"Ah! Pokemon Hunter J!" The voice on the other line, Archer, greeted her in a welcoming voice, but it wasn't welcoming in a warm and friendly sense. "How lovely it is to hear your voice."

"Cut the crap," She didn't mince any words. "I have a mission for you and whoever's with you right now," She told him. "I am en route to Olivine City. I would like you and the other grunts to assist me in capturing Raikou, the legendary thunder pokemon."

"Lovely!" Archer beamed on the other line. Hearing that sickeningly sweet tone made her feel like her teeth were rotting. All she did was grunt in response. "I would be more than happy to help you catch Raikou. I'll rally up some grunts and meet you there in T-minus eighteen hours tops."

"Make it snappy, and for the love of Arceus, _please_ use the invisibility feature on your airship this time," She hissed. "We cannot afford to let the police pursue us anymore than they already are. I'm sure you're aware that my face is in the papers."

"Well aware, boss," Archer replied in a calmer, more serious voice this time. "I suppose you'll make a mint if you sell off that Raikou."

"Yes. Yes I will," J replied tersely. With that, she hung up the phone.

There was a reason she was insistent on invisibility. After all, she was in an airship. It was invisible, unnoticeable to any unsuspecting eyes. Said airship hovered over the vast ocean without a care in the world. But to J, this was merely a trivial thing not worth paying attention to.

Raikou would soon be hers. She would make absolutely sure of it.

* * *

 **Woohoo! Another chapter finished! And a big one, too! Awesome! Yeah, episode inspired by Turning Over A New Bayleef, yes yes, I know. Also, this is the last chapter of 2015. 2016 is almost here, and the story is nowhere near over! Anyway, I had a great Christmas, I graduated from college, am watching anime I need to catch up on, and back to playing games and relaxing! I hope everyone else had a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule/whatever the heck you celebrate! Here's to a new and better year!**

 **And yes, two pokemon evolved once again. I'm happy I finally evolved Tokiko, because togetic itself only appeared in ONE episode of the anime, and never again after that! I feel togetic is very underappreciated, so I plan on giving Tokiko some more screen time to hopefully increase the togetic love.**

 **Random Fact: I was originally going to give Julia both a shiny pichu and a shiny togepi. But upon further reflection, I thought it'd make her come off as a Mary Sue if she had two shiny pokemon, so I made Tokiko into a normal togepi (now togetic). But the red gyarados subplot is coming up, and I plan on having Julia go through some harsh but very much needed character development when I get to writing that subplot.**

* * *

Footnotes:

1\. Taiyaki is a Japanese cake shaped like a fish filled with red bean paste made from sweetened azuki beans. Other optional fillings are chocolate, custard, cheese, or sweet potato. I've tried one once and it was really good!

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	27. Team Rocket's Thundering Ambitions!

Chapter 21: Team Rocket's Thundering Ambitions!

"Phew! Home safe!" A green haired Team Rocket grunt climbed out of her invisible military tank, landing safely on the solid concrete ground of a driveway. She took off her glasses and used a piece of her shirt to wipe off some dust or fog. Standing before her was a small, yellow house with a red door and brown roof tiles, looking as warm and comforting as ever, as though it were welcoming her home.

However, the green haired woman wasn't smiling. She looked up at the cute house with dejected brown eyes. "I can't believe I actually did that," By that, she meant attempting to steal someone's vulpix. Just dragging the poor pokemon away wounded her heart. In an ironic twist, she was actually happy that said vulpix's trainer saved her. She wasn't sure what she'd do if she took the vulpix back with her, nor did she want to know.

With that burden lifted off of her heart, she pulled out her house key and stuck it in the whole. Turning it twice, the door creaked open as she ambled right inside. "I'm back-"

"This is the third time you've gotten yourself thrown in jail, Margeaux!" The commanding voice of a woman stopped the green haired girl in her tracks. She knew that voice anywhere. She did find the courage to take two more steps inside.

There was Margeaux, standing before a red haired woman abjectly, staring down at her feet, not looking right at her. A tall, red haired woman stood over Margeaux, freezing her in place with an intense glare, her crimson eyes brimming with anger. Said woman was wearing a white Team Rocket themed dress that stretched down to her legs, with long slits going up above her knees, tall silver boots, and long gold earrings shaped like stretched out triangles. Emblazoned on her breast was a black shield with a red R on it.

"You're setting a poor example for any Team Rocket grunts lower in rank than you!" The red haired woman wagged her index finger at the girl like she was scolding a naughty child. "The police are already on our tail enough as it is!" All Margeaux could do was shrug. The red haired woman continued scolding, her voice tight with frustration. "Don't expect me to bail you and Yannick out the next time you both get thrown in jail!"

"I'm sorry, Ariana…" Margeaux whispered abjectly.

"That's Commander Ariana to you!" Ariana scolded sharply once more, causing Margeaux to press her lips and squeeze her eyes shut. "Try to improve yourself so you can ascend the ranks," She told her sharply before turning on her heel. She stopped to notice the green haired woman behind her. "Oh. Hello, Harriet. Perfect timing."

"Huh?" Harriet tilted her head to one side.

Ariana crossed her arms, maintaining her rigid posture. "Listen carefully. Earlier this morning, I received a call from Archer. He wants us to come with him to capture one of the legendary beasts for J," She explained tersely. "It's a very special mission. If you don't feel you're up to it, feel free to decline the offer."

"I'll stay here!" Harriet sputtered sheepishly. "I...I have too little experience. I'd only...hold you and the other grunts back, and I...don't want to...ruin the mission," She fiddled with the bottom of her shirt with her fingers, twirling one piece of it into a cylinder. "Besides, someone has to watch for police in case they're hunting us down."

The two women watched her curiously as she explained herself. After some rumination, Ariana nodded affirmatively. "You raise valid points, Harriet. I admire your honesty. Stay here and keep an eye out," She turned to Margeaux, who shivered the moment her eyes fixated on her. "As punishment for your recent blunders, Margeaux, you will stay here with Harriet. I cannot risk someone like you screwing up and ruining everything for J and the rest of us."

Margeaux didn't bother to contradict her. She accepted her punishment gracefully without a word. "Yes, Commander. Thank you," With that, Ariana strutted out the front door, carrying herself with dignity. As soon as she left, Margeaux plopped down on a taupe-colored cough and let out a groan. "Uuuuuuugh! Why do I always screw up so bad?!"

"What happened?" Harriet sat down at a desk on the other side of the room as she pulled out a purple pen and a piece of paper.

"Oh, you're not gonna believe this, Harriet!" Margeaux pulled out a tabloid magazine, flipping through some pages about celebrities and recent scandals. "You've heard of shiny pokemon, right?" She didn't wait for Harriet's answer, continuing on. "Yannick and I found a green ursaring in the middle of Cadmium Town two weeks ago! It even knew impossible moves like Play Rough and Metal Claw! We tried to nab it, but as it turned out, it had a trainer! By Arceus, that kid was sooooo annoying!" Margeaux complained.

Harriet listened intently as Margeaux told the rest of the story. The trainer used his other pokemon to capture them, some of which were bug pokemon who still knew String Shot, and turned them into the police all by himself without a second thought. Harriet wrote some things down as she listened, not stopping for one second.

"It was just awful!" Margeaux continued. "I called Ariana to let her know what happened, and thank Arceus she bailed me out, but still! I try to nab a super rare pokemon for J and all I get for it is being told I'm setting a bad example! Can you believe it?!"

"You tried," Harriet told her in a calm voice. "That's what counts," The green haired grunt wasn't sure if she meant it.

"And Yannick was no help either!" Margeaux interrupted. "He kept acting like he did everything right while I was the one who completely ruined everything! What bullocks!" She threw her magazine down on the wooden floor and yanked out another one. This one was about Pokemon Contests and fashion designers. "It's just like him to act like he's the perfect little angel! I swear, he gets away with everything! He thinks he's sooooo special just because his parents are some of the highest ranking Team Rocket veterans!"

"I never did like him," Harriet replied. "I'm surprised Archer put you two together."

"He should have paired me up with someone I can actually cooperate with, like Woodrow or Sielis or Holden or maybe even someone cool like Emmylou! At this point I wouldn't mind working with you! I don't know why Archer and Ariana don't put you on more missions!" Harriet cringed at the sound of that, not that she let her housemate notice. "Uuuugh!" Margeaux let out another groan. "And now I'm hungry, too!"

Harriet forced a smile. "After I finish this, I'll make some cookies."

"Please!" Margeaux raised her hand. "You're such a sweetheart, you know that, Harriet? I don't know why someone as sweet as you is working for Team Rocket."

The green haired woman quickly stood up from the desk, turned the letter over, and marched into the kitchen, her shoes scratching the wooden floor. Her fingers dug into her palms as she marched over to the stove and leaned over it. "It's not like...I ever wanted to be here in the first place…" She whispered in such a low voice that not even Margeaux could hear it.

Her body began to move on its own as soon as the opened the cupboard. Brown sugar, chocolate chips, butter, flour, and any items she may need for making cookies were set on the counter. Like clockwork, Harriet stirred the chocolate chips into the sugar and butter. A smile split her face as she placed the dough on the cooking sheet and slid it into the oven. Already, her heart grew warm, and it would only take ten minutes for the cookies to be ready.

Pitter-pattering sounds caught her ear. She looked down to find a small crustacean pokemon standing by her side, looking up at her with big white eyes like it was begging for cookies. The crab's upper body was a reddish orange color, with two spikes protruding from his head, with his lower half being protected by a beige outer shell. He held up his large pincers but didn't act as though he had any intention of cutting Harriet to pieces, and his skinny spider legs scuttled across the floor, making the pitter-patter sounds.

"Hey there, Cookie!" Harriet kneeled down to the krabby's level and stroke his head gently. "How's it going?"

"Kuuukiii!" The krabby made harsh croaking sounds, but jumped up and down cheerfully.

"Don't worry. They'll be ready in a few minutes," Harriet told her friend.

"I swear, Harriet," Margeaux suddenly piped in from the other room. "That krabby of yours just kept staring out the window looking for you the whole time you were gone!" She exclaimed. "After four straight hours he just went back to your room!"

"Yeah...Cookie's like that," Harriet replied sheepishly as Cookie rubbed himself against his trainer lovingly.

"Kuuki kuuki," Cookie replied affirmatively.

At least Harriet had a friend here. She did not consider Margeaux her friend, as well meaning and open and friendly as she was. To Harriet, she was just a Team Rocket grunt, someone she really didn't want to associate with, even if she did acknowledge that Margeaux was more than that. In fact, being in this house made her feel rigid and uncomfortable, like she was being trapped in a cage. Cookie was the only thing that kept her from going crazy. But even that had its limits.

Already, the aroma of sweet chocolate chip cookies wafted in the small kitchen.

* * *

Somewhere in Olivine City, Amara had checked into a small hotel. It wasn't anything fancy, and it looked more like a glorified motel than anything. Two beds covered with olive green comforters, watercolor paintings adorning the wallpaper-covered walls, a single TV with limited channels, and all of those things. Grapevine Hotel, it was called.

"Oh my lanta, I'm so full…" Amara groaned, laying back on a bed as the TV played loud hip-hop music. A steel tray sat on a mahogany desk, with a bag of potato chips open and half-eaten, as there was a lot left inside. Shrimp tails dotted the white plates. Croconaw took all of them and gave one to weepinbell, one to a large, purplish pink bulldog pokemon, and the other to a large, orange bird pokemon with a long beak and a hot pink mohawk. A haunter helped himself to the rest of the potato chips.

Wearily, Amara picked up the remote. "Man, there's, like, nothing on!" She pressed the arrow buttons to surf through the very limited selection of channels. Nothing noteworthy was on. "Jeez! You'd think they'd have something decent!" Already, she began to miss the hundreds upon hundreds of channels that her TV at home used to have.

"Granbull…" The bulldog pokemon mused as she laid down on the bed next to Amara's.

Amara shot an intense glare at the granbull. "Don't you dare use those big teeth of yours to rip anything up!" She scolded. Granbull tensed up and hid behind the side of the bed to avoid her deathly glare. To the granbull, it almost always lead to yet another beating. "If anything's broken in here, we have to pay for it, and we're low on money as it is!" Unlike before, Amara didn't beat her this time.

Croconaw rolled his eyes before muttering, "Says the idiot who spends money like water and breaks stuff on a near daily basis," under his breath. Amara obviously couldn't understand anything he or the other pokemon said. Good thing, too, or else Amara would have subjected them to even worse beatings. Like her beatings weren't bad enough on their own.

The bird pokemon cawed, shaking his head in agreement. "I'll bet in the next hour, she'll throw something at that painting and then blame it on one of us."

"I want to argue she's not that crazy, fearow," The haunter piped in cynically. "...but I can't deny the possibility."

Once more, Amara surfed through the channels as the pokemon occupied themselves. Amara wasn't sure why she let them out. But somewhere, deep in her conscious, something in her told her that her pokemon deserved to have a break and play by themselves. It was the least she could do since she treats them so bad. After all, as much as she absolutely loathed them, and pokemon in general, she needed them to fulfill her dream. Chanel's dream. She couldn't fulfill that dream if her pokemon weren't in tip-top shape. She knew that much. Still, seeing all of the pokemon she caught made her blood boil.

Every single one of them could sense the rage in her heart. Croconaw watched as Amara laid back on the bed, channel surfing. The big alligator had always dreamed of being with a good trainer. Seeing the world, making friends, battling strong pokemon, making good memories out of it, and being treated kindly, like his friends were. None of this was what he had in mind, and Amara was not the ideal trainer he wanted to spend his life with. Even though Amara was quiet at the present, croconaw could still hear her shrill voice scolding and yelling in his ears.

Sniveling sounds off-set the voices in his mind. Croconaw turned to find weepinbell huddled between a soft red chair and the lamp, his whole yellow body drowning in a puddle of tears. A truly pitiful sight. Croconaw's heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he kneeled down to the plant pokemon with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Croconaw extended a hand out, but as soon as weepinbell saw it, he yelped and huddled deeper into the corner, covering his eyes with the leaves on his body.

"Oh. Sorry," Croconaw apologized ruefully. He wondered if all those months of being used as Amara's punching bag made him scared of others attempting to touch him. He could see the faint fist marks on the plant pokemon's yellow body.

Weepinbell's only reply was soft sobbing. It wasn't a sound any one of them, even Amara, liked hearing. "I...I can't...I can't do this anymore…I can't take no more of it…" Weepinbell rambles through his sobs. The instant he said that, croconaw figured out what he meant.

"It's about Amara, isn't it?"

"I'm sick of it!" Weepinbell cried. "I always hated humans, but that girl makes me hate them even more!" It hit him right then and there. Not once did weepinbell ever refer to Amara by her name. It was always "that girl" or "that human," or even "it." Considering how she always treated him, he wasn't surprised. It said a lot about how the plant pokemon viewed her. "I'm always the one getting hit, kicked, punched, yelled at, whatever! Even when I'm not doing anything!" He continued to cry. " _'Weepinbell, you're such a worthless pokemon! You can't even do anything right! Why can't you be strong?! You're weak and pathetic!'_ I know all of that! I don't need it reminding me every single day!"

Hearing that made croconaw's face contort with disgust. He had been subject to Amara's harsh verbal lashings as well. It didn't mean he was used to them. Still, just watching weepinbell cry wounded his heart.

What weepinbell said next made croconaw's concern morph into legitimate fear. "I...I want to die…" Weepinbell whimpered. "Will you please kill me?"

Croconaw's immediate answer was, "I can't do that."

"Why don't you?!" Weepinbell weeped. "You're a croconaw! You're supposed to be naturally vicious, and your teeth can chomp anything open, even my flimsy hide! Just kill me already! I don't wanna live anymore!" The pain and desperation in the plant's voice broke croconaw's heart even more. "I don't wanna be that girl's punching bag!"

"You don't have to be!" Croconaw reasoned. "You still know Sleep Powder, right? You can just knock her to sleep and escape!" He waved his arms up and down as he explained. "You can do that right now!"

Weepinbell shuddered weakly. "I...I can't. It won't work for very long," He replied in a hoarse voice. "Besides, even if I do escape, where would I go? She'll find me for sure, and she'll probably kill me."

The blue crocodile sighed. He made good points. "Can you idiots keep it down?!" Amara shouted. "I'm freakin' bored, and I don't need your jibber-jabbering today!" Weepinbell covered his eyes with his leaves yet again. Croconaw said nothing. Haunter simply disappeared.

All of a sudden, Amara pressed a button on the remote, and a voice on the TV shouted, _"We fight for the peaceful coexistence of pokemon, nature, and people!"_ Amara sat up on the bed, leaning closer so she could see the TV. Six people dressed in spandex outfits appeared on a cliffside, striking superhero poses. _"We are the Hoenn Rangers Coexistence Force!"_

"Shut the front door!" Amara found herself crawling to the foot of the bed she sat on, her aquamarine eyes twinkling with delight. "Hoenn Rangers are still around?! I thought they cancelled it!" Memories began flooding her mind as she watched the episode title fly onto the screen. Running home from school to grab the TV remote and hopefully be in time to watch the show. Begging her mother to buy her figurines or a costume for Halloween. She and Julia pretending to be Hoenn Rangers, striking pretend poses, and playing pretend in the backyard acting out scenes or entire episodes. Any semblance of rage she had in her heart faded, like it was never there in the first place.

Suddenly, she began hearing voices. The voice of her eight-year-old self and her six-year-old sister, sitting close to the TV watching as Lilycove Viridian kicked a monster across a river. _"Yeah! You go, Viridian! You're the best!"_

" _Ivory's the best!"_

" _I think Cobalt is the coolest!"_

" _Watch out, Bodoh!"_ Julia couldn't say Bordeaux back then, and pronounced it bodoh.

Amara smiled as she watched the Hoenn Rangers episode playing right now. She wondered if Julia still liked Rustboro Ivory. Were they still making toys? Were any DVDs out? She shook her head. Why was she gushing over a TV show she liked when she was little? She couldn't waste time idling away over a TV show. She needed to fulfill her dream and Chanel's, and the police were still on her tail. But...she was in a hotel right now, and nobody was disturbing her. Perhaps it'd be good to sit back and relax and watch TV, which was exactly what she did.

All of the pokemons' mouths fell agape, eyes wide with shock. "Breeeeeh?" ( _"She can actually smile?"_ ) Fearow asked out loud, as though Amara smiling was as unlikely as space aliens coming down to dissect their brains.

Haunter shrugged. "Hauntah hauntah hauntah," ( _"I didn't think she was even capable of smiling."_ ) He said.

"Gran granbull," ( _"Maybe she's secretly good inside and doesn't want to show it."_ ) Granbull reasoned.

Nobody dared say anything for now, as they occupied themselves while Amara was glued to the TV. Oddly enough, weepinbell managed to creep out from behind the red chair and crawl over to the front door. Right as the episode ended, weepinbell extended a vine out, reaching for the door knob. He immediately pulled it back in fright as someone knocked on the door.

"Maid service!" A woman's voice cried from behind the door. Amara immediately opened it up. A woman was dressed in a blue dress with a white apron on it. Behind her was a crate full of cleaning products. "Do you mind if I cleaned the toilet real quick, miss?" She asked in a kind voice.

"Sure. No prob-" Amara was about to reply kindly-so as to not expose herself-but she felt something brush against her leg. It was weepinbell's leaf. Before she knew it, the maid suddenly kneeled down, grabbed weepinbell by the brown vine on his head, and handed him back to her.

"Oh! I got it!" The maid exclaimed as Amara took him back.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay!" The maid waved her hand telling her it was nothing. "I have little kids at home, and they're always up to some kind of mischief."

The maid came inside and spent about fifteen minutes cleaning the toilet. Anger simmered from within Amara as she kept glaring at weepinbell, telling him she was going to give him a beating right after this. She didn't dare do it in front of the maid, as she knew she was sure to report it. Amara couldn't afford to be reported. Once the maid was done, Amara couldn't contain her anger anymore. Her conscious was telling her to leave weepinbell alone, that he didn't deserve what she gave him. But her heart didn't listen.

"I can't believe you!" Amara yelled, scaring weepinbell into trembling silence. "Why'd you try to escape, huh?! You're so freaking pathetic!" She raised a hand in the air, ready to give him another beating. Oddly enough, before she could do anything, croconaw ran in between them, stretching his stubby arms out, glaring at Amara like he dared her to lay even so much as a hand on him. "Out of the way, you!"

"Croconaw!" ( _"Leave him alone!"_ ) The blue alligator croaked. Amara couldn't understand what he said, but the look in the crocodile's eyes said it all. Even though she was his unofficial trainer, she couldn't deny that if her pokemon were pushed hard enough, they could easily kill her. Croconaw knew Ice Fang and Bite. If he dug his teeth into her, her chances of fulfilling her dream would be history.

Reluctantly, she put her hand down. "Don't pull that stunt again, you hear me?" She hissed. "You guys are my ticket to the Pokemon League, and you better know your place!" With that, she slumped back on the bed. Croconaw continued to shield weepinbell like a knight protecting his princess. Amara picked up the remote and turned the TV back on, wondering if Hoenn Rangers was still on.

The first thing that appeared on the TV was… "Mom?!"

There was Kassia right on the TV, with some microphones being held to her face. Truman had his arms wrapped around her, making a futile attempt to console her. Kassia looked up, eyes red and puffy. Amara shivered. Kassia looked right at her.

" _Amara...if you're out there somewhere…"_ Kassia began with a whimper. _"I want you to know that I miss you. We all miss you, and we want you to come back safe and sound,"_ That was enough to make Amara's face contort with irritation. But she didn't turn off the TV. _"I know you think we don't care about you or love you, but we do. We'll always love you, even if we're not proud of what you've done,"_ Kassia wiped a tear away. _"We just want you to do the right thing. That's all. No matter what, you're still our daughter."_

Amara let out a grunt. As much as she wanted to believe her mother, another part of her claimed that she was really good at pulling out the croconaw tears. That this was all a cruel joke and that they only want her back so they can make her forget about Chanel. Kassia's plea didn't persuade her one bit. To Amara, it was all false guilt and pity. As the scene changed to a weather forecaster, Amara turned off the TV. The screen changed to pitch black.

"Shut up, you liar," Amara hissed, slamming the remote on the bed. "I am not going to jail and you can't make me!" She turned around and buried her face in the pillow. She wanted the whole thing to be a lie. That her parents didn't love her and only wanted her to go to jail. That they were only making her suffer. She wanted to believe that delusion with her whole heart.

And yet… _'How can you go on treating them like this?'_ The voice in her head asked her. _'They're your parents. They're worried sick about you. If they didn't love you, why would they make a public plea and broadcast it on TV?'_ She wanted it to shut up. Shut up shut up shut up. Leave her alone. _'The least you could do is let them know you're safe! Send them a letter or something! Do it for them, please!'_

For once, Amara agreed with the voice in her head. It hit her right then and there. What if Chanel had gone missing? Would her parents have made a public plea, crying for her to come home? She was sure her father wouldn't. That deadbeat deserved to be in jail after what he did to her. Her body began to move on its own, and her hand reached for a pen and some paper. Before long, she opened the pen and began to write.

Perhaps she could do this much for them.

* * *

Perrine Innocenti couldn't wait to battle Chuck again. After reconciling with Kitsune-now a beautiful, elegant ninetales-she made up a new strategy to go up against Chuck in their next gym battle. This time, she was ready for him. The day after, Perrine and Chuck were on the battlefield, the air around them brimming with determination. Julia and Caiseal could feel it, even on the bleachers, and yes, the gym didn't smell bad anymore. Kitsune had just knocked out Chuck's machoke, so now it was a two on two battle.

"Primeape, let's go!"

"Kitsune, show them what you're made of!"

The pig monkey and the fox descended onto the battlefield. With that, the battle began. "Primeape, use Dynamic Punch!" Once again, Chuck made punching motions.

"Dodge it by dancing around!" Perrine commanded. As soon as primeape came close, Kitsune would always dodge however she could, such as doing backflips or jumping over the pig monkey. Other times, she would simply duck. Her elegant movements made her look as though she were dancing.

' _This is my chance!'_ Perrine thought to herself before shouting, "Use flamethrower on yourself!"

Everyone's mouths fell agape. Flamethrower on herself? What was that about? Before long, Kitsune spewed a stream of blazing hot fire all around herself. Since she was a fire type, everyone was sure she wouldn't get hurt or burned in any way. In fact, Kitsune smiled and rolled in the flames, enjoying herself. Before long, the flames faded and Kitsune was glowing in a red hot light.

Julia stood up from her seat, smiling joyfully. "I get it! Flash Fire!" She shouted. Caiseal smiled as well, understanding what she meant. If a pokemon has the ability Flash Fire and is hit by an attack, their fire powers grow stronger.

Chuck nodded affirmatively as he crossed his arms. "It's good that you're using your pokemon's abilities to your advantage!" Once again, he made punching motions. "A trainer that can think on their feet is destined for greatness! But we're just getting started!" He roared. "Primeape! Use Rock Slide!"

"Priiiiiiimeape!" The pig monkey bellowed as he stamped his feet like he was throwing a temper tantrum. Green lights appeared in the sky, with rocks spilling forth, rolling right toward the fox.

"Use Extrasensory and throw them at primeape!" Kitsune's eyes glowed in an eerie purple light as energy circled around the rocks, freezing them in mid air. Her long tails stood right up, facing the ceiling, right as she lifted her head. All of a sudden, the rocks flew right at primeape. Without hesitating, primeape punched the rocks that came his way, smashing them to smithereens. However, some of them managed to hit him. One managed to knock him off his feet, making him fall on his fluffy rear end.

"Primeape! Don't give up, my friend!" Chuck yelled reassuringly. Good thing primeape had no intention of giving up, as he got right back on his feet despite the injury.

"Great job, Kitsune!" Perrine cheered, jumping up and down.

"Nine!"

"Use Dynamic Punch again, and make sure it hits!"

"Priiiiime!" Once again, the pig monkey charged right at the yellow fox with intent to knock her out.

"Bite on his fist, Kitsune!" Perrine shouted. On cue, once primeape got close, Kitsune opened her large mouth before clamping her teeth down onto the pig monkey's fist. Her teeth dug into primeape's skin, making him writhe with pain. "Use Confuse Ray!"

"Niiiiiiiine…" Primeape was helpless to do anything, as Kitsune's eyes glowed in an eerie blue light. As soon as primeape made eye contact, his mind was suddenly thrown asunder. Kitsune let go of his fist, but primeape found himself unsteady, wobbling side to side like he was drunk. His eyesight became blurry, and everything around him seemed to have doubled in number.

"Primeape, no!" Chuck exclaimed. At this point, he knew primeape was finished. He couldn't switch primeape out, as the gym leaders aren't allowed to make substitutions.

Confidence was brimming within Perrine. The chance to defeat that primeape was ripe for the taking. "Finish it with Flamethrower!" She shouted proudly. Kitsune spat out a stream of red hot fire that swirled all around the confused pig monkey. The intense heat was too much for the pig monkey to handle. No amount of punches and kicks could make the flames dissipate. Soon, primeape fell to the ground, charred and unable to move.

"Primeape is unable to battle!" The same female referee from before raised a purple flag in Perrine's direction. "The winner is Kitsune the ninetales!"

"Niiine!" Overcome with joy, Kitsune hopped over to her trainer and licked her face, making her giggle. In return, Perrine stroke her friend's head gently.

"Good job, girl. You're the best," Perrine complimented as Kitsune nuzzled her this time. "Do you want to take a break for now?" Kitsune nodded affirmatively, letting Perrine put her back in her pokeball.

Chuck was quick to call primeape back and send poliwrath out. Perrine sent Florian out since she figured the bayleef could handle poliwrath's water attacks. "Battle begin!"

"Use Water Pulse, buddy!" Chuck roared, punching the air.

"Poliwraaath!" A rippling sphere of water shot out from the circular pattern on poliwrath's body.

"Slice it with Razor Leaf!" Perrine commanded. On cue, Florian swung the leaf on his head, commanding smaller leaves to come flying out. Two of them managed to slice through the ball of water, making it splash onto the ground. Other leaves managed to strike poliwrath's stomach and legs, leaving small cuts.

"Hypnosis!" Chuck shouted.

"Wraaaaath…" The circular pattern on poliwrath's abdomen glowed in a purple light.

"Close your eyes, Florian!" Perrine shouted. Florian managed to squeeze his eyes shut before Perrine could shout the command. In some way, he knew poliwrath was going to pull this stunt. "Use Vine Whip on poliwrath's legs!" Thin vines shot out from the leaves on Florian's neck, coiling around the tadpole's legs. "Throw him in the air!" Mustering all his strength, Florian threw the tadpole high in the air, right as he pulled his vine back.

Florian's eyes snapped open. "Use Razor Leaf before it hits you!" Once again, Florian sent a barrage of razor sharp leaves at the falling tadpole.

"Water Pulse!" Again, poliwrath blasted a sphere of water at the grassy dinosaur. This time, the sphere managed to splash Florian, sending him rolling on the battlefield. Thankfully, some of the razor leaf managed to scratch poliwrath's arms and abdomen. That didn't stop the tadpole from landing on his feet as the dinosaur struggled to get back on his own.

"Are you okay, Florian?" Perrine asked, clutching her vest worriedly.

The dinosaur stood back up, turning to his trainer and giving an affirmative nod. "Bay," He said, almost in a low whisper. Something in Florian's red eyes told Perrine that he wasn't done yet. In fact, he was just getting started.

"Knock'em out with Dynamic Punch!"

"Wraaaath!" Poliwrath's fist glowed in a white light as he charged at the dinosaur. Oddly enough, Florian didn't move, nor did Perrine give him any commands.

"What's she planning?" Julia asked, clutching her hoodie tightly, her entire being consumed with worry.

"I don't know. But she better do something soon or else Florian is done for!" Caiseal replied, looking just as concerned as Julia was.

Once poliwrath got close enough to punch the daylights out of Florian… "Vine Whip!" Florian's vines coiled around poliwrath's arm faster than he could see. "Poison Powder!" A cloud of purple dust exploded from the leaves around Florian's neck, consuming almost the entire battlefield. Everyone was quick to cover their mouths to keep from inhaling the poison.

Except for poliwrath. The purple cloud exploded right in front of his face, so he was unable to use his free hand in time. Soon, he felt as though the entire inside of his body was on fire. Every nerve in his body singed like he was trapped in a whirlpool of blue flames. Before he could do anything else, Florian lifted him up and threw him across the battlefield once more. Florian didn't even stop there, as he ran toward the helpless tadpole, leaped into the air like he was flying, and slammed right down on poliwrath, making a big hole in the field.

"Wow!" Julia exclaimed, standing up from the bleachers. "Did you see that, Caiseal?! Florian just learned Body Slam!"

"Heck yeah!" Caiseal raised his fists into the air and whooped. "Whooooooo! Go Florian! Go Perrine!"

"We're not finished yet!" Chuck slammed one of his feet down on the ground. "Poliwrath! Use Low Sweep!"

"Use your vines and jump!" Right as poliwrath's foot extended out toward Florian's feet, the dinosaur leaped into the air, using his vines for an extra boost. "Finish it with a final Razor Leaf!"

Unable to dodge, a barrage of leaves struck the poliwrath without mercy, leaving him unconscious on the battlefield. Florian fell back to the ground, lifting his leaf up like he knew victory was his. The referee examined the fallen poliwrath before announcing, "Poliwrath is unable to battle! The winner is Florian the bayleef, and the victory goes to Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City!"

"Yaaaaaaay!" Perrine's cup of happiness finally overflowed. Florian ran over to his trainer and rejoiced with her in their victory. Perrine hugged her dinosaur friend and jumped around in circles like a little kid. The two laughed and giggled and cheered happily. Chuck could only call poliwrath back with a slightly sad smile.

"You were great, my friend," Chuck told him in a kind whisper. Soon, the sadness dissipated as Julia and Caiseal came racing toward the battlefield.

"You did it, Perrine!" Julia took her friend's hand in her own. "You and your pokemon!"

"You really rocked it back there!" Caiseal slapped one of her shoulders with one hand.

"Thanks…"

"Bay bayleeeeeef!"

With a smile on his face, Chuck marched over to Perrine and held his hand out, with a Storm Badge smack dab in the middle. "Here ya go, Perrine. That was a great battle, and you've proven yourself worthy of this," He told her. Perrine gingerly took the badge out of his hand.

"Thank you, sir," Perrine told him gratefully.

"I still think you should have called it the Fist Badge or something," Julia piped in. Everyone broke into merry laughter. In a way, they agreed. Why name a fist shaped badge the Storm Badge, anyway?

After that, the kids hopped on the first ferry back to Olivine City. For all they knew, Jasmine was probably running the gym again since Ampere was all better now. Perhaps the Pokemon Center got fixed? They weren't sure, but they hoped that was the case. When night fell and the ferry docked at Olivine, their hopes were answered. The Pokemon Center was back to normal! There were still some broken pieces of wall that were yet to be replaced, but the Pokemon Center was open to the public once more, now that everything was fixed.

The kids and their pokemon wasted no time eating dinner, taking showers, and preparing for bed. As soon as Caiseal fell on his bed, he was out like a light, snoring contentedly, but not loud enough to wake anyone up. The rest of his pokemon were asleep as well, except for Mallow and Stacey. Mallow sat on another bed with the rest of the pokemon, brushing some dust off of his favorite bone. Stacey just sat on the floor next to him. Since Mallow was on the bed, he and Stacey were able to literally speak at eye level.

"How long have you been Caiseal's pokemon?" Stacey asked out of the blue, but in a low whisper so as to not wake anyone up.

Mallow looked deep into his bone, examining it for any cracks and nicks. "About...three years," The lonely pokemon replied quietly, in a solemn tone of voice.

The stag beetle pokemon looked down at her large feet. "I...I always lived in the forests…" She began thoughtfully. "I had no idea there were such things as oceans and sand and boats and all of that stuff…"

"Now you know," Mallow piped in calmly.

"The human world is so mysterious…" Stacey mused out loud. "Other pokemon I knew said that humans were cruel and drove them from their homes, and...that we should fear them," She looked down at her thin hands. "But...I don't see what's so scary about them."

"There are both good and bad humans," Mallow clutched his bone with both hands. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

Voices echoed through the solemn cubone's mind. The shrill voice of a hysterical, bordering on angry, middle aged woman shouted at the top of her lungs, _"You're a monster! I hated you even when you were inside me! I should never have given birth to you!"_ But the voice wasn't directed at Mallow. The silhouette of a blonde haired boy fell to his knees, bawling his eyes out. The tears were too real to be a mere illusion.

The cubone squeezed his eyes shut. How long had it been since that awful day? Mallow always thought that humans helped each other, like pokemon did. Reality could be cruel sometimes. He had no idea that even humans were prone to hating their own flesh and blood for any reason.

"How did you and Caiseal meet?" Stacey asked curiously.

Mallow laid back on the bed, facing the dark ceiling as his mind drifted down memory lane.

(flashback)

 _Three rattata were thrown against some cardboard boxes. A lone cubone stood before them, his yellow eyes freezing them in place, as if daring the three mice to cross him. The cubone pointed his trusty bone at them with one hand, and an unopened plastic bag of jumbo marshmallows was in the other one._

" _That'll teach you to steal my food!" Cubone yelled, guarding the bag of marshmallows like it was genuine gold._

 _The trio of rattata struggled to get back on their feet. Developing bruises dotted their small purple bodies. One rattata's tooth was chipped slightly. All of a sudden, one rattata's tail began to glow in a shiny, silver light, resembling steel. With a mighty hiss, the rattata charged at the cubone with blinding speed before slamming the bone right out of cubone's hand. The bone soared high in the sky, farther than any of them could reach._

 _Cubone's eyes widened with horror. "Oh no! My bone!" He couldn't do anything but watch as his precious bone fell into parts unknown._

" _Wow! I didn't know you knew Iron Tail!" One rattata complimented before the trio scuttled away. They had grown tired of messing with that cubone. The bag of marshmallows wasn't worth it. With that, the rattata were gone, leaving the cubone all alone._

 _Although cubone still had the bag of marshmallows in his hand, it was nothing compared to his bone. That bone was like his security blanket. It was the only thing that he could use to ensure his own survival. But this was no time for angsting over it. He needed to find it and he needed it now. With resolve in his heart and the marshmallow bag in his hand, he scurried to the place where he thought his bone fell. He searched through alley ways, trash cans, empty cardboard boxes, even in the backyards of other people's houses. Unfortunately, the cubone's search came up fruitless._

 _Boneless and in tears, the cubone found himself in a particularly dirty alleyway, rummaging through a pack of old newspapers that had droppings and urine stains on them. The alley was dark, with the houses so high they blocked off any kind of sunlight, leaving it dim. Cigarette butts and candy wrappers dotted parts of the street. A trash can was knocked over, spilling most of its contents on the street, many of which consisted of half eaten hamburgers or cardboard box remains. Red and blue dumpsters were covered with colorful graffiti that cubone couldn't understand nor interpret._

 _Cubone fell to his knees abjectly. His bone was gone. He had no idea how he was going to survive in the future. Did he even have a future? Would he even live to see tomorrow, or would some human or a giant strong pokemon attack him and leave him for dead?_

" _Hello?"_

 _The lonely pokemon's head snapped up. A small voice caught his ears. But who was it?_

" _Is this yours?"_

 _Cubone turned around. Standing behind him was a boy of about nine or so years old, with messy, shaggy blonde hair that looked as though it hadn't been washed for at least a week. Hazel eyes fixated on the cubone with curiosity. The boy was dressed in a dirty purple sweater that had some mud spots on it, blue jeans that had some small holes on them, white and blue sneakers, and a bright green scarf. In the boy's hand was...a bone!_

" _Cubone!" (_ "My bone!" _) Unable to contain his joy, the cubone snatched the bone from the boy's hand and nuzzled it with his skull covered head affectionately, like he had been reunited with a lost child. The boy found himself smiling._

" _So it is yours. I found it over there," The boy pointed to a nearby street. A red fire hydrant stood alone amongst the many houses._

 _Cubone stopped cuddling his bone and looked up at the boy with curious eyes. The boy must have found it and noticed him rummaging around, thinking the bone belonged to him. The cubone nodded at the boy gratefully, thanking him for finding his bone. The cubone had no idea humans could be like this._

 _The boy smiled. "You're welcome. I've never seen a cubone around before," He said, kneeling down to his level. "Do you have a trainer?"_

 _The cubone shook his head, which told him it was a no. "I see," All of a sudden, a harsh rumbling sound echoed in the alleyway. The boy's face turned beet red with embarrassment. "Oh dear," The boy put a hand on his stomach. The cubone got a closer look at the boy's hands. Calloused and dirty from soil and mud. The cubone knew that sound anywhere: hunger. He looked down at the marshmallow bag._

 _That would help. After all, the boy did generously give his bone back. Perhaps this would be the best way to thank him. The cubone tore the bag open, pulled out a marshmallow that was far larger than his hand, and showed it to the boy. Confused, the boy looked down at the marshmallow, then at the cubone, back at the marshmallow, and back to the cubone._

" _Is that for me?" The boy asked, pointing to himself._

" _Bone," Cubone nodded affirmatively._

" _Thanks!" The boy took the marshmallow and chomped off a chunk of it. He knew it wouldn't be enough to completely fill his stomach, but at least some of the hunger would be alleviated. "My name's Caiseal, by the way."_

 _Cubone sat down next to Caiseal and ate his own marshmallow. Caiseal seemed nice enough. He didn't look or act as though he would hurt him, nor did he seem malicious. The cubone had always stayed away from people. Not because he hated them, but others said they were bad or hurt other pokemon. The cubone wanted nothing more than to survive and live his life. But he had seen human parents with children walking by sometimes, smiling, laughing, and having fun, wrapped in warm clothes and looking well fed and happy. Caiseal looked nothing like the human kids he saw. His hair was unkempt, his clothes were dirty, and he was hungry. What happened to reduce him to such a state?_

" _I better go now," Caiseal stood up and brushed some dirt off of his shirt with both hands. "You probably have family to take care of. Bye," With that, Caiseal walked away, leaving the cubone all alone._

 _Or so he thought. After just a few feet, Caiseal could see a small shadow behind him. He turned around and saw the cubone again, marshmallow bag in hand. "What's wrong? Are you lost?"_

 _The cubone shook his head no._

" _Do you have family? Kids? A mom or dad?"_

 _Again, cubone shook his head._

" _Oh. I didn't know," Caiseal replied. "I'm trying to get home. I know my home address, but I don't know how to get there from here."_

 _Cubone's eyes widened. All kinds of questions were running through his mind. Was Caiseal far from home? Did he run away and end up in some place unfamiliar? Or did his parents…? Hearing Caiseal's confession made the lonely pokemon run cold. There were plenty of dangerous pokemon around here and in other places, big and small. Caiseal didn't look like a pokemon trainer, nor did he have any essentials on him. There was absolutely no way he could possibly survive the wilderness all on his own._

 _That was when it hit the cubone right then and there. Cubone put the marshmallow bag down and took Caiseal's hand into his own. "Bone bone cubone," He told him._

 _Caiseal got the message. "Do you...want to be my friend?"_

 _The cubone nodded affirmatively._

 _A huge smile split the young boy's face. "Awesome! You're the first pokemon I've become friends with!" He picked the cubone up and held him close, trapping the lonely pokemon in a hug. At first, the cubone found himself confused. The boy's skinny arms were holding him close, like he never wanted to let go. Was this how humans expressed their affection? Caiseal wasn't hurting him, so the cubone took some comfort in that, and Caiseal seemed genuinely happy to have him around._

" _I'd love to bring you to my house! I've got lots of video games and toys and lots of stuff like that!" Caiseal said as he put the cubone back down. The two of them began strolling through the streets. "I'll even let you ride on my skateboard! I'm trying to do this one trick but I always mess up and fall!" Cubone didn't know what a skateboard was, but from the way Caiseal made such a huge deal about it made him think it was something special. "My sister likes pokemon, too! Her name's Violet! She'll just adore you!"_

 _Cubone liked the idea of seeing his house and meeting his sister. Despite how dirty and calloused Caiseal's hand was, it still felt warm to the touch. "Hey...can I give you a name?"_

" _Bone?" The cubone tilted his head to one side, confused._

" _Yeah! It'll make you different from other cubone. It'll feel more...you!" Caiseal explained in a way that even he wasn't sure was right. "If that's okay with you, of course."_

 _The cubone found himself lost in thought. He heard a lot of human names over the course of his life, namely through humans calling out to each other in loud voices. Terry, Paige, Zinnia, Todd, Kathy, Andrea, Martine, Zoey, Leslie, Lindsey, Ramona, Nate, Hilbert, Hilda, etc. Everyone had a name that made them stand out from the others. The more he thought about it, the more he grew to like the idea. If he had his own name, he wouldn't be confused for another cubone._

" _Bone!"_

" _Awesome! How about...Bone!"_

 _Cubone shook his head, not liking the simple name. "Cubone…"_

" _Yeah. Too simple. How about Gilgamesh? Nah, sounds like a meat sauce. Howard? You don't like that one, huh? How about Cash? It sounds like me! Don't like it. Okay then. Ben? Too simple. Oh!" Caiseal pounded his palm with one fist. One name came to mind. "Mallow!"_

" _Bone?"_

" _Caleb Mallow is a famous trainer who has a marowak!" Caiseal explained. "You evolve into marowak, don't you? He's also a singer and I love his music!"_

 _Mallow...something about the name sounded so pleasant to the cubone. Mallow sounded harmonious yet simple, but not a plain, dull, uninteresting kind of simple. It sounded...just like him. The cubone nodded. "Bone."_

" _You like Mallow?"_

" _Bone!"_

 _A smile split the boy's face once more as he held a hand out to his new friend. "It's nice to meet you, Mallow. I hope we can be great friends!"_

" _Bone bone!"_

(end flashback)

"...and that's how we met," Mallow finished. Stacey had listened to the tale intently, silent as a mannequin. She had no idea trainers and pokemon could meet under those kinds of circumstances.

"What happened after that?" Stacey asked quietly.

Before long, Mallow's eyes grew heavy. He rubbed them with his tiny fists to keep himself awake, but his body was begging to go to sleep. He figured he might as well relent. It was getting late, after all, and every human and pokemon needed sleep.

"I'll tell you later," Mallow laid down on the bed, right next to Apollo. As the darkness covered everything up, the cubone's eyes closed shut, drifting off to dreamland.

* * *

Raikou dashed across a vast meadow, but not in a joyful, merry way. Smaller pokemon watched as the lightning pokemon raced across the grassy terrain, like he was in a big hurry. Something in the sky reflected the light of the morning sun. Something invisible. Spheres of bubblegum pink liquid adhesive shot out from a cannon from the invisible thing, charging right at Raikou.

"Raaaawr!" With a mighty roar, raikou called forth a lightning bolt that struck the pink liquid adhesive, reducing it to nothing. Even so, the invisible pursuer refused to stop chasing him. Raikou could tell, as he continued to run like the wind.

"Surrender now, Raikou!" A middle aged woman's voice shouted through some megaphone. Raikou wasn't sure how whoever was chasing him was able to communicate with him. "You have nowhere to hide!"

The lightning pokemon didn't dare stop in his tracks. He had to evade this pursuer somehow. He had done it before, and he could do it again. Yes, he knew his pursuer, from the day he told Hikaru to escape somewhere safe. Raikou could only hope that Hikaru was safe from harm.

Dark clouds began to form in the sky. Raikou's normally zig-zagged tail suddenly stood straight up, with blue electricity cackling all around it. With another mighty roar, five thunderbolts dropped down, striking the earth beneath it. Two of the blue thunder bolts struck the grass. Another one suddenly hit the invisible thing that was pursuing Raikou. The invisibility faded, revealing it to be a black airship.

"One of the horizontal stabilizers has been hit!" A man's voice shouted.

"A rudder's on fire!" Another woman's voice yelled.

"Everyone! Prep for an emergency landing!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

As the airship descended to the ground, Raikou watched as he hid amongst thick trees. Good, he could use this chance to evade them for now. This was no time to let himself be captured by hunters. With a low growl, he marched deep into the forest, happy that he managed to at least get them off his tail. For now, anyway. Even so, he needed to keep his guard up. One wrong move, and he was done for.

* * *

The next morning, Julia was on the makeshift battlefield behind the pokemon center. Blossom and Aqua were currently pitting themselves against each other for training. Blossom attempted to punch the round blue mouse with her stubby hands. Aqua, being the agile mouse that she was, managed to dodge every move by hopping around or doing backflips. All of the other pokemon sat and watched their friends train. Tsubasa glared at them with intense envy, wishing she could train and battle.

"Alright! Good job, girls!" Julia exclaimed, gesturing for the pokemon to stop training. "You're doing great!"

Blossom beamed and nodded vigorously. "Gloom gloom!"

All Aqua did was modestly scratch her ear with one hand. "Marill mar…"

Caiseal sat on a bench holding a crossword puzzle in one hand and a pencil in the other. He scratched his bushy blonde hair with his pencil, looking stumped. Apollo leaned closer, wondering what was leaving his trainer so dumbfounded. All the giant beaver saw were white blocks with some human language written on them.

' _Do humans really find something like this entertaining?'_ Apollo asked himself, looking just as confused as his trainer.

"Hey guys!" Perrine called out as she ran toward them, her orange hair swaying wildly in the breeze. "Check this out!"

"What's up?" Both Julia and Caiseal approached their joyful friend, wondering what she was so excited about. Perrine shoved a newspaper in front of their faces. The first thing the kids noticed that there was a picture of Raikou racing across the ocean.

The headline read, **'Legendary Pokemon Spotted Crossing Whirl Islands,'** in bold black letters. Hikaru hopped on Julia's shoulder to get a better look. Obviously, she couldn't read any of the letters. But the picture of Raikou was enough to completely grab her full attention.

"Pichu!" ( _"Daddy!"_ ) Hikaru exclaimed, her diamond shaped ears standing straight up in alarm.

"What about it?" Caiseal asked as he scratched Apollo's head.

"It says here that there are people who saw Team Rocket going after him," Perrine pointed to the second paragraph of the article.

But the picture of Raikou wasn't the only thing that caught Hikaru's attention. Further down the article was the mugshot of what appeared to be a woman, whose eyes were obscured by thick black goggles. She didn't look friendly in the least, as a scowl split her face.

"PICHU!" Hikaru suddenly screamed.

"Yow!" Julia's hands flew to her ears. "Hikaru! Don't shout like that!"

Hikaru grabbed the newspaper, stood on the ground, and pointed to the picture of the woman. "Pichu pichu pichu pichu!" ( _"This is the woman who tried to hurt me and Daddy!"_ ) She kept slamming her paw on the newspaper, making crinkling sounds.

"Hold on," It didn't take long for Julia to comprehend what Hikaru said. "That's the woman who tried to kidnap you and hurt Raikou back before you met me?"

"Pichu!"

"Wait, when was this?" Perrine asked.

Julia took some time to explain what Hikaru told her back in Ecruteak City. "Whoa. I never knew," Caiseal's eyes were wide with bewilderment.

The yellow mouse gave the newspaper back to Perrine. "So this woman...apparently she's known as Pokemon Hunter J. She's known for stealing pokemon and selling them for big money," Hearing that made a shiver run down everyone's spines. Confusion immediately morphed into anger. Selling pokemon? How cruel could a person get? Pokemon aren't plastic pieces of merchandise! Julia thought that if she ever ran into that J woman, she'd punch her right in the face. "The police have tried to catch her for years, but she's always one step ahead of them. She's number one on the Federation's Top 20 Most Wanted list for multiple counts of grand larceny, pokemon cruelty, assault, grand embezzlement, pokemon and human trafficking, and even murder!"

"What's larceny?" Julia asked.

"It means to steal something and use it for your own purposes," Caiseal explained calmly.

Julia found herself thinking hard about the charges this J woman acquired. Hurting others. Killing people and pokemon. Stealing money. Her brain immediately spilled forth the definition of trafficking, along with the memory of a movie she had seen on it once. Men were selling young women, most of them being poor or from third world countries, to other men, for less than savory purposes. The images flooding her mind made her eyes burn, along with everything else. All she could do was squeeze her hands into fists to stop the tears from spilling forth.

"You okay, Jule?" Caiseal asked, seeing his friend's face contort.

Even Hikaru noticed. But she knew what her trainer was thinking. A human doing all of those things to both people and pokemon...the scope of their crimes was beyond their imagination. Julia kneeled down to pick her friend up and held her close, trapping her in a soft hug, as if to reassure her that she was safe. Hikaru knew she was safe, now that she had friends here with her. But still, the memories of that awful day flooded her mind.

She wasn't sure if she could endure this again. Not again.

 _FLASH!_ Striking yellow thunderbolts flashed through the early morning twilight. The kids' heads all snapped upward. Three streaks of lightning shot into the sky. Soft rumbling sounds shook the earth beneath them just a little bit. Dark clouds came crawling over Olivine City. Voices of confused citizens polluted the air.

"What's going on?! What is that?!"

"Are you seeing this, too?!"

"Take cover, everyone!"

"Is that an airship?!"

"Someone call the police!"

"Is this a movie or something?!"

"Does that look like special effects to you?!"

"We gotta get out of here!"

Julia stole glances from Perrine, Caiseal, and the other pokemon. They knew they had to see what was up. With solemn nods, they put their pokemon into their pokeballs, sans Hikaru, and raced away from the Pokemon Center. Lightning was striking everywhere. A stream of flames fired on the ground.

There was Raikou, growling at a large, blue dragon pokemon with sharp red wings. A huge crowd of people watched in awe and frightened wonder as the dragon pokemon swiftly descended to the ground. A woman with shaggy silver hair stepped off of the dragon pokemon, her pitch black goggles obscuring her eyes. A light grey, oval shaped machine was strapped to her left arm. She wore a pitch black leather jacket over crimson pants, matching high heels, and matching fingerless gloves.

The three kids gasped. There was absolutely no doubt about it. It was the woman from the newspaper article, the one who is after Raikou.

Pokemon Hunter J.

"Graaaaaaar!" Raikou let out a thundering roar, glaring at the woman and dragon.

"Target identified," J said in a cold, calculating voice. She raised her arm upward, facing the electric tiger. The hole on the machine glowed in an orange light. All of a sudden, an energy blast shot right out of it. Raikou let out yet another thunderous roar, calling forth a lightning bolt that blasted the beam into smithereens. The woman barely reacted, keeping a stone faced expression the whole time. "Won't back down without a fight, huh? Very well then! Salamence, use Hyper Beam!"

The dragon pokemon behind her, salamence, let out a roar before shooting a white blast of energy right at Raikou. But this electric tiger wasn't going to let these two mess with him. Once more, Raikou called forth five thunderbolts this time, colliding with the Hyper Beam attack. An explosion covered the entire area as grey clouds polluted the air.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" J commanded.

Salamence only managed to take in at least two breaths before shooting a colorful, dragon shaped blast of energy right at Raikou. Julia couldn't believe it. Even in battle, J wasn't easy on her own pokemon, let alone the ones she wanted to catch. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Her hands moved on their own. She threw two pokeballs into the air.

"Aqua and Tokiko! Use Water Gun and Dazzling Gleam!"

Once Tokiko and Aqua materialized, the water mouse spat out a geyser of water strong enough to hold off the Dragon Pulse. Once the salamence was distracted, Tokiko flew right in front of its face before flashing a brilliant white light bright enough to make the dragon squeeze its eyes shut. The grey clouds finally dissipated. Like before, J didn't even so much as smirk.

Julia wasn't sure what she was doing. Her body knew, but her mind didn't. She knew one thing for sure: Raikou didn't deserve this. "You leave Raikou alone!" She bellowed bravely. Perrine and Caiseal joined her, pulling out some of their own pokeballs in case they needed to duke it out with her.

"Hmph. You children are fools to get in my way," J mused out loud. What a nuisance these kids were. "Salamence! Dragon Pulse once more!"

"Apollo! Use Flamethrower!"

"Kitsune! You use Flamethrower, too!"

"Hikaru! Disarming Voice!"

As soon as Apollo and Kitsune materialized, they wasted no time shooting flames at the dragon shaped beam of energy, holding it off. Oddly enough, Hikaru didn't attack. Julia looked down and immediately realized why. The tiny pichu was trembling in fear. Her diamond shaped ears stood upward, stuck in a rigid stance. Her small eyes burned, desperately holding back tears.

"Pichu…" ( _"I can't go through this again…"_ ) Hikaru blurted out in a choked voice, like she was about to fall apart, like crashing glass. "Pichupi…" ( _"Not again…"_ ) Memories flooded Hikaru's mind. J attempting to do whatever she wanted with her. Raikou saving her. The big machines hurting Raikou. Hikaru being forced to run and leave him there, knowing it was a hopeless battle.

Since Tokiko and Aqua were still out, she figured Hikaru deserved to stay out of the battle. "Aqua and Tokiko! Help them out!" Once more, the fairy and the mouse offered their aid as they held off the salamence.

Unbeknownst to them, J happened to notice Hikaru standing right next to Julia. The memory of her attempted first capture of Raikou came to mind. "That shiny pichu's the same one from back then," She didn't waste time lifting her arm up. "It'll be worth it's weight in gold."

"No!" Julia grabbed Hikaru and dodged the blast that came out from the machine. Again, Raikou shot lightning bolts at salamence. This time, one of them struck the dragon's left wing.

"I don't want to resort to such drastic measures, but it seems I have no choice," J mused as she pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Bring forth the capture tanks!"

Immediately, rumbling sounds made the crowd disperse in fear. Two large, silver tanks with long claws extending outward came rolling onto the scene. Hikaru shivered even further. Those were the same tanks that caught Raikou the last time. Before the kids could do anything, Raikou leaped forward, clawing at the tanks. Unfortunately, they managed to latch onto the electric tiger before electrocuting him with purple electricity. The tiger roared as the energy burned every fiber in his body.

"PICHUUU!" ( _"DADDYYYY!"_ ) Hikaru cried, covering her face with her small hands.

"Apollo! Use Rollout and free Raikou!" Caiseal commanded.

"You help too, Kitsune! Use Extrasensory!"

"Tokiko, you keep J distracted!"

Everyone nodded. Kitsune's eyes glowed as she faced the large claws, singlehandedly pulling the claws away from Raikou. Apollo rolled into a ball as he charged at the claws, ramming himself against them to help Raikou get free. Raikou couldn't gracefully leap away like he usually did, and the electrocution rendered him numb, so he simply fell to the ground, limp like a wet towel. Tokiko flashed yet another Dazzling Gleam attack, blinding both J and the salamence.

"Tch! Little brats!" J hissed, vexed by this unexpected turn of events. "I'll have to think of another plan. Salamence, let's go!" She leaped onto salamence's back as the dragon ascended into the air. The tanks retreated from the area, disappearing into the woods.

"You get back here!" Caiseal yelled into the sky, his voice echoing. Unfortunately, J had already disappeared.

Raikou laid dormant on the ground, unconscious and unmoving. Gradually, the crowd from before came back fearfully, observing the chaotic scene from afar. Police sirens pierced the uneasy silence, and the ghostly red and blue lights flashed in the distance, growing brighter and brighter the closer the cars came. Parts of the ground were completely black, charred thanks to Raikou's thunder attacks, probably to defend himself from J and whoever was working with her.

"Pichu!" Hikaru leaped out of Julia's arms, running toward Raikou in tears. Once again, Raikou was hurt, and it was all that woman's fault. Once Hikaru got close, she pressed on his long paws with her own, pleading with him to wake up. His body rose and fell in tune with his breathing, so he was at least alive, much to Hikaru and everyone else's relief. But it didn't stop the tears from falling.

"Hikaru…" Julia could only watch as her friend stood by her adoptive father's side.

"Pichu…" ( _"Daddy…"_ )

* * *

 **Heeeeeey all you people and Pokemaniacs! Happy belated new year! I hope nobody got too drunk on alcohol or overdosed on any drugs and partied safely! Anyway, it's a new year, and that means new beginnings! I'm gonna find myself a job with my parents' help, avoid certain places I want to stay the heck away from, and hopefully make this year better than last year. I hope you all had a happy new year, too!**

 **I have a new poll up, too! Check it out and place your votes!**

 **Random Fact: Jasmine's last name in this version is Pitt, as in Pittsburgh, the steel city. I wanted to give her the last name Chilikov, since it comes from the Turkish word for steel, chilik, but I thought Pitt sounded better and more compact. I also gave Chuck the last name Bergman, which means "Man of the mountain." I figured Chuck would be the kind of man who would do special training in the mountains to improve himself.**

 **Also...**

 **To the anon who keeps accusing me of plagiarism: _Please stop_. I only deleted your review because you were being a whiny brat, and as of now, you continue to do so, and your "review" wasn't a review for my story nor does it have anything to do with it. I will delete it every time. I'm not a plagiarist. Stop accusing me of things I don't do. I won't stand for that kind of attitude here, nor do I want any drama, so please kindly leave if you so wish. Don't let me hear from you again.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Croconaw (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Water Pulse, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Weepinbell (Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Growth, and Sleep Powder**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Twineedle, Fury Attack, Tackle, and Pin Missile**

 **Granbull (Female, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Run Away**

 **Attacks: Fire Fang, Play Rough, Lick, and Thunderbolt**

 **Fearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Drill Peck, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Leer**

 **Haunter (Male, Impish Nature)**

 **Ability: Levitate**

 **Attacks: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, and Poison Jab**


	28. The Ruthless Pokemon Hunter J

Chapter 22: The Ruthless Pokemon Hunter J

Swarms of people surrounded the fallen legendary lightning pokemon, wanting to get even the tiniest glimpse of the electric tiger. Some police had to push them out of the way in order to let the Nurse Joys and the chanseys to get Raikou into the Pokemon Center. Thankfully, the crowds didn't get out of hand, so there were no arrests or beatings. Still, most of the cops would be on the lookout for J, whereas others were already in pursuit. However, the crowd wanting to see Raikou didn't stop just outside. Most of the trainers barged into the Pokemon Center. One nurse and two chanseys guarded a door like security guards, rigid and unmoving.

Julia and the others sat on a nearby bench, watching the fiasco unfold. But Hikaru was lost in her mind, and everyone knew it, along with why. Just when she saw her beloved father again, J, the woman who attempted to kidnap him before, had once again tried her hand at seizing him. Now he was hurt. Hikaru could only hope his injuries weren't fatal. It didn't stop the tears from flowing. Hikaru held her tiny paws to her eyes, hoping to stop the tears. But they were relentless and refused to stop. Julia's heart went out to her little friend. But what could she do? Raikou was hurt, J was on the run, and she knew she couldn't make Hikaru's pain go away.

All she could do was just be there for her. She knew that much. Julia stroke her friend's soft, furry head with her hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Hikaru. Raikou will be okay," in a dulcet voice. She wasn't sure if Hikaru would believe it, but she had to give her some hope. "I'm sure Nurse Joy and the other staff are taking super good care of him."

"Pichu pichu…" ( _"I couldn't help him…"_ ) Hikaru whimpered, her tiny voice trembling. _"Just like before...I couldn't save him…"_

"It's not your fault," Julia told her reassuringly. "That J woman is really strong. There's no way you could have been able to do anything to stop her."

Hikaru sniffed. She had a good point. J was ten times her size, had big, strong, scary pokemon to match, had all kinds of machines, and could do just about anything. Hikaru was just a tiny yellow mouse who only knew a sliver of attacks. The differences in both size and strength were massive. Still, it didn't make her feel any better.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, however, Caiseal was also lost in thought. Earlier, Julia had told her about Hikaru's tale from before they met. Caiseal's curiosity wasn't just completely satiated. It completely blew him away. Hikaru was abandoned by her parents for something that wasn't her fault. Adopted by someone nicer.

' _Just like me…'_ Caiseal thought to himself. His heart had yearned for a kindred spirit to relate to. Julia and Perrine were great friends, yes, but he still wasn't sure if he could share his secrets with them. He wasn't expecting to find a kindred spirit in a pokemon, let alone a shiny one. In fact, just knowing that he found someone he could relate to made his heart leap. But this wasn't the time for reminiscing.

"Man, these people…" Perrine groaned. "They just don't quit, do they?"

"Come on! We want to see Raikou up close!"

"Can't I just take one picture? Please?"

"He's so cool! I wanna see it!"

"I want to see it, too!"

"Let us in! We want to get a look at it!"

"We wanna see the legendary pokemon!"

The black haired nurse and two chansey stood between the crowd and the door like rocks in a garden, refusing to budge even a little bit. The nurse adjusted her glasses before addressing the crowd. "Please, let Nurse Joy and the others tend to Raikou's injuries," She told them in a stern, authoritative voice. "You'll only disturb them. I cannot allow you to put yourselves or Raikou in danger. Please be seated in the lobby until further notice."

"Chan-see! Chan-see!" The two chansey agreed, waving their arms up and down to shoo the crowd back.

"Awwwww!" The crowd complained in unison.

Seeing Raikou be tortured by those machines made Julia sick. Disgusting, how people could be so cruel to a pokemon for no reason. She knew how Hikaru felt. If her own parents were subject to that kind of torture, or were about to be sold to some client who would use them for whatever, she was sure she would be just as sad and heartbroken. There was that knotted feeling in her stomach again, like she wanted to throw up but couldn't.

"Man, that woman was nuts!" Caiseal slammed a fist on the leather chair he sat on. "Who goes around stealing pokemon and selling them?!" If that woman even dared to so much as come near Mallow, Apollo, or any one of his pokemon, he would make her regret it dearly. "I want to break her nose!"

"You're not the only one," Perrine agreed, swinging her legs back and forth to make the time pass faster.

"Excuse me," All of a sudden, a Nurse Joy approached them, sporting a warm smile that was befitting her pink hair and rose dusted cheeks. "You're the kids who helped Raikou earlier, right?" She asked kindly.

"Uh...yeah," Julia replied sheepishly.

"I saw what happened out there," Nurse Joy said. "You kids were quite brave to stand up to J like that. But she isn't someone to be taken lightly," She added, sporting a stern, uncompromising look that clearly meant business.

"We know that," Caiseal added. "But she was hurting Raikou. We couldn't just sit around and do nothing!"

"Pichu pichu!" Hikaru shouted, waving her arms up and down for emphasis.

"I agree with you," Nurse Joy replied calmly, smiling once more. "I'm glad you tried. Since you're the ones who brought Raikou in, I'll allow you three the chance to see it."

"Pichu!" Without hesitating, or even waiting for Nurse Joy to escort them into Raikou's room, Hikaru bolted out of Julia's arms and raced down the hall faster than they could catch her.

"Hikaru, wait!" Julia exclaimed, lurching out to grab her, but the pichu had already gone inside. She looked back up at Nurse Joy. "Sorry about that. She's really worried about him."

"Thanks for this, though. We appreciate it," Perrine told the woman gratefully.

"Not at all. Just be quiet, as the staff are still tending to his wounds," Nurse Joy advised.

Hikaru ran through the titanium halls, passing right by some chansey and one other nurse as she raced to find Raikou. The cold steel floors cooled her paws, and one would think that the tiny mouse would slip and fall, hurting herself in the process. But the dark yellow mouse didn't even so much as slip, as all she thought about was Raikou. Raikou just had to be okay. She just had to see if he was alive. Sure, she knew that he was, because everyone saw him being taken here. But her little heart felt as though it was going to burst from too much worry. She needed to see it for herself.

She wasn't sure what she would do if Raikou was gone.

Finally, a scent wafted into her nostrils. An intense, electric aroma that seemed to energize her from the inside. Definitely Raikou's scent. She had seen Raikou use thunder attacks whenever possible, and usually afterward, his body would give off that very same aroma. It would last for about a day at most. She stopped in front of a very large glass window, almost as large as Raikou himself. The tiny mouse jumped up and down, wanting to reach up and see him. But the window was far too high for her to reach, and the walls were too smooth for her to latch onto.

All of a sudden, warm fingers wrapped around her body, and she was being held up to the glass window. There was Raikou, lying on piles of blankets as human nurses scurried around a large glass container large enough to keep him inside. One lady with an auburn braid wrapped thick rolls of gauze around one of Raikou's legs. Another one was spraying a burn with a Super Potion. A third one was operating a machine outside the glass room. Black cables were strapped to the electric tiger's body. Raikou didn't even move a muscle, as he was laying on the blankets, dormant.

"Is that better?" The voice belonged to Julia. Hikaru didn't even turn around to see that her trainer was the one holding her up. She just knew from the warmth of her hands that it was her. All she could focus on was Raikou.

The shiny pichu had never seen Raikou look so frail before. He had always been strong, brave, passionate, and thunderous, always running across the land like the strike of a lightning bolt. His entire being seemed to scream legendary. Every pokemon she knew looked up to him, and he knew it. Even as he was almost kidnapped by J long ago, he never gave up, no matter how hurt he was. Now, he looked no different from a small pokemon near death. His large body sprawled out on the blankets, and he looked so frail, so damaged, so...helpless. All she could do was watch from the other side of a glass window and scan her fallen father. Raikou's body rose and fell in tune with his breathing, much to Hikaru's intense relief.

"Pichu…" ( _"Daddy…"_ ) Her eyes burned as tears krept up at the corners of her eyes, begging to come out.

"See? They're all taking care of him," Julia told her gently. "He'll be just fine."

"Pichu chupi," ( _"I hope you're right."_ ) Hikaru squeaked dubiously. Julia didn't blame her for being doubtful. This was her adoptive father, and Raikou was a legendary pokemon. It would probably take longer than usual for them to heal Raikou fully, depending on the extent of his injuries. For all she and the others knew, this was probably Nurse Joy's first time dealing with a legendary, let alone a Raikou.

"Man, he really took a beating there," Caiseal said.

"I know," Perrine folded her arms. "I'm sure that J woman is gonna come back and try to steal him again."

"What can we do when that happens?" Julia asked, stroking Hikaru's fur. "Her pokemon are probably really strong, and she probably has an entire army of Team Rockets working for her."

The three of them looked down at the titanium floor beneath them, flummoxed and disheartened. Julia had raised a valid point. What could they do?

* * *

Kassia's body ached as she sat down at the dining room table, her thin fingers curling around the handle of a coffee cup. A pack of flyers were scattered all over the dining room table, all of them featuring a picture of Amara, the Parisa's phone number and email addresses, and other information. The bags under the woman's eyes had turned a light grey, her eyes themselves red and puffy from lack of sleep. Soon, she held the coffee cup to her mouth, allowing the warm, sugary liquid to travel through her system and wake her up. Kassia always preferred her coffee with sugar. It made the harsh, bitter taste go away.

But no amount of coffee could fill the hole in her heart. Hard, rocky callouses covered both of her feet from too much walking around neighborhoods, passing out flyers to whoever would be on the lookout for Amara, and from running around the meadow tending to the pokemon under her care. Her vaporeon curled up on the couch, eyes closed, completely lost in dreamland. Already, one whole sip was enough to push the weariness away, but it didn't ease her pain any. At this point, all she was able to slip on was a sleeveless mauve top, blue jeans with some rips and tatters on the cuffs and knees, and a dirty pair of white sneakers. The soles were close to coming right off if someone was strong enough to rip them, most of the color had faded, and the white parts were dirty from years of walking through grass and soil.

"Blissey?" A blissey ambled over to the tired woman and patted her on the shoulder with her stubby hand. "Blissee blissee."

Kassia flashed a soft smile, glancing in blissey's direction. "Thanks, Blissey. I appreciate it, but...I can't stop thinking about Amara," She confessed in a low, tired voice. All kinds of thoughts were going through her mind. Was Amara okay? Eating well? Not sick? Not using the pokemon she stole to hurt people, or even hurting said pokemon?

Just thinking these scenarios made Kassia want to cry, and more. What if Amara were to get sick and die from some incurable disease? What if she'd gotten hit by a car? Or attacked by a dangerous pokemon? Or kidnapped by a crazed kidnapper or murderer? If anything were to happen to her...Kassia shivered. This was already a nightmare as it is.

"Kassie?" Truman's kind voice didn't even make her head snap up. Truman came down the steps with little Lucretia snug in his arms. He stopped the moment he saw Kassia in the dining room, her back hunched over like she had carried a ton of titanium bricks for miles.

"Vui?" Even Lucretia seemed concerned.

"Kassie?" Truman walked over to his wife. "Are you okay?"

All his wife could do was sigh. This told Truman that she was anything but okay. He knew what-or who-she was thinking about, though. "The plea's only been out for about a day. We won't get any leads right away. Let's just wait and see how things go."

His wife was silent, but the heavy bags under her eyes told him all he needed to know. "Boy, are you tired. You should get some rest."

"But the pokemon...and the bills…" Kassia croaked. There was so much to do, but she couldn't muster the energy to even get up. Not even coffee helped right now.

Truman smiled before putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'll take care of everyone for today, and I'm planning to pay some bills right now anyway," He told her kindly.

"Thanks," Kassia looked up at her husband with a tired but grateful smile. "You're the best, Truman. I'm sorry I've been such a grump lately."

The pudgy man put Lucretia down on the floor. "I'm worried, too."

"Vui!"

He wasted no time getting on the computer and paying some much needed bills online. Lucretia sat down and watched as Truman's fingers danced across the keyboard. Rina and Rino, Julia's nidoran, sat on the sofa in the den, not doing much of anything except snuggle each other. Lucretia was sure she could see little hearts fluttering all around them.

Lucretia's ears twitched lightly. Knocking sounds tapped on the front door. Since her ears were long, they were more sensitive to sound, and even in the den, she could hear someone knocking on the door. She crawled up to Truman and pulled on his pant leg.

"Electric bill...done. Phone bill...done. Heating bill...done-"

"Eevui eevee!" Lucretia squeaked.

At first, Truman looked down, thinking that Lucretia was begging for attention like usual. But another knocking sound pushed that thought away. "I'll get it!" Rising up from the computer chair, he raced to the door, opening it to find a mail man standing on the porch. Lucretia stayed in the den with the two nidoran.

Once the mailman left, Truman looked through some envelopes, displeased that they were yet more bills and some junk magazines. "Bill...bill...bill...junk...junk…" However, one letter caught his attention. It didn't look like a professional letter. The envelope was small and thin, with a cyndaquil themed stamp on the right hand corner hastily pasted on, like the sender was in a rush. The sloppy lead handwriting read:

 _Mom and Dad_

 _211 Antoinette Road_

 _New Bark Town, Johto, 02614_

Immediately, it hit him. This was Amara's hand writing! He had seen it many times when he tried to help Amara with her math homework so much. He ran into the kitchen, grabbed a small knife, and tore the letter open. The address on the left hand corner simply said Olivine City, Johto. He pulled the letter out and let his eyes scan the writing. The more he read, the more his eyes turned wide like saucers.

"Kassia!" He shouted. "Kassia!" His wife almost spilled her coffee cup, had she not managed to hold it in time. But her heart was beating a mile a minute, no thanks to her husband's shouting. "You need to come look at this right now!"

"Goodness, Truman!" She wearly stood up from the chair and wobbled over to the kitchen, wondering just what the hubbub was all about. Unbeknownst to them, Lucretia, Saoirse, and the nidoran all gathered in the dining room.

" _What's going on?"_ Saoirse asked Lucretia curiously.

" _I dunno,"_ The eevee replied.

The purple nidoran sighed. _"I'm bored. I want some sausages,"_ He mused.

" _You're always thinking about food, silly Rino!"_ Rina scolded lightly.

Kassia leaned closer to get a look at the letter. It hit her like the Magnet Train. "Can I see that, please?" Truman handed the letter to her without a word. Kassia held the letter close to her face so she could read it.

 _Mom and Dad,_

 _I saw your plea on TV. But I'm not coming back home. I want to partake in the Pokemon League. It's my dream. Chanel's, too. Coming back and going to jail is going to destroy every chance I have of doing so, and I'm not going to let you take it away from me. Don't make me come back. I'm sick of you guys always acting like my problems don't matter and that you want me to forget about Chanel. Nothing you say or do will make me come back. I hate you both. Just stay out of my life!_

 _Amara_

 _P.S. Julia's in Olivine City right now. Arceus only knows she's gonna do something stupid and leech off of someone like the spoiled brat she is._

Tears fell onto the crumpled letter, leaving dark spots. Kassia's thin hands trembled, making the letter shake along with her. Truman could see the combination of both joy and despair on his wife's face. Amara actually wrote to them! She actually wrote to them for the first time since she disappeared. Finally, a solid lead! True, it broke both their hearts to hear that Amara hated them, though it wasn't much of a surprise. At this point, they were happy that they at least got something confirming that she's alive and well.

"Kassie?" Truman put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Truman?"

"Huh?"

"We're going to Olivine City."

For a moment, he was sure his ears were playing tricks on him. "But we can't just-"

"We're going!" All of a sudden, Kassia was in go mode. She ran up to her bedroom and threw on a fresh set of clothes.

Truman raced up the stairs, stopping at the top since he didn't want to walk in on his wife changing. "But...but we can't just leave the pokemon here!"

"I'll call Lauren and ask her to watch them for a week!" That was Kassia's loud reply.

"But do we even have the money to-"

"I'll get us some plane tickets!"

Before long, Kassia was already shoving folded clothes into a large black suitcase. Truman found himself frozen in place, completely dumbfounded. True, it was wonderful that Amara actually reached out to them despite what the letter said. His heart wanted to soar from too much joy. But at the same time, he knew they needed to be realistic. They had already spent so much money on bills, missing person flyers, and for necessities needed to take care of both themselves and the pokemon. Money doesn't grow on trees, and he knew that. He also couldn't just ask for a week off at Magcargo Express, especially on such short notice. For all they knew, their friend Lauren might be in the middle of something, and they couldn't just hop in and intrude on her life like that.

Eventually, his heart began to win over his mind. So what if it cost a lot? He could make it work. Both he and his wife. Their friend Lauren had taken care of their pokemon many times before whenever they had to go somewhere, and she was their lifelong friend. She always said that if they needed anything, that they ask her. It had been four years since they asked her for such a big favor, so perhaps once wouldn't hurt. This would be a great chance to see Julia, since Truman hadn't seen her since she left Cherrygrove City when she began her journey. How long had that been? A few months, maybe? He wasn't sure. But Amara and Julia were in Olivine City. He had to go and see them, no matter what. He was their father.

Kassia was already on the phone, talking to Lauren. Before Truman could do anything, a set of teeth pulled on his pant leg. He looked down to find Lucretia, Saoirse, Rina, and Rino staring right up at him with curious, expectant looks on their round, cute faces. A thought ran through Truman's head. Before he knew it, he kneeled down to their level, smiling.

"Would you four like to come with us?" He asked warmly. "I'm sure Julia would be very happy to see you."

The nidoran duo nodded solemnly, but Saoirse and Lucretia were already cheering, holding hands and dancing in a happy circle. He did want to ask Ladybug, but she was sleeping outside and didn't want to disturb her. He figured she'd be safer if she stayed out of danger. _'Oh! What about Lavinia?'_ Truman thought before running into the meadow.

Lavinia was the scyther Julia caught back in the National Park. But not once did Julia request that she be transferred to her. Truman wasn't sure why, and he made a mental note to ask her about it later. But in all the time he spent with that green praying mantis, he noticed that Lavinia wasn't the social type. She usually stayed away from the other pokemon, preferring to train and perfect her battling skills, whether by slashing the trees or flying around in the sky. Even now, Lavinia leaned against the tree, eyes closed, losing herself in thought.

"Hello!" Truman greeted her warmly, like he did with every pokemon. But instead of a happy reception, Lavinia trapped him in place with an intense, red-eyed glare that meant serious business. "Uhh...My wife and I are planning to go to Olivine City soon. My daughter Julia's there. She's your trainer, the one who caught you," He told her. "Would you like to come? I bet she'll be happy to see you."

The green mantis wasted no time shaking her head and grunting. "Scy-thah," ( _"I'm not interested."_ ) She hissed.

"I see," Truman was crestfallen. "Well, maybe another time. Sorry she hasn't been around much. I'll tell her you said hi, though!" With that, Truman went back into the house.

Lavinia sliced the air with one sickle. "Scy-thah scy-thah scyyyyyy…" ( _"I want nothing to do with a stupid trainer…"_ ) The praying mantis said out loud to herself.

* * *

J's airship hid amongst some nearby mountains, with the armor made invisible to camouflage itself into the environment. J couldn't afford to be spotted by any pesky police or do-gooders. She sat in the confines of her room, with a group of nine to ten Team Rocket members standing before her, awaiting orders. One of them was Ariana. Standing next to her was a slightly younger man with short teal hair and matching eyes, wearing a Team Rocket uniform consisting of a black undershirt underneath a long sleeved white one, matching pants, a black belt, white boots, and a black shield with an R emblazoned on it rested on his left breast. They were the only two wearing white uniforms. Everyone else wore black uniforms.

"It's not like you to retreat, J," Ariana told her.

The silver haired woman stole a glance at Ariana. As soon as J's steely eyes fixated on her, Ariana felt a shiver run right up her spine. "You didn't tell me that a bunch of children were going to interfere. Explain yourself, Ariana."

"J, please. None of us had any idea that a bunch of children would mess up our mission," The teal haired man intervened. Ariana's mouth fell wide open, like she never expected this man to defend her. "Do rest assured. You have an army of Rockets backing you up, and we will see to it that those kids will regret ever crossing the path of Team Rocket."

"Archer does raise a valid point," Ariana agreed. "We have about thirty grunts with us. The power we have could easily trump three little kids and their pokemon."

"I am well aware," J replied tersely, her cold, calculating tone unchanging. "Raikou is in the Pokemon Center right now. If we do anything reckless, the authorities will catch us. We cannot afford to get caught."

"We understand," Ariana and Archer bowed apologetically, as did all of the other grunts in the room.

"Alright. New plan," J began as she rubbed the yellow machine on her arm with one hand. "Ariana, you and Proton will set up our prototype of the Electromagnetic Ion Generator near the mountains," She explained coldly. "If the electromagnetic signal it produces is strong enough, Raikou will be unable to resist it no matter what."

One of the grunts leaned over to the one next to her. "That's the machine Proton and the others made recently, right?"

"From what I hear, yeah," The grunt next to her replied in a low whisper.

J looked up, glancing at Archer. Like Ariana, an intense chill went down his spine, but he kept a cool composed expression. "Archer. You and the rest of the grunts here will use the capture tanks to subdue Raikou and keep him in place long enough for me to freeze him," She explained further. "Do not under any circumstances harm or severely injure Raikou," J spun around in her chair, looking him straight in the eyes. "Any blemish on Raikou's fur will diminish his value."

Like before, Archer bowed by leaning downward. "I will make the necessary arrangements immediately," He replied in a cool, suave voice.

"I will not tolerate incompetence or failure in my squadron," J told them without mincing words, freezing them all in place with yet another intense glare. If looks could change the weather, the grunts were sure the room could possibly go down to fifty degrees below freezing. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. You are all dismissed."

Without hesitation, Ariana, Archer, and the grunts all left the premises to do their assigned duties. Two of the grunts, both female, were whispering amongst themselves like they were high school students. "I wonder how much J is going to sell Raikou for?"

"I have no idea. I hear her clients are diehard pokemon collectors and millionaires."

"How does she even find those people?"

"I heard from Ivy that Giovanni usually gives her information on people he knows personally. She usually goes to meet them by herself, though."

"What happens to the pokemon after they're sold, though?"

Ariana's sensitive ears picked up on the gossip. She turned a stern glance over to the two female grunts. "Daviel! Emmylou!" The sound of their names made them freeze in place. "Quit that childish jibber-jabber right this instant!"

"Y-Y-Yes, Commander Ariana!" With that, the grunts marched alongside the others in a single file line without complaint.

"What?!" Professor Elm's eyes widened as Perrine told him everything that had happened recently. "J actually tried to steal Raikou?" The shock in his voice was strong, like he had seen skeletal monkeys flying across the sky on mechanical wings.

"Yep. That's the gist of it." Perrine finished, balling her fists as she sat them down on her skirt. "Julia and Hikaru are in Raikou's room right now. He got hurt pretty bad."

"Hmmm…" Professor Elm crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deep in rumination. "It's great that you kids managed to save him in time despite the danger. I applaud you for your bravery. But I advise that you kids be careful when you're around Raikou. Raikou is known for not being very trusting of humans."

"Can't imagine why," Caiseal piped in with a touch of sarcasm.

"Humans have wanted to harness Raikou's electric powers ever since its birth," Professor Elm explained further. "I don't want to imagine what J wants to do with it."

The newspaper article explained everything they needed to know about J's machinations. Raikou didn't deserve that kind of cruel fate, nor did any other pokemon on this planet.

Julia didn't leave the room for even a moment. The same with Hikaru. They all watched as Raikou slept in the glass container he was confined in. For now, Raikou was okay. Night fell, and they still didn't leave the room. Julia sat on the bench just a couple feet away from the window, with Hikaru in her arms. But as happy as they were about Raikou being safe and well, they knew that J would come back with a new plan. How to stop her was another thing entirely.

"Hey, Jule!" Both Caiseal and Perrine came into the room holding bottles of water. Perrine had two and extended one to Julia. "Here. I'll bet you're thirsty."

The brown haired girl smiled as she gratefully took the water bottle. "Thanks, Perrine."

Caiseal turned to face the glass window. "How's Raikou doing?"

"The nurses say he's fine for now," Julia answered worriedly.

Perrine put a hand on the window. It was cold and hard. It didn't stop a smile from splitting her face. "I'm glad we managed to save Raikou."

"Me too," Caiseal agreed.

"Me three," Julia piped in.

"Pichu!" ( _"Me four!"_ ) Hikaru chirruped.

"Now that I think about it…" Caiseal said out of the blue. "Isn't it awesome that we're actually looking at a legendary pokemon up close?"

"In a way, I guess it kinda is," Perrine added.

Before long, both Julia and Hikaru's ears could pick up on the sound of footsteps coming their way. Two of them. "Eusine, calm down!" A familiar, soft-spoken, womanly voice pleaded. It was Jasmine's. The titanium doors opened, revealing Eusine as he bolted into the room.

"Is it true?!" Eusine didn't waste time running up to the glass window. "Raikou is here?!"

The kids' eyes all widened. "Eusine?!"

"So it is!" Eusine exclaimed. "Raikou, the legendary beast of thunder is standing right before my eyes!"

' _More like sleeping,'_ Julia thought sarcastically. She couldn't help but mentally scold him for barging in like that when Raikou was trying to sleep. He didn't need all this noise.

"Do you have any idea what a momentous occasion this is?!"

"Eusine," Jasmine told him firmly. "I know you're excited, but please restrain yourself. I'm sure Raikou needs some rest."

"Hi, Jasmine," Perrine greeted her kindly.

"Oh! Hi, children!" Jasmine smiled upon meeting their eyes. "It's been a while! Thanks so much for helping Ampere the other day."

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked.

"Well…" Jasmine averted their gaze, looking at Raikou. "I had called Eusine over to help me with some things, and I saw what happened earlier today. I had told Eusine about it and before I knew it, he had zipped right here," She explained meekly.

It took a while for Eusine to take his curious eyes off of Raikou and notice the children standing next to him. At first, he studied them like he had never seen him before. Then the memory flashed right through his mind. "Oh! You're the children I met in Cianwood City!"

"Yeah. We are," Julia said.

"Pichu."

"You're all quite brave to have rescued Raikou like that."

Jasmine put a firm hand on her purple clad friend's shoulder. "Raikou needs his rest. We can talk about how awesome he is after this whole fiasco is over," With that, Jasmine dragged the man out of the room.

"Ah!" The woman's iron grip was so strong, if it was any stronger it might have pulled his arm out of his socket. "That hurts!"

When they left, the kids found themselves bursting into laughter. They had no idea Jasmine could be such a no-nonsense woman. But it was for Raikou's benefit, so they were glad she dragged him away. Julia was getting tired of him anyway.

Night fell, and everyone was asleep. Julia and Hikaru were asleep, but they continued to stay in the room. Julia had to admit, she wasn't used to sleeping on a bench in her clothes. She missed having a warm bed, comfortable pajamas, and sleeping in a quiet room. Oddly enough, she had fallen asleep right on the bench and didn't twist, turn, or moan one bit. Perhaps the day's events had sapped all the energy out of her. Hikaru remained by her side, keeping her ears open should anyone try to break in and hurt her or Raikou.

Soon, the orange sun peeked out over the horizon, turning Olivine's oceans into a gigantic pool of liquid amber that brightened everything up. Morning light filtered through the windows, steadily lighting up the inside of the Pokemon Center. Hikaru was the first to wake up, rubbing her eyes with her stubby paws to push the weariness out. Her diamond shaped ears pointed to the ceiling like they always did. She stood up, happy to see that now that she was on the bench, she could see Raikou better.

"Pichu!" ( _"Daddy!"_ ) She called out in a loud voice. No answer. _"Daddy!"_ Raikou's eyes fluttered open. _"Daddy, it's me!"_

Raikou stood on all four legs and ambled as close as he could to the very edge of the glass room he was kept in, just enough to be able to see Hikaru staring right at him. Seeing the tiny shiny pichu made a warm, cozy feeling envelop his entire being. She was okay. Thank goodness. He let out a low, soft growl.

" _You are well, I see,"_ Raikou told her.

" _Are you okay, Daddy?"_ Hikaru asked.

The electric tiger nodded affirmatively. _"I am. For now, anyway. Is that your trainer?"_

" _Yep!"_ Hikaru chirruped. _"She saved me from nasty beedrill after you told me to run away! She's super nice! Her name's Julia!"_

"Ugh…" Hikaru's squeaking was enough to pull Julia out of her sleep. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "Hikaru, are you talking to-?" She was about to ask Hikaru, but she immediately saw Raikou and fell silent. That told her all she needed to know.

Raikou examined the girl from where he was. He wished he could get a closer look, as his view of her back in Brass Tower was obscured by the darkness, the dim light not helping. But he knew her voice well. _"Hikaru...that is the name she gave you…"_ He growled softly to himself, but their ears were sensitive enough that it was audible.

Hikaru crawled up Julia's back as the trainer stood up and walked over to the window. "Umm...hi, Raikou. I'm...Julia, your...daughter's trainer," She introduced herself shyly. The electrifying pressure Raikou was giving off made her feel as though something was squishing her down into the floor. Her whole body turned warm. Hikaru wasted no time telling Raikou about their adventures together. Julia could tell that Hikaru had wanted to do this since their encounter at Brass Tower. How her little friend missed her dear father. Considering what had happened, it was understandable.

The electric tiger still looked guarded, taking on a defensive, rigid stance, but he listened intently to Hikaru's tale. _"I see…"_ He growled once more. _"You've really grown up, Hikaru."_

Joy soared from within Hikaru's heart. Finally, she got to spend some time with her father after so long. He even referred to her by her new name. Truly, Hikaru wanted to burst into song. Even Julia could see the unbridled joy radiating from her friend.

A shiver ran through Raikou's body, making his fur stand straight up. _"I...I cannot stay here!"_ He began scratching at the glass wall. _"I cannot afford to put you or anyone else in danger!"_

"Raikou!" Julia called out. "I don't think you've fully recovered yet!"

At this point, Raikou just wasn't listening to them anymore. The electrifying air he gave off grew stronger, causing Hikaru and Julia to kneel down onto the floor. Raikou let out a thunderous roar as lightning bolts shot out from his body, shattering the glass container, the window, and a huge chunk of the wall. Raikou took the chance to leap out of the Pokemon Center.

"What the-?!" As soon as Perrine and Caiseal came into the room, they ducked, evading the thunderbolts. "What just happened?!" Perrine shouted.

"Raikou just escaped!" Julia cried.

"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru watched helplessly as her father bolted away from the Pokemon Center.

Glass shards were scattered all over the place, both inside and outside the room. A hole as large as Raikou himself, maybe bigger, was enough for the kids to go through. They were careful not to step on any of the glass shards or cut themselves. The three kids stepped outside, wondering where Raikou went.

"What made him escape?" Caiseal asked. "He hasn't fully recovered yet, right?"

All of a sudden, Hikaru's entire body became rigid. A low frequency wafted into her ears. Before she knew it, she leaped out of Julia's arms, running in Raikou's direction. "Hikaru, wait!" Julia threw her hands out to try and grab her, but the tiny mouse was too fast and outran her quickly. "What the heck?!"

"We've gotta go see what's up!" Perrine balled one of her hands into a fist.

Before they could do anything, two cars came speeding in front of the Pokemon Center. One of them was a shiny red Porsche. The other was a dark silver BMW, with big black wheels, shiny, spotless hubcaps, and dark windows.

Truman's dark silver BMW.

Lo and behold, out came Kassia and Truman. The kids' mouths all fell agape. "Mom?! Dad?!" Julia's eyes had gotten so wide, they resembled saucers.

"Julia!" Kassia and Truman raced toward their daughter, throwing their loving arms around her. "It's been so long!" Truman crooned. "Look at you! You look so good!"

It had felt so good to be in her father's warm, bulky arms again. It had been so long since she had seen her parents. But she knew this wasn't the time for a happy family reunion. Once they were done hugging her, Julia pried herself out of their grasp.

"Mom. Dad. I'm happy to see you too, but there's trouble, and Hikaru's in danger," Julia told them calmly. "I have to go help her and Raikou!"

She didn't even explain to them what was going on. Once Eusine offered to give her and the other kids a ride, Julia leaped into the car and slammed the door shut, leaving her parents all alone as the car sped away. Now it was their turn for their mouths to fall open.

"She's...doing what now?!" Truman yelped.

"I don't know. Let's follow them," Kassia suggested. "I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

A strange, grey machine stood on the foot of some mountains. A fork-like structure held up a purple sphere about the size of a computer monitor. Said purple sphere glowed in a yellow light, giving off crackling static electricity that traveled all around its body. Proton and Ariana watched from afar as J's airship descended onto the platform. Raikou had finally arrived, but when he tried to escape, he found that the electricity going through his body made him unable to move. His giant paws felt as though they were glued to the ground. Not only that, Hikaru and many other electric pokemon such as magnemite, voltorb, mareep, flaaffy, and even raichu, surrounded him.

"Wow, this machine really worked!" Proton exclaimed, eyes wide with delight. "Wonderful! Raikou's here, too!"

Ariana pulled out a walkie talkie. "The target has arrived. I repeat, the target has arrived."

J wasted no time coming out from the airship to get a look at the struggling Raikou. Perfect. "Target identified. Commencing capture," J said in her usual cold, calculating manner. She raised the machine on her arm, aiming it at Raikou, as a golden light shot out from it. Once it hit Raikou, the electric tiger glowed in a similar light before turning...into some kind of dark gold statue.

"PICHUUUUUU!" ( _"DADDYYYYYY!"_ ) Hikaru bawled as loud as she could muster. Now, her father had truly been captured.

"Hm?" J glanced at the pichu, hearing her cry. A memory flashed through her mind. Herself attempting to capture a shiny pichu before Raikou intervened. "Is that the same pichu from before?" She smirked. "It'll certainly be worth its weight in gold," She didn't waste time shooting another energy blast at Hikaru.

Hikaru squeezed her eyes shut, wincing. Was this how her life was going to end?

"Aqua! Use Bubblebeam!"

"Mariiiiiill!" A barrage of bubbles held off the energy blast as an explosion freed Hikaru and other pokemon from the pull of the machine.

Hikaru opened her eyes. There were Julia, Perrine, and Caiseal, with Aqua, Florian, and Apollo out for battling. All of them stared daggers at J. "I'll just take Raikou, then," She mused as a giant silver disk floated out from the airship, digging under Raikou before generating a glass case, trapping Raikou entirely. The glass case floated into the airship as J went back inside. "Mission accomplished."

"Get back heeeeeere!" Julia ran for the closest opening in the airship. Hikaru and Aqua scurried right alongside her. Once she got close enough, all three of them threw themselves inside as the hatch closed right up.

"Julia! NO!" Perrine yelled.

"Come back!" Eusine exclaimed.

"Apollo! Use Flamethrower!" Caiseal commanded. The quilava fired a stream of flames at the ascending airship, but it had already turned invisible by then.

They couldn't believe it. Julia and Hikaru had jumped into the airship. If J were to find them, who knows what she would do to them. Whatever she planned, it definitely wouldn't be anything good. They had to save her, and fast.

"Hmph! I never thought I'd run into you again," A familiar yet sickening voice echoed from behind a big pile of rocks just a few feet away. Out came Proton, looking as smug as ever, with a koffing floating by his side and a hand on one of his hips. "Perrine Innocenti."

Perrine scowled. "Proton! Give Raikou back, along with our friend!"

With a chuckle, Proton threw a pokeball in the air. It opened as a white light shot out from it, materializing into a large, pinkish red spider pokemon. Its four legs had yellow and purple stripes on it, with two similarly colored horns protruding out from the back of its thorax. A sharp white horn shot up from its forehead, with matching fangs ready for munching, its purple eyes giving it the image of a horror movie pokemon.

"Ariados, use String Shot!" Proton commanded, extending his hand out in a battle position. "Koffing, use Smog!"

"Aria!" The spider hissed before shooting a white web from its mouth.

"Flamethrower!"

"Florian! Use Razor Leaf!"

"Baaaay!" The leafy dinosaur swung his giant leaf around, producing sharp, leaf-like blades that slice through the billowing black smoke clouds. Apollo's stream of fire burned the string shot, reducing it to nothing, before blowing Ariados all the way into a rock.

Proton crossed his arms. "You've gotten stronger since we last met!" He told them condescendingly. "But don't think you're so strong as to defeat me a second time!"

* * *

 **Hello. Currently resume making. Job hunting. Waiting for Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions this Sunday. Wanting to go to an anime convention already. Uuuuuugh, so much to do! I wanted to add more to this chapter, but I realized that chapter 23 doesn't have a lot in the outline, so I moved some content to that one so as to not drag this out unnecessarily. Stay tuned, peeps! Because this arc's gonna be a doozy! And yes, a lot of this was inspired by the Pokemon: Legend of Thunder special. I suck at writing villains planning things out.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	29. Roaring Thunder, Crashing Skies

Chapter 23: Roaring Thunder, Crashing Skies

The first thing Julia saw upon opening her eyes was a titanium hallway stretching in all sorts of directions. Forward, left, right, etc. Both she, Aqua, and Hikaru managed to pull themselves to their feet despite the wobbling of the airship.

"Whoa!" Julia was quick to slam her hand on the wall. "Phew! That was close!"

"Pichu…" Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Marill…"

"Okay…" She examined everything around herself for a brief moment. "Raikou's gotta be around here somewhere," Aqua's ears twitched a little. Julia kneeled down to the water mouse's level. "Aqua. I need you to find out where Raikou is being kept. If any grunts see you, fight them off and run as fast as you can. Let me know if you find anything, and please be careful."

The water mouse held one of her stubby hands to her head, doing a mock sailor salute. "Marill marill mar!" ( _"Leave it to me, Jule!"_ ) Aqua chirruped before scurrying down the right hallway on her small blue legs. Julia clasped her hands together, praying that nothing happen to Aqua. She didn't think she could forgive herself, should anything terrible happen to Aqua. But this was not the time for worrying. Raikou, and possibly other pokemon, were on this ship. Now that she was here, she figured she might as well save them or die trying.

"Let's go this way, Hikaru," Julia pointed down the left hallway.

Hikaru nodded. "Pichu," With that, the two raced down the titanium hallway, making clanging sounds with every step they ran.

Fluorescent lights lit the entire airship, with only a few of them flickering like they were close to reaching the end of their life span. Thick, metal doors dotted every hallway, leading to Arceus knows where. Julia noticed some of them had entry machines on them, possibly requiring passwords. She didn't want to take any chances. For all she knew, there were probably alarms that would go off if she got it wrong. There were some that opened all by themselves. She tried to steer clear of those, or at least sneak past them without any grunts seeing her. She did manage to peek through some doors and see what was inside. But none of the rooms she had access to had Raikou in them.

"I hope Aqua's okay," Julia mused out loud.

"Pichu pi," Hikaru added.

Speaking of Aqua, the chubby water mouse moseyed down some hallways, keeping her round, red ears wide open for any sign or sound of Raikou, or someone who knew his whereabouts. Alert and collected, Aqua looked all around, checking if the coast was clear. Soon, her round ears caught human voices from a nearby room. One of them sounded exactly like J. Aqua crept closer to the door, managing to push it very slightly, getting a decent view of what was inside. But what she did see made her jaw drop.

There were possibly dozens of pokemon turned to gold stone filling the room, all trapped in round glass cases, keeping them inside. J and a few male grunts marveled over the collection with smug smirks on their faces. Aqua balled one of her hands into a fist. How could some humans be so cruel? Julia was definitely going to want to know about this if they met up again.

"This is some big collection of merchandise you got here, boss," A chubby, brown haired grunt told her in a complementary manner.

Once again, Aqua scowled. He was talking about the pokemon like they were toys or items to be collected and put on display. As far as Aqua knew, she was not merchandise, nor was any other pokemon. J adjusted her goggles. "I take great care in making sure each commodity is as pristine as can be," She glared at one black haired grunt. "Which is why I order you all to take them unharmed and alive!" She exclaimed.

"Sorry…" The black haired grunt groaned ruefully.

"So when do you plan on selling some of these?" The brown haired grunt asked curiously.

J crossed her arms. "I have some clients who expect them right away."

"What about Raikou?"

"Not yet," J told him tersely. "I have some plans for Raikou before I do anything with him."

Plans? What kind of plans? At this point, Aqua didn't stick around to find out. She figured whatever J had planned, it definitely wouldn't be good in the slightest. Time to tell Julia about this. She scurried away from the room, racing down the hallway as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. J and the grunts continued on with their conversation, even as Aqua left.

"So all that's left are Entei and Suicune, right?" The chubby grunt asked. "I can't wait to see-"

"Hold on," J raised her hand, silencing him. Both of them glanced at the door behind them. It was open just a crack. That told them everything they needed to know. "I think we have intruders."

"You think so?" The man raised an eyebrow, giving her a quizzical look. "I might have not closed the door all the way."

But J paid him no heed. "Send out the grunts! I cannot allow intruders to disrupt our mission!"

As for Julia, she just traversed through the seemingly endless titanium hallways, her search turning up empty. There was absolutely no sign, hair, or spark of Raikou anywhere. "Jeez...it's like a maze in here," Julia mused out loud. She figured whoever designed this airship made it so that if intruders came in, they'd get lost, making them easier to catch.

"Pichu pi…" ( _"Tell me about it."_ ) Hikaru groaned. A soft cry made her diamond shaped ears twitch.

"What's up, Hikaru?" As soon as Julia asked that, Aqua came scurrying down from the opposite direction. Relief consumed her entire being. "Aqua! You're okay!"

"Marill!"

"Did you find anything?"

"Marill marill!" ( _"Their storage room is this way!"_ ) Aqua pointed in the direction she just came from. With an affirmative nod, Julia and Hikaru followed the water mouse, running as fast as they could. Julia's legs began to feel heavy, like someone had put titanium bricks in them. But this was no time to be tired.

However, as soon as they were about to pass one particular corridor, two ariados suddenly crawled in front of them. "Yeeep!" Julia shivered, freezing in fear as the large spider pokemon blocked them. Hikaru and Aqua immediately took on battle stances.

"Aria! Aria!" The spider pokemon hissed, glaring at the girl.

"Think you can escape, little girl?" A Team Rocket grunt and his cronies stood on the other side of the corridor, arms crossed.

"Hikaru, use Thundershock on the ariados! Aqua, use BubbleBeam on the grunts!"

Aqua wasted no time firing a barrage of bubbles at the Team Rocket grunts. The soapy bubbles popped right in front of their faces, and the water stung their eyes, making them burn like they had been set on fire. Soon, most of the team rocket grunts fell to their knees, their hands flying to cover their burning eyes. Hikaru called forth a lightning bolt that seemed much bigger and stronger than the usual thundershock attack. Unfortunately, the ariados duo was quick to crawl across the walls using their sharp feet.

"Water Gun, Aqua!" Julia commanded. Aqua caught up to the ariados duo and sprayed a geyser of water at them, sending them rolling across the shiny steel floor.

For a moment, Julia thought her opportunity to escape had arrived. She was about to race down another corridor. But a beam of light suddenly shot at Hikaru. The tiny mouse tried to race after her trainer, but before she knew it, her body grew numb. Julia whipped her head around, freezing in horror. Hikaru had turned completely into golden stone! Hikaru's mouth was wide open, as though she was calling for her trainer to help her.

"HIKARU!" Julia made the mistake of running back to her friend's side.

"Marill mar!" ( _"No, don't do it!"_ ) Aqua warned, turning back. But it was too late.

J had leaped onto the scene, smacking Julia across the head with the cannon on her arm. Julia's consciousness escaped her, and she fell to the floor with a solid thud. The woman stood before the unconscious girl with a cold, stern glare. Aqua was quick to throw herself in between them, glaring right back at the unfeeling woman with a look that said, _"You stay away from my trainer!"_

"What to do with this little rat…?"

* * *

"Mallow, use Bonemerang!"

"Kitsune, Extrasensory!"

"Weezing, use Sludge Bomb!" Ariana called out.

"Golbat, Supersonic, and make it snappy!" Proton commanded.

The battle near the mountains waged on. Despite managing to do massive damage to Proton's golbat, the supersonic still managed to hit Kitsune, throwing her mind asunder. Before long, the battered and bruised fox found herself unable to keep still, wobbling back and forth like a metronome. Mallow threw his bone at the ball of purple gas, but the weezing spat a ball of sludge at the cubone's face. Mallow's eyes burned as soon as the sludge made contact, and he found himself falling to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Sorry, Mallow!" Caiseal pulled a pokeball out. "Return!" A red light put Mallow back inside the pokeball.

"You too, "Kitsune!" Perrine called Kitsune back, refusing to put her through any more pain.

Ariana crossed her arms, smirking at the two kids. "You two may be persistent, but you're pathetic and weak."

With an affirmative nod, Proton adjusted his hat, pushing it upward just an inch. "This will be your grave. Don't think we'll let you brats interfere with Team Rocket's plans any longer!" He extended his arm out in a commanding position. "Golbat! Make sure these children die slow, painful deaths with Poison Fang!"

The blue, large mouthed bat flapped his wings vigorously, ready to be the grim reaper that would send the kids to oblivion. Perrine and Caiseal glared at them, sending two more pokemon out. Fukuro and Viole. All of their other pokemon were too tired from fighting with them for so long, and they knew the ones that were at full health might not be able to do much, even if Fukuro did have somewhat of an advantage thanks to knowing Confusion. That could only get them so far.

Even so, they were not going to die here. No way.

"Vaporeon, use Aurora Beam!"

"Ursaring, use Fire Punch!"

A vaporeon leaped onto the scene, firing a rainbow colored beam of light at the golbat. The bat tried to fly away, but the vaporeon was too fast for it, and it couldn't react fast enough. The freezing cold beam of light struck the bat, leaving it unable to move. The golbat flapped its wings twice, finally managing to escape. A large, intimidating brown bear standing on its hind legs stomped in front of weezing. If looks could kill, the bear's small eyes, burning with undiluted rage, certainly would have stopped weezing's heart right then and there. Weezing itself froze in place, unable to move. The bear's fist burned brightly in a blazing red flame before the bear roared and punched weezing so hard, it flew right onto Ariana, sending them both rolling on the dirt.

Perrine and Caiseal turned to see who it was that called those pokemon. Lo and behold, it was Kassia and Truman, Julia's parents! Ariana and Proton's jaws dropped rather ungracefully, even more so when the bear pokemon with the large yellow ring on its abdomen gave them an unforgiving glare. Even more surprising, some of Julia's pokemon were standing alongside them. Saoirse, Lucretia, and the two nidoran.

Truman approached the kids and helped them up. "Are you two alright?"

"Yes, thanks to you," Perrine replied gratefully. "You're Julia's dad, right?"

"Yep," The chubby man flashed a warm smile. "Truman Parisa. It's nice to meet you finally, Perrine and Caiseal," His smile immediately faded. "I'm sorry it's gotta be under these circumstances."

"Eevee!"

"Snub snubbull!"

"Nido nido!" The four pokemon couldn't help but greet the two.

"How come some of Julia's pokemon are with you?" Caiseal asked.

Kassia brushed some dirt off of her shoulder. "We figured Julia would like to see them, and they see her."

Finally, Caiseal couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. The sight of the giant bear pokemon made him pull out his pokedex and examine it. He had never seen a pokemon like that up close before.

" _Ursaring, the hibernator pokemon,"_ The pokedex began in its usual robotic, monotone voice. Caiseal wondered why ursaring wasn't classified as a bear, or at the very least a giant bear. _"Ursaring have a very developed sense of smell that allows them to unfailingly find any kind of food buried deep underground, no matter the weather conditions. They leave scratches on berry trees in order to mark their territory. Despite their large, bulky size, they are talented tree climbers and love to find berries or sleep in the trees, although they have been known to snap trees in half for their convenience. They are highly protective of their young and are known to have aggressive tempers, even more so during mating season. They are usually considered very dangerous and have been known to take lives if provoked."_

Proton clenched his teeth. "Don't think you've won! We'll-" He yelled. Before he could go on a tirade, Ariana's hand firmly grasped one of his shoulders.

"Proton. Stop. The mission is complete," Ariana told him firmly.

Wailing sirens echoed in the distance, with flashing red and blue lights streaking against the bleak, grey sky above. As soon as police cars and armored tanks came rolling onto the scene, policemen and armed guards stormed out, aiming rifles at the Team Rocket executives. The wail of the sirens drowned out any further nose.

"Put your hands up!" One guard barked. "Put your hands where I can see them!"

An officer pulled the four and their pokemon aside. Kassia couldn't bear to hold it back any longer. "Where is Julia?" The worry in her voice was imminent. Everyone knew it.

Perrine and Caiseal couldn't lie to them. J had her. Julia was trapped on that airship. They prayed that she was okay.

* * *

Smoke entering her nostrils finally woke her from her unconscious state. Julia shook her head left and right to force the smoky aroma out of her vicinity. It didn't work. The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in the titanium hallways from before. She stood up on her feet, but couldn't move forward, nor could she lift her hands. A heavy set of silver handcuffs kept her hands bound together, held right behind her back, with a chain attached to it leading into the wall behind her. A thick, black leather collar wrapped around her neck, with a similar chain attaching it to the wall. She had enough movement to walk around in a small circle, but that was it. She felt as though she were being suffocated. How she was able to breathe, she wasn't sure.

There was J, sitting behind a mahogany desk overflowing with papers and thick books, with a lone cigarette protruding from her mouth. The tip of the cigarette glowed in a faint orange light. Julia grimaced. J must have knocked her out and dragged her here. The room was eerily quiet. Too quiet. She knew why.

Hikaru and Aqua weren't here.

"Hey, lady!" Julia yelled. No answer. "HEY! Where are Hikaru and Aqua?!" She shouted louder. Once again, no answer. "I know you turned Hikaru to stone! Where are my friends?! And where's Raikou?!"

J stood up from her seat and marched toward the girl, giving her the deadest, coldest look Julia had ever seen. Of course, being averse to eye contact, Julia looked away. Just knowing that this woman was staring her down made her run cold. The automatic doors pulled themselves open. The chubby, brown haired grunt from before came into the room holding a small cage.

"Marill marill mariiiiiiill!" ( _"Let me out let me ouuuuut!"_ ) Julia snapped her head up. A marill was screaming from inside the cage. At the end of her tail was a light blue ribbon with white spots on it.

"Aqua!" Julia cried before turning back to J. "Let her go right now!"

"So whaddaya want me to do with this little rat?" The man asked.

"MARILL MARILL MARILL!" ( _"I SAID LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!"_ ) Aqua's screaming didn't let up. It ripped at Julia's ear drums, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands were bound to her back, so she couldn't cover them. Hearing Aqua's screaming made tears spring forth.

"Give her back to me!" Julia pleaded.

J paid her no heed, looking the grunt straight in the eye. "A stupid little creature like that has no monetary value. Do away with it," J told him tersely. "The euthanasia is in the storage room. It'll save this world a worthless piece of garbage."

Euthanasia? No. Anything but that. Hearing that made both Aqua and Julia run completely cold. J just ordered him to kill Aqua all because she didn't have any value to her. How could any human being be so heartless? Julia wished she could break out of these restraints and save her friend. Hearing their plans only made Aqua scream even harder. The water mouse stamped and stamped her stubby feet on the bottom of the cage, screaming and wailing in a screechy voice that made the grunt grimace.

"You are NOT going to kill my friend!" Julia yelled.

She expected J to tell her to shut up or at the very least put her in another room. But J gripped the girl by her arm, yanked her up rather forcefully, and used her free hand to pull the cigarette out of her mouth. Nobody could have predicted what J would do next. Not even Julia.

An intense burning sensation ripped through Julia's entire arm, forcing the girl to let out a primal, inhuman scream. Aqua covered her mouth with her stubby arms, round black eyes wide with horror. Even the grunt froze in place, horrified. J had pushed the cigarette butt onto the skin of Julia's arm, the tobacco melting away the epidermis, leaving an ugly red circular shape. Julia tried to hold back tears, but they came out anyway, much to J's displeasure. Not even she could hold back those primal cries. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, J yanked the cigarette off and threw it in a nearby trash bin.

"You were practically asking for this, you little brat," J hissed in an uncaring voice. Julia hated the way she phrased that, implying she wanted it. Utterly despicable. Despite the cigarette being gone, the stinging pain still ran through Julia's skin, and the tears came pouring right out. It felt as though her arm was being exposed to 500 degree heat. "But even with this little blemish," Julia couldn't help but think that was the understatement of the millennium. "I'm sure I can find some clients who will take great pleasure in your services."

Julia knew what she meant. The implications were too horrifying to even think about.

That did it for Aqua. With a shrill cry, the aqua mouse glowed in a harsh pink light, bouncing all around the cage, so hard that she fell out of the grunt's arms. As soon as the cage made contact with the ground, the force of the fall and Aqua's roughhousing shattered it to smithereens. But Aqua didn't stop there. The glowing mouse bounced all around the room with the force of a rocket, causing papers to fly all over, knocking J and the grunt to their feet, and even breaking the chains keeping Julia to the wall. Some books fell right on top of J, producing a big dust cloud. Not so big that it covered the entire area, though.

Finally, Aqua stopped and approached the girl with a worried expression. "Marill mar?" ( _"Are you okay?"_ ) Aqua didn't hesitate spraying cold water on the small burn. Julia flinched, as the freezing cold water contrasted too much with the intense burn. But she knew Aqua was trying to help, so she tried to hold back any pain.

Once that was finished, Aqua broke the collar and handcuffs with the same attack from before. "I am now," With a smile, Julia stroke her friend's head with one hand. Boy, did it feel good to be free from those awful restraints. "Thanks to you. Nice Play Rough attack."

"Marill!"

"Now let's find Hikaru and Raikou!"

They escaped from the room before J and her grunt could wake up. They did run into some grunts, but Aqua and Tokiko, whom Julia sent out for extra help, were able to hold them off. Finally, they made it to the room where Raikou-and now Hikaru-were being kept. Julia's hands flew to her mouth. The entire room was like a museum of golden stone statues. But she knew they were all real pokemon. There were dozens of them. Big pokemon, small pokemon, ferocious pokemon like gyarados and ursaring, cute pokemon like cleffa and eevee, rare pokemon like togepi and some others she didn't recognize right off.

"This is awful…" Julia whimpered. "Their trainers must be so sad!"

"Choki…" ( _"Terrible…"_ ) Tokiko agreed, her Soothe Bell letting out a soft ring.

Raikou was easy to spot, since he was one of the biggest pokemon in the room. But they needed to find Hikaru, too. Aqua and Tokiko looked all over the room. Hikaru just had to be here somewhere. They remembered that Hikaru had a ribbon on her right ear. Julia hoped they didn't remove it. "Marill mar!" ( _"I found her!"_ ) Aqua cried from the far left corner of the room, jumping up and down so they could see her.

There was Hikaru, in the exact same pose as she was when she tried to save Julia. The girl saw a switch on the disk, figuring it might free her friend. She pressed it, pushing it to the lowest level. Immediately, the golden stone faded, and Hikaru was able to move again.

"Pichu!"

Intense relief overcame them both. "Hikaru!" The pichu leaped into her trainer's arms, and Julia held her so tight, she didn't want to let go. "You're okay! Thank goodness!" The joy was just absolutely overwhelming. Even Aqua and Tokiko joined in on the group hug. But they had to release Raikou and the others, so they cut the hug short. Julia didn't waste time going to Raikou's disk and pushing the button to the lowest level.

"Greah?" Raikou examined his surroundings, confused.

"Raikou! You're free now!" Julia told him. Raikou looked down, seeing the girl and her three pokemon, Hikaru included. Immediately, he was at ease. "You're not hurt, are you?"

The electric tiger shook his head no.

"Good. We'll get you out of here. Let's save the other pokemon while we're here, too," Julia scurried to the other pokemon, releasing them one by one. She even released the rest of her pokemon so they could help too: Blossom, Tsubasa, and Papillon. All six of her pokemon released the others from their stone prisons. Gradually, the room became more lively, with the sounds of the freed pokemon rejoicing echoing in the room thanks to the small room and its corners increasing the sound.

Before Hikaru could release an eevee from its prison, Tokiko tapped on her shoulder. "Pichu pi?" ( _"What is it?"_ )

Tokiko untied the Soothe Bell around her neck and handed it to Hikaru. "Choki chokikko," ( _"Put this on so if you get lost, Julia will know where to find you."_ ) She told her in a low whisper.

The tiny mouse tilted her head to one side, confused. _"But didn't Perrine's dad give that to you?"_

" _Yes, he did,"_ Tokiko answered with a solemn but warm nod. _"But I think you deserve it now. It may help you."_

At first, Hikaru didn't take it right off. It had always been Tokiko's ever since Eduardo gave it to her back in Goldenrod City. Why would Tokiko not want it anymore? It was a precious gift, wasn't it? Upon further rumination, its sound was very distinct from that of other bells, and Julia had heard it plenty of times, so if Hikaru wore it and was lost, Julia could find her by the sound and reunite with her. With that in mind, Hikaru put the Soothe Bell around her neck. Oddly enough, it felt rather heavy, almost pulling her down like it was a weight. Tokiko couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Gloom gloom gloom!" ( _"Everyone's free now!"_ ) Blossom announced jubilantly.

"Eeeee freeeee?" ( _"What do we do now?"_ ) Papillon asked, fluttering her wings like she usually does.  
 _"We're still trapped, and we don't know how far this airship has gone,"_ The butterfly pointed out.

The automatic doors opened. J and a few grunts came storming right in. "Seize them!" J edicted. The grunts bolted into the room with intent to kill. Raikou shot a lightning bolt at them, forcing them to step back. Some water pokemon blasted water at them, blowing them away, soaking them to the bone. Some psychic types teleported the grunts to Arceus knows where.

Teleport? That's it!

A humanoid pokemon with yellow and brown fur stood next to the girl, carrying two silver spoons in each hand. Perfect. "Excuse me, Mr. Alakazam?" Julia asked the pokemon. "You still know Teleport, right?"

"Alakazam," The large psi pokemon replied with an affirmative nod.

"Teleport us back to Olivine City, please!" Julia pleaded. "Get us out of here!"

"Ala!" The alakazam's spoons bent, facing the automatic doors. Soon, every single pokemon in the room, Julia included, glowed in a rainbow hued light before disappearing into thin air. But unbeknownst to them, a rocket grunt shot something at Raikou before they teleported away. Something resembling a black cube producing metal rings, forming a collar or necklace around Raikou's neck.

* * *

Julia and the others found themselves teleported right back to the Pokemon Center. Good thing, too, as Nurse Joy rounded everyone up and took her and the pokemon inside, both for treatment and reuniting the other pokemon back to their trainers or the wild. The chansey wasted no time treating the burn on Julia's arm, and she herself called her parents, letting them know she was alright and at the center. She imagined them dropping everything and running here.

As predicted, Kassia burst through the door right as the chansey dabbed some disinfectant on the burn. "Julia!" Her voice almost bordered on hysterical, but the joy was imminent. Julia's mother threw her arms around her daughter, holding her so tight, she didn't want to let go. "You're alright! Oh, thank goodness!" She cried. "Don't ever do anything like that ever again!"

By that, she meant jumping into the airship and putting herself in danger. She wasn't sure if she could promise that, but the warmth of her mother's love made her heart melt. "Hi, Mom," That was all she said. "Ow! Careful!" She yelped.

As soon as Kassia let go of her daughter, Perrine, Caiseal, and Truman came into the room. "Jule! You're okay!" Perrine exclaimed.

Before she could hug her friend, Kassia interrupted her, saying, "Is that a burn?!" Julia wasted no time telling everyone about what J did to her. As soon as she finished, her mother's face contorted into undiluted rage. Her eyes blazed, and they were surprised her hair didn't set on fire. "I swear, if I ever find that woman, I am going to make sure she regrets ever laying a hand on you!"

Truman let out a rueful laugh. "I think you should let the police handle that one," He told her. "Anyway, we're glad you're okay, slick," Julia smiled. "Oh! We brought some of your friends with us!"

Julia wasn't sure what he meant by that. Perrine and Caiseal were already here. Sure enough, Lucretia and Saoirse bolted into the room, hopping right on her lap, nuzzling and squealing for her attention. "Hey, girls!" Julia wrapped her arms around her fluffy friends, happy to have someone to cuddle as the chansey wrapped gauze around her arm. "Hey! The nidos are here, too!" She saw Rina and Rino sitting on the floor. "Hi Rina and Rino! Long time no see!" She greeted them with a cheerful tone.

Oddly enough, the nidoran duo didn't respond. They just looked away, averting their gaze. Julia could see twinges of indifference in their eyes, along with something else. They almost looked...angry. But why? "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know," Truman said. "They've been like this since we brought them along."

"Oh!" That was when it hit her. She never got to ask. "Mom? Dad? What are you even doing here anyway?" It couldn't have been just to come and visit. How did they even manage to get time off, anyway? Surely the pokemon at the ranch needed their attention, and from what she heard, it certainly wasn't easy to just take time off from both that and their regular jobs.

Her mother looked down at her purse. "We...received this in the mail…" She pulled out an envelope and handed it to her daughter. "It's...from Amara."

"Seriously?!" Julia yelped.

"You got a letter from your sister?" Perrine asked.

"What's it say?" Caiseal asked.

"Hang on, will ya?!" She had already pulled the letter out. It was a very short letter so it was easy to just skim through it. But just reading it was enough to make Julia glare at it with irritation. "Really?! She actually takes the time to send a letter and this is how she talks to you?!" Julia had heard enough arguments between Amara and her parents to know how she treated them a lot of the time, and some of the things she said about them were just terrible in the younger daughter's eyes. "She really needs to go to jail!"

"We're going to the police station later. She might still be here in Olivine, and we want to see if they can search for her here," Truman explained, keeping his voice calm so as to not worry anyone. "We've heard about some incidents where she assaulted some trainers, so we're going to report her ourselves."

"But didn't you already do that back in Cherrygrove when she stole the totodile and assaulted me?" Julia asked. She had seen them report Amara to their local authorities. Wouldn't doing it again be rather redundant?

"Eevee vui!" Lucretia tapped her paws on Julia's cheek, diverting her attention toward the fluffy mammal.

"I missed you too, Lucretia," Julia nuzzled her friend's face with her own. "Sorry we haven't hung out much," She turned back to Saoirse. "How are you doing? You're not sick anymore, right?"

"Snub snubbull!" Saoirse put her hands on her hips and nodded affirmatively, showing she was in tip top shape. Julia stroke her friend with one hand, scratching her floppy ears.

"Pichu!" Hikaru chirruped.

Julia told everyone about what happened in the airship, from Aqua almost being euthanized to convincing an alakazam to teleport everyone to safety. Her parents and friends listened silently, in awe of the terrifying tale. At one point, her mother's hands flew to her mouth. That was when her parents noticed it: Julia had changed. Not just personality-wise, but physically, as well.

It seemed to be only yesterday that their younger daughter was still the shy, reserved girl who would much rather stay home and play with pokemon than go with them to unfamiliar places and meet new people. She wouldn't even go anywhere all by herself. Either her mother or father always had to be with her. Not only that, Julia's face looked thinner, just a bit more mature. Some of the roundness in her cheeks faded, but some if it was still there. Her green eyes had a more mature glimmer about them. Her hair had grown quite long, reaching down to her shoulders. Kassia wondered if she could take her to get a haircut after this mess was over. Her arms and legs looked leaner, as some of the pudge she had was pretty much gone. Finally, after all this time pestering her to go out more and eat less sweets and junk food, she had lost some weight. But they hoped she was eating healthy foods and not starving herself in the mean time.

Rumbling rocked the Pokemon Center right then. Hikaru, Saoirse, and Lucretia almost fell off of Julia's lap, but she was able to hold onto them tight. Perrine and Caiseal clung to Truman's large arms. "What...was that?!" Truman yelped, his glasses having been pushed halfway past his nose.

Pandemonium broke out.

"Help! That Raikou's going nuts!"

"Why is it attacking us?!"

"We gotta get out of here!"

"Go somewhere safe!"

Raikou? Going nuts? Everyone stormed out of the Pokemon Center to see if what the other people were saying was true. Sure enough, it was. Raikou's eyes were glowing in an eerie red light that made it look much more ferocious than he normally was. He let out harsh roars as lightning bolts dropped down on Olivine City. One of them knocked two trees down, with one hitting the roof of a nearby house, leaving a huge hole. A mother and two kids barely managed to escape the other one and were spared being flattened. Citizens were running for their lives, screaming in fright.

"What the-?! What's Raikou doing?!" Perrine shouted. Raikou called forth another thunderbolt, sending it right down in front of the Pokemon Center. Truman managed to carry the kids away from the scene, evading the attack.

"Raikou!" Julia cried. "Snap out of it!" Her cries went unheard, as Raikou continued to roar and drop lightning bolts down. At one point, the electric tiger slashed some power lines and turned a small boat into a pile of scrap metal floating in the ocean.

"Pichu!" Hikaru buried her face in her tiny arms. What had happened? Why was Raikou doing this? She didn't know, but she was sure about one thing: the real Raikou wouldn't do this.

Police cars and armored tanks came rolling onto the scene. Armed guards and their pokemon, namely ground types like cubone and grey, rhino pokemon with small horns circled around the electric tiger. Some cubone threw their bones at the electric tiger. A few of them managed to hit, but not enough to do massive damage. The grey rhino pokemon held their horns up as Raikou used his thunder attacks. But instead of doing damage, the thunder was drawn to their horns, absorbed into their bodies.

"Rhyhorn, use Drill Run!"

The rhyhorn began by running before spinning around in the shape of a drill. The pokemon charged at Raikou. Unfortunately, Raikou leaped into the air, evading the attack. Some of the rhyhorn wound up attacking each other. As soon as they collided, their attack formation disassembled, and some of the rhyhorn fell on their backs.

All of a sudden, a large silver snake pokemon popped out from the ground. The silver snake towered above everything, resembling a silver tower of hard diamond. Its large, shovel-shaped head was bigger than its rocky body, but some horns protruded out from some of the rocks making up its abdomen. Sitting atop of the pokemon's head was none other than Jasmine. Flying next to her were two togetic. One of them had a blue ribbon wrapped around its neck, and the other a pink ribbon on its head. Four other pokemon accompanied her, one of them being Ampere, two silver orb shaped pokemon with screws and magnets on them, and a bigger version of the former pokemon.

"Everyone! Please evacuate immediately! I'll handle this!" Jasmine edicted.

"But you're just a gym leader!" One police officer bellowed. "There's no way you can-" But Jasmine paid no heed. She had already sent Ampere after the rampaging electric tiger.

"Ampere, use Cotton Spore!"

"Paaaaaaaaar!" The yellow pokemon produced a thick cloud of white cotton that surrounded Raikou like smoke. Some of the kids had to cover their mouths to keep from inhaling it. But it didn't stop Raikou, as he slashed his way through the cotton.

"Angela and Angelo, charge and use Steel Wing!" Jasmine commanded. The two togetic, Angela and Angelo, descended down toward Raikou, their small wings glowing in silvery white lights. Charging at the electric tiger at full speed, the two togetic rammed themselves against Raikou's body. The force wasn't strong enough to knock him out, but it did push him back a bit.

"Amandine, knock him out with Iron Tail!"

"Steeeeeelix!" The snake pokemon's tail turned white as it slammed right into Raikou, knocking him straight into a rock.

Everyone gathered at the scene, police included. When the smoke cleared, Julia saw it: a collar around Raikou's neck. A silver collar coiled around his neck, with a black cube hanging from it glowing in a red light. Could that be what was making Raikou go crazy? This was her chance.

"Saoirse! Break that collar off of Raikou!" Julia commanded. "Lucretia, Rina, and Rino! You help out, too!"

"Vui! Nido! Nyu!" The four pokemon scurried over to the unconscious Raikou. Good thing Jasmine stopped her pokemon from doing anything else, getting the message. Saoirse's fangs blazed with red fire as she drenched her teeth down on the steel collar. Gradually, it began to rust. Both Rina and Rino kicked at the collar with their feet, using as many Double Kicks as they could. Finally, Lucretia made it explode with just one Shadow Ball attack. Raikou's eyes stopped glowing and he fell asleep.

"Yes! We got it off!" Julia cheered, pumping her fists in the air.

"How did you know that was what was making him all crazy?" Perrine asked.

"I don't remember seeing that collar there when we teleported away," Julia explained. "I think one of those Team Rocket goons put it on him."

One would think that this would be the end of the whole mess, but fate had other plans. A small beam of light suddenly struck Raikou, forcing gathering officers to retreat. Even Jasmine made her steelix pull back. All of a sudden, Raikou turned right back into stone. A floating disk flew right underneath Raikou, trapping him in a glass case.

Joy turned back into horror. "Not again!" Caiseal roared.

"PICHU!" ( _"DADDY!"_ ) Hikaru cried. It happened again. Her small body trembled once more. Julia facepalmed. The airship was in tact when they teleported away. Julia wished she used one of her pokemon to at least destroy their equipment, or something similar. Of course she wouldn't give up.

The airship floated right above them as the case containing Raikou flew into the hatch. J closed the door once Raikou was inside. The officers pulled out their guns and fired at the airship. Bullets flew all over the place, but none of them pierced the airship's thick armor. It didn't help that it had turned invisible by the time they could even attempt to strike it down.

"Nooooo!" Julia slammed her fist on the ground. "She took him again!"

"She sure doesn't give up, does she?" Caiseal asked.

"How are we gonna save him?" Perrine asked, her voice peppering with worry.

"We'll find her for sure!" An Officer Jenny suddenly piped in, holding some kind of green machine in her hand. "I shot a tracking device on her airship," She showed everyone the screen. A red light blinked, heading north. "We can discern their location with this. As soon as we find their hideout or wherever they're heading, we'll arrest her and bring her and the others to justice!"

Julia didn't hesitate when she shouted, "Let us go with you!" The officers found themselves taken aback. Even her parents' jaws dropped. "That's Hikaru's father she just petrified and kidnapped! Let me and my friends come with you! We can help!"

"Absolutely not!" Kassia suddenly interjected with a fierce voice. She ran over to Julia and put both hands on her shoulders. "This is far too dangerous! I'm not letting you go out there, not after what she did to you!"

"Mom, please!" Julia pleaded. "It's important to Hikaru! Raikou's her adopted dad!" She told them about Hikaru's past in detail. Even Hikaru couldn't help but listen despite having told her about it. The desperation and passion in her voice felt so real. Just seeing Julia attempt to convince her parents to let her go left Hikaru in silent awe. She had no idea Julia was this devoted to making her first friend happy. "Mom...Dad...I'm not afraid anymore! I want to do this! For Hikaru! For everyone!"

"The answer is still no!" Kassia exclaimed. "I already lost one daughter!" Amara wasn't lost, per say, but the worried mother had no other way to describe their current situation right now. "If I were to lose you…" Kassia's voice caught in her throat, and her eyes trembled as though she were on the verge of crying. "...I'd never forgive myself…I can't lose you both. I just can't…"

"I'll be fine, Mom," Julia told her, keeping her voice calm. "I've been in dangerous situations before. Perrine and Caiseal will be with me. My pokemon are with me. If Raikou ends up sold or killed or whatever else, Hikaru will be sad. I don't...want my friend to be sad…please, Mom. Let me help them. I want to do this."

Truman was taken aback. He had been surprised by the changes in his daughter before, but this one was a doozy. Julia actually battled another pokemon, even if it was to break that brainwashing collar on his neck. She used to cry whenever she would see a pokemon battle, even try to intervene and tell trainers it was wrong to battle, even if it meant getting herself hurt. She always considered pokemon battles cruel and barbaric no matter what he and his wife tried to tell her. But not only did she battle, she handled herself like a mature trainer would, and even wants to put her life on the line just to make Hikaru happy.

A tear came out from one of his eyes. He had no idea he raised Julia to be so compassionate and strong. All she needed was some confidence, and here it was.

"...Go with them."

"WHAT?!" His weeping wife snapped her head up, eyes wide with confusion.

"You've grown up so much since you left on your journey, slick," Truman ambled over to his daughter and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "You've become much braver. I'm proud to have you as my daughter, both your mother, sister, and I," Julia felt warm upon him saying that. "You should do what you think is right."

She couldn't hold it back any longer. Her father was actually letting her save Hikaru's adopted father. All of the joy in her heart bubbled over. She leaped onto her father, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, Dad! Thank you!"

"H-H-H-He has a good point…" Kassia sputtered, crossing her arms so tight, her hands almost turned white. "Y-Y-You really have become stronger…" Her face was turning red. "Kids!" She turned to Perrine and Caiseal, who shivered upon meeting her eyes. "Make sure Julia's safe, okay?!"

Caiseal held his hand to his head, doing a mock salute. "You can count on us, Mrs. Parisa!"

"If you don't mind," A familiar voice interrupted. Eusine came marching onto the scene with Jasmine and an alakazam by her side. "We'd like to help, too."

"I know the area around here," Jasmine explained in her soft, sweet voice. "So if it's not too much trouble, I can assist you in tracking their location."

Eusine crossed his arms. "My alakazam's psychic powers can be useful in this situation, if you so wish."

"Ala!" Eusine's alakazam piped in. No, this isn't the alakazam Julia asked to teleport out of the airship with.

Officer Jenny nodded. "Alright. You all can accompany us on the search. We'll need all the help we can get," She told them, gesturing for the guards to fall back. She then told the kids to get into the police car with her. Julia's other pokemon accompanied her as well, figuring they could help as well. The other armed guards went back into their tanks, rolling away as the police cars raced into the distance. "Let's throw that woman in the clink!" She shouted, driving into the mountains.

With that, Truman and Kassia were all alone. Kassia turned to her husband, staring daggers at him, her face beet red. "TRUMAN! Why did you let Julia go?!"

"I stand by my decision," Truman replied, keeping his cool.

"Our daughter's probably gonna get herself killed, and you're letting her fight a notorious criminal, and who's extremely high on the Federation's Top 10 Most Wanted List!" Kassia screamed. As much as she hated to admit it, Amara was classified as a criminal with what she had done. But nothing Amara could do would ever put her on the same level as J. To Kassia, Amara would always be her daughter, even if she wasn't proud of the things she had done. But now another daughter was gone. "Julia could die out there!"

"I know that," Truman replied. "But we can't keep protecting her forever. You saw her battle earlier, right? She used to think battling was cruel and monstrous," The proud glimmer in his eyes made his wife fall silent. He had a point. "Do you remember when she was first diagnosed? How that one doctor we consulted told us that she would never talk or function on her own or live a normal life?"

Kassia's fists balled up. She remembered that day all too well. After a doctor diagnosed Julia as being autistic in her infancy, he referred them to specialists who could help them understand her better. One of them didn't work out so well. Julia was supposed to be evaluated and approved for potential therapy, but one doctor just gave up on her without even attempting to evaluate or understand her. It didn't help that said doctor did things neither Julia nor the parents liked, such as insult her when she didn't understand something or cooperate, put her in a room full of crying babies, and discourage her when she wanted to play with some toys or read a book. Kassia pulled her out of there as soon as that doctor told her to shut up over stepping on a lego. Boy, was she glad she did.

Now look at her. The same Julia who used to be scared of pokemon battles before, would cry when someone yelled, and avoided trouble, was now battling alongside her pokemon and on a mission to rescue a legendary pokemon in need, with friends by her side. These parents never did believe what that doctor said about their daughter, nor any other naysayers.

"You're right, Truman. You're absolutely right," Kassia whimpered, wiping a tear away. "Julia...please come back safe."

Actually, she wished both daughters would come back safe. It's a parent's nature to worry about their children's well-being, no matter how well-off they were.

* * *

 **Whoo! I'm really loving finally being able to write this subplot and get it out of the way! It'll be over soon, guys. The subplot I mean, not the story! This fan fic's almost finished, but not quite there yet. I do have the whole story planned out, though! This chapter didn't have enough material in it when I outlined it, so I just took a portion of the previous one and added it here. I think it turned out quite nicely! I applied for one job so far, but I doubt I'll get accepted despite it being at a place I go to a lot.**

 **Random fact: The little tidbit at the end about a doctor being mean to Julia was actually an experience I myself had when I was young. I honestly don't have memories of it, since I was too young to remember it, but my parents told me that after I was diagnosed, they were referred to other doctors who they thought could help me. One of them was apparently very mean to me and was rough with me, too. My mom stopped seeing him the minute he told me to shut up about something. Apparently, he even suggested that they put me on a sedative. Fat chance of that. They made me see better doctors and therapists, and the rest is history.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	30. Hikaru Re-Volts!

Chapter 24: Hikaru Re-Volts!

If someone were to tell a citizen of Olivine City that their neighborhood would be the place where the legendary thunder pokemon were to show up and wreak some unintended havoc six months ago, they would have said such a tale would be absolutely ludicrous. Legendary pokemon are rare, fascinating creatures. As of now, very few humans have even managed to catch legendaries, and even if they did, it probably wouldn't have been for very long. No one has managed to catch the three legendary beasts of Brass Tower before, and if one were to ask around, they would laugh at anyone's attempt at doing so.

One person already did. Twice, and not through normal means. A group of police cars, accompanied by some armored trucks and Eusine's shiny red porsche raced through the Olivine City mountains in pursuit of Pokemon Hunter J. Officer Jenny kept her eyes on both the road and the tracking device at the same time. The red light on the screen kept blinking.

"We're getting close," Officer Jenny said. Caiseal and Perrine leaned closer to the front seat to get a look at the machine.

"But I don't see anything up ahead," Caiseal interjected. It's true: there was nothing but mountains and barren land for miles.

"We've seen her airship turn invisible. Remember?" Perrine piped in.

Julia kept her eye out, staring straight out the windows the entire time. She knew she might not be able to see J's airship if it turned invisible, but she still felt she needed to keep an eye out. She couldn't let Raikou down. Not this time. If anything were to happen to Raikou...she shook her head. She didn't want to think about what this would do to Hikaru. Now was not the time to angst about the future. She had to focus on the now.

All of a sudden, Eusine's porsche raced ahead. Wondering why, the cars and armored tanks stopped in their tracks. Eusine exited his porsche and released an alakazam from his pokeball. "Alakazam!" The yellow pokemon held his spoons up as if they were a rare treasure.

"What's wrong, Eusine?" Officer Jenny asked.

"Alakazam's trying to tell me something," Eusine replied. "His pokeball kept wiggling."

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to examine the pokemon. _"Alakazam, the psi pokemon. Alakazam is classified as the most intelligent sentient life form in the world, with an IQ bordering over an astounding 5,000. Because of this, they are able to memorize anything, never forgetting what they learn, even as far back as its birth, and are able to unfailingly identify any foe's weakness, no matter how subtle. Their brain cells always multiply, and continue to do so until death. However, because its brain continually grows, its head has become too heavy for its neck to support, and their muscles are weak as a result. To make up for it, they use their psychic powers to move and for basic necessities. Closing both eyes heightens all of their senses to their extremes, and the spoons were assumed to have been created by their powers."_

"Alakazam," Eusine said. "Can you locate J's airship?"

The yellow psi pokemon closed his eyes before losing himself in a flood of images swallowing his brain. Everyone stood in silence as the psi pokemon stood still, ruminating. Alakazam could see images flashing through his mind. The crust of the earth. Titanium walls. Ground-like doors opening up to a secret base, a runway allowing J's airship to descend. Finally, alakazam's eyes snapped open.

"Ala alakazam!" The psi pokemon bellowed in a deep voice, pointing to a barren clearing up ahead.

"He says J's airship is over there, deep underground," Julia clarified.

Everyone scattered toward the clearing in question. Without even waiting for further commands, alakazam's entire body glowed in an eerie blue light. Before long, the ground beneath them rumbled. They made sure to step back in case anything happened. Soon, the ground parted, with two acres of soil splitting apart and pulling themselves out, revealing J's visible airship and the runway it stood on.

"We found it!" Eusine exclaimed, his eyes wide with joy. He ambled over to his psychic friend and stroke his head gently. "Good job, alakazam. We couldn't have done this without you."

Alakazam smiled, basking in his trainer's affection. "Ala…"

"I don't see any Team Rocket grunts running around," Perrine mused as she looked down the hole.

She was right. Nobody was guarding the airship. One would think J would have some sense and at least have some grunts keeping watch on the airship. Then again, one couldn't be too reckless. For all they knew, maybe there were some grunts keeping watch in hidden places and they didn't know it.

"I'll have my magnemite and magneton provide a distraction just in case," Jasmine suggested. Said pokemon were the ball shaped creatures with magnets and screws on their bodies. She looked up at her friends. "Are you okay with that?"

"Magnemiiiiiite…" The magnemite trilled in a shrill, robotic voice.

"Magnetooooon…" Magneton added.

"Alright," Jasmine said. "Alphonse and Albert," The two magnemite perked up, twirling the magnets on their bodies. "You two use Thunderbolt all over the place. Don't damage the airship. For all we know, there are pokemon and people in there, and we can't risk anyone getting hurt," She turned to the magneton. "Argentine, you go into the airship and draw any Team Rocket grunts away from you. If J tries to fire that petrifying substance at you, fly away at any cost."

Albert, Alphonse, and Argentine nodded in agreement before floating down into the secret base. Before long, yellow streaks of thunder came striking down on the area. Pandemonium immediately broke out. The voices of frightened Team Rocket grunts echoed from within the enclosed space.

"Where'd these magnemite come from?!"

"There's a magneton, too!"

"Seize them! They might be that gym leader's!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Yeeeek! One of them just shocked me!"

"Intruders! Call J! She needs to know about this!"

Officer Jenny pulled out a pokeball. "Arcanine, go!" As the white light materialized next to her, it formed a large canine creature with an orange pelt donning black stripes all over its body. Its wild mane and tail were a creamy beige color, its black eyes gleaming with determination. Nobody else notice, but Julia climbed onto the arcanine's body.

"Arcanine," Officer Jenny began. "See that airship down there?" She pointed to one of the opened hatches. "Go inside there and check if the coast is clear."

"Rawr," Arcanine nodded affirmatively before leaping down into the base. It wasted no time running into the nearest open hatch.

"Julia! Come back!" Caiseal cried.

Eusine, Jasmine, and Officer Jenny whipped their heads to face them. "What?!" Jasmine yelped. "What happened?!"

"I just saw Julia on arcanine's back!" Caiseal explained.

Their jaws fell open, rather ungracefully at that. What was Julia planning?

Once arcanine got inside the airship, both Julia and Hikaru leaped off of his back and ran through the titanium halls. Some rocket grunts tried to subdue her, but Hikaru managed to hold them off with her thunder attacks. Julia couldn't help but notice that her thunder attacks looked a lot stronger than Thundershock. It looked more wild and caused more damage.

"Hikaru? Did you just learn Thunderbolt?" Julia asked.

Hikaru didn't stop running. "Pichupi!" ( _"It seems I have!"_ ) Hikaru replied. The Soothe Bell around her neck rang with every step she ran. Julia smiled. They were going to need strong attacks in order to get through this.

Despite only having been there once, Julia felt she had an idea of where the storage room was. She hoped her memory was right, as it had been wrong before. They ran through the titanium halls, even as alarm sirens blared loud enough to rip her ears apart. The sirens flashed red, even as Julia managed to make it into the storage room. Good, she was right about its location. Not only that, the storage room was practically empty save for Raikou's stone statue since Julia and the others freed all the other pokemon.

The girl wasted no time running to the statue and pushing the lever down. Immediately, Raikou's petrification subsided, and he found himself able to move. The glass case disappeared as well. Raikou saw Julia and nodded in gratitude. "Greeeeh," ( _"Thank you. You saved me once more, child."_ )

"Pichu!" ( _"Daddy!"_ ) Hikaru squeaked, overjoyed that they had saved Raikou once more. But even they knew this wasn't over yet.

Julia looked at the storage room entrance. It was closed shut right now, but for all she knew, Team Rocket grunts were probably storming the place. J might come and petrify him once more. How could she get him out without them having a chance to steal him? She figured Jenny's arcanine set off the alarms the moment it stormed into the airship.

Wait a minute…

An idea flashed through her mind. There was no time to lose.

"Raikou," Julia said in a solemn voice. "I don't think you'll like this, but...I think I know of a way we can get you out of here."

* * *

Once the grunts found out what was going on above the base, some tried to battle the children, only for Officer Jenny and other guards to arrest them right on the spot. Proton and Ariana wasted no time sending their pokemon out once more. Perrine and Caiseal were more than happy to take them up on yet another battle.

"Viole, use Sludge Bomb!"

"Ooooodd!" The plant pokemon spat out large balls of repulsive black sludge. All of the sludge bombs hit the arbok and golbat, but not enough to defeat them entirely.

"Kitsune, use Extrasensory!" Perrine cried. The fox pokemon's eyes glowed in an eerie blue light, telekinetically throwing the two poison pokemon right at their trainers.

Right then and there, a white light consumed the oddish. Kitsune was quick to stand in front of the evolving plant right as the arbok and golbat returned to a battle position. With a strong hiss, she made the two pokemon step back. With that, Viole finished his evolution, and out came a gloom.

"Viole! You evolved!" Caiseal pumped his fists in the air.

"Gloom gloom!" Viole cheered, flapping his stubby arms up and down.

"You just refuse to give up, do you?!" Ariana howled. "Arbok, use Poison Jab!"

"Chaaaaaabaka!" The tip of arbok's tail glowed a wicked purple, becoming sharp like a needle. The purple cobra threw himself right at the fox pokemon, intent on sending her to oblivion.

"Amandine, use Bulldoze!" Jasmine commanded. The steelix smashed his tail on the ground three times, causing the earth to rumble violently. Ariana and Proton fell into the base, falling right on top of some grunts, cushioning their fall. Arbok found himself unable to keep steady, and fell before he could launch his attack.

Proton and Ariana were quick to run deeper into the base. "Come back!" Officer Jenny leaped in after them. At this point, her arcanine had come back out. "You're all under arrest!" The two of them ran into the confines of the base.

All of a sudden, the blue dragon pokemon from before, salamence, ascended onto the surface, with J on its back. J fixated on the children with her usual cold, irritated glare. "Hmph. I had no idea you little brats are so persistent," J mused.

"J!" A grunt cried. "That girl from before's in the airship again, and we can't find Raikou anywhere!"

The girl from before. It didn't take much to figure out who the grunt was talking about. "Seize her, and I want her alive!" J commanded.

Perrine grunted before sending out another pokeball. Out came the green skiploom, the flower on her head twirling like a top. "Fuwari, use Fairy Wind!"

"Popo!" The flower resting on Fuwari's head spun faster, spinning like a propeller. A pink gale came forth, sparkling like it had been covered in fairy dust. The gale was strong, forcing J to cover her face with her arms. The salamence could barely dodge, and the gust ripping through its thick hide was enough to make it feel as though he was being sliced open by hacksaws.

Right then and there, Julia and Hikaru came floating out from the airship. Papillon's eyes were glowing in a purple light, the same power that was carrying her trainer through the sky. Once they made it to the surface, Papillon's eyes stopped glowing, and Julia descended before her friends.

"Julia!" Perrine flung her arms around her friend. "You're okay!"

"That's the second time you went into J's airship!" Caiseal exclaimed, his hands balling into fists. "You can't be so reckless!" The minute he saw a lone pokeball in Julia's hands, he stopped, remembering that Julia didn't like yelling. "So...where's Raikou?" His eyes naturally glanced at the pokeball once more.

It didn't have a sticker on it like all her pokeballs did.

"Vui!"

"Snubbull!"

"Nido niiii!"

Lucretia, Saoirse, and the nidoran duo immediately ran to Julia's side before the salamence flapped his wings, attempting to blow them away. "Salamance! Hyper Beam!"

"Raaaaaaahhh!" Salamence opened its mouth wide, allowing an orange sphere of energy to form within. As soon as it was big enough, it formed a beam of energy that shot right at the children. The heat was intense, preventing them from moving. Julia clutched the pokeball in her hands tightly.

Thankfully, the pokemon sprang into action. Kitsune fired a stream of fire. Lucretia shot a Shadow Ball at the beam of light. The nidoran duo fired a barrage of glowing purple needles. Fuwari attempted another Fairy Wind, blowing it right in salamence's direction once more. Viole fired five Sludge Bombs. Papillon fired a Psybeam attack, using the purple beam of light to push back the energy blast. Hikaru joined in with a Thunderbolt, barely managing to hold off the Hyper Beam attack. The combined attacks made an explosion that made both parties fall back.

But not enough to make both parties faint or concede defeat. Once the smoke cloud cleared, Julia and J stood on the barren clearing, away from the base as though they were on a battlefield. But this time, J's salamence remained by her side, and she sent out an ariados, an ursaring, and an arbok of her own. All of them had expressions on their faces that told Julia that they had intent to kill. All of Julia's pokemon had come out of their pokeballs, ready to battle. Hikaru, Tokiko, Aqua, Tsubasa, Blossom, Papillon, Saoirse, Lucretia, Rina, and Rino. All of them took on battle stances. Julia stared right at J's hair, holding the unmarked pokeball in her hand.

"I know you did something with Raikou," J hissed, her cold, steely eyes now blazing with rage. "Where is my property?!"

"He's not your property!" Julia yelled, holding the pokeball upward. "He's a living creature, just like every one of us on this planet! Come forth!"

The pokeball opened, spilling forth a pure white light that flashed through the darkening sky. It materialized into…

"...RAIKOU?!" Everyone's jaws fell agape, their eyes wider than they had ever gone.

There stood Raikou, standing before Julia, announcing his glorious presence with a thundering roar that sent lightning flashes through the sky. All J did was glare at the girl, her eyes blazing with rage.

"Stupid brat," J hissed.

J's ariados saw Officer Jenny tiptoeing toward its master. Without hesitation, the pink spider shot a white web of silk, wrapping it all around the officer. Silver handcuffs bounced out of her hands as she rolled back toward the group. Ariados didn't even hesitate to shoot web around Perrine, Caiseal, and even Eusine. Kitsune already began ripping through the web with her teeth, starting with Perrine.

Before any armed guards could arrest the woman, a brawl had already begun. Salamence fired another Hyper Beam, with both Raikou and Hikaru dropping dual Thunderbolts to hold it off. Aqua fired a barrage of bubbles at ariados, who used its claws to slice through them, reducing them to water droplets that melted into the ground. Both Rina and Rino's horns glowed in purple lights as they charged right at the ursaring. With a roar, the bear's claws glowed in a white light as he slashed the two nidoran, sending them flying toward their trainer. Thankfully, Papillon and Tsubasa caught them in the nick of time, gently setting them down on the ground.

"Arbok, use Poison Jab!"

"Tsubasa! Knock it away with Wing Attack!"

Happy to finally be able to battle after so long, Tsubasa stretched her wings out, allowing them to be engulfed in white light as she charged right at the vicious cobra. She rammed into arbok multiple times, not even letting it have time to use its Poison Jab attack. However, at one point, arbok managed to dig its teeth into one of Tsubasa's wings, preventing her from flying.

"Papillon, help Tsubasa with Psybeam!" Julia commanded. "Saoirse, use Fire Fang on ariados!"

Papillon fired a beam of light at arbok, shocking it enough to release the bird from its mouth. Saoirse snuck up on the spider pokemon, her fangs blazing with red hot flames. Before the spider could move away, the bulldog dug her flaming teeth into ariados's thorax, sending intense pain all throughout its body. Aqua then used Play Rough on salamence, sending it to the ground...but not before the blue dragon used one of its wings to knock her away, sending her rolling on the ground.

Once again, Raikou called forth thunder, sending it crashing down on J's pokemon. Only three of them managed to dodge it. Her ursaring was subjected to electricity coursing all throughout its body, letting out pained roars. Tokiko attempted an Extrasensory attack on arbok, but ariados spat String Shot at her like with Officer Jenny. Tokiko rolled on the ground, her body trapped in sticky white webs. Rina and Rino were quick to use their horns to rip them apart, allowing the fairy to get free.

"I'm only going to say this once!" Julia commanded in a harsh, authoritative voice. "Turn yourself in and leave Raikou and every other pokemon you've attempted to capture or plan to alone!"

J kept her cool. "In your dreams, brat! Arbok, use wrap on Raikou!"

With a vicious hiss, the purple cobra slithered toward Raikou, ready for consumption. But Tokiko and Papillon were quick to use their psychic attacks on it, preventing the cobra from coming any closer. Lucretia fired two Shadow Balls at both salamence and ariados, pushing them back just a couple steps. Once ursaring attempted another Slash attack, Hikaru leaped into the fray and used Disarming Voice. Ursaring wasn't fazed one bit, as it slashed right through the sound waves and pink hearts before finally slashing Hikaru. Right as that happened, Blossom leaped in front of ursaring and spewed a golden cloud of sparkling dust. Before long, ursaring's muscles completely cramped, unable to move, and the giant bear fell into a crumpled heap.

"Give up!" Julia yelled. "You're not getting Raikou and that's final!"

"We'll see about that!" J pulled out a remote control and pressed a red button.

Out from a pile of rocks came a large machine with long, retractable claws. Immediately upon sight, Hikaru shivered. Those were the same machines that tried to capture Raikou so long ago. The large, metallic claws suddenly charged at Raikou, clamping themselves right on him.

"No you don't!" Julia managed to cling to one of Raikou's legs and held on as tight as her skinny arms could muster.

Hikaru's tiny body trembled once more. Now they had her trainer! Flashes of the attack on the forest ran through her mind, making her weak in the knees. Raikou's pained roars. The huge machines reaching for him, holding him back. Herself hiding in the bushes, unable to do anything to help. Now they had her trainer. The cries of her trainer and father pulled her back to reality. Blue electricity surged through the claws, electrocuting both Raikou and Julia.

"Kitsune, Flamethrower!"

"You too, arcanine!"

"Mallow, use Bonemerang!"

"Alakazam! Psychic, now!"

Almost all of the pokemon joined in on the effort to save the two. However, none of their attacks worked. The flames only left charred ozone, but that was it. They didn't pierce through the metal despite fire being useful against steel. Bonemerang didn't even leave a dent. Lucretia's Shadow Ball only went right past it, Aqua's Water Gun didn't make it rust, nor did any of the other attacks work. Julia's muscles grew tense with each jolt of electricity passing through her body. Her eyesight began to blur.

"Hi...karu…"

The pokemon continued to attack the metal claws with all the power they had in them. There was no way this could be happening to their friend! She couldn't go out like this! In spite of their attacks not working before, the pokemon all continued their all out assault, not even paying attention to J and her arsenal at this point. They all had to save her. They just had to. Salamence unleashed one more Hyper Beam on everyone, blowing through the ground, sending every human and pokemon flying to the ground.

While all this went on, Hikaru continued standing at her spot, her frozen body trembling with horror. It was happening all over again, just like back then. Hikaru had always known she was weak. No matter how hard she tried to be strong, she just knew she could never be huge and strong and intimidating like her father. Her legs were weak, refusing to move despite her heart screaming at her go to save her father and trainer. All of a sudden, she found herself thinking...why was she here? How did she manage to survive this harsh world up to this point in spite of the danger?

The last one wasn't hard to answer: She survived because Julia had saved her. She had been so close to death's door when the beedrill horde poisoned her. Had Julia not come to save her when she did, Hikaru was sure she would never grow up, evolve, be strong, or see her father ever again. Surely, her end was what her raichu parents would have wanted. She had been so sure that the minute she fell into a human's hands, she would die. But she didn't. This little human girl saved her out of the kindness of her heart. All for a pichu she had no obligation to care for. That had opened her eyes to the fact that humans weren't all bad, that there were some good ones out there.

It still didn't answer her question: why was she here? Why did she continue to exist?

Memories flashed through her mind. Raikou casting her parents out, taking her in. Raikou training her to utilize her attacks, to forage for food, to survive in the wild, and be on the lookout for predators. Raikou saving her from J back then. Julia taking her in and sharing all of those good times with her. Hikaru had been at her most productive as she was training with Raikou and Julia. At her happiest when she was with them and all of her friends. It didn't matter if she was weak, small, or shiny. None of them cast her away or shunned her. They showered her with love, affection, and warmth. Julia always put her pokemon before herself. Whenever they won or lost, she would always tell them they did a great job, never getting angry. Just hearing those wonderful words and feeling the love made Hikaru as happy as she could be.

" _Hikaru! We'll always be best friends, no matter what!"_ That was what Julia had said the day she put the ribbon on Hikaru's ear, signifying their friendship.

Wait. That was it. Hikaru was here because of everyone's love. Raikou. Julia. Perrine. Caiseal. All of her pokemon friends. All of them shared their love with Hikaru, allowing her to grow, become stronger, see the world, and be the pokemon she had always wanted to be. All of them loved her from the bottom of their hearts. None of them were perturbed by her dark yellow pelt like her raichu parents were. They all accepted her, embraced her, loved her, gave her all the happiness in the world. That was why Hikaru was here on this planet, because of them!

Now, it was time to return that love a million fold!

Facing the darkening sky, Hikaru let out a cry louder than any primal sound she had made, sending a bolt of thunder straight into the sky. Said thunderbolt roared through the clouds for just a moment before striking right back down on the tiny mouse. Everyone watched as Hikaru was suddenly encased in light. Falling to her paws, Hikaru ran like the wind, charging right at the claw that held her beloved father and trainer hostage.

She was strong now. This time, she could save them! No more being helpless and weak! With a primal scream, Hikaru's electrified form broke right through the claw, breaking it in two. Raikou fell to the ground, with Julia cushioned by his purple, cloud-shaped mane. The broken claw almost fell on J, had she not managed to leap out of the way.

"Wow!" Caiseal exclaimed, awestruck by Hikaru's display of courage. "Hikaru just totally broke that thing!"

Kitsune finished clawing Officer Jenny out of the web. Perrine was quick to help her up. But before anyone could do anything, Hikaru ran right up to her father and trainer, crawling on Raikou's back, licking Julia's face. She was warm, probably from all the shocks her body was subjected to.

Julia barely managed to look up, seeing the yellow face right in front of her. Seeing Hikaru's face made the pain subside, and she flashed a weak smile. "You saved me, Hikaru...thank you...you really are my friend…" Julia weakly stroke Hikaru's head with her small, trembling hand. Even so, it was full of warmth and love.

Just like Hikaru always wanted. Truly, she had been blessed with a good trainer. All Hikaru did was leap on her trainer, tears of joy streaming out from her eyes.

Right now, Hikaru was the happiest pichu alive.

That was when it happened. Hikaru's body suddenly became engulfed in a harsh white light that made everyone awake and alert. Except for J, who heard something on a walkie-talkie she carried. Hikaru's ears grew thin and small, her tail growing in size, her tiny arms and feet grew outward, fingers developed, and her tiny body grew in size. She didn't become big like Kitsune or Raikou, but was still small enough for Julia to snuggle.

Once the white light dissipated, out came a short, chubby rodent with deep, yellowish orange fur. Hikaru's ears had now become thin, almost pencil shaped, with black tips. Her tail grew, shaped like a lightning bolt, but the end of her tail was shaped like a heart, not pointed like others of her species. Two maroonish orange stripes went across her lower back. Deep red cheeks crackled with electricity, her once stubby arms grew, and Hikaru now had a set of fingers, along with toes on each foot.

"Pikachu…?" ( _"Did I evolve…?"_ ) Hikaru asked herself, examining her newly formed fingers.

"Hikaru! You did evolve!" Julia couldn't hold her joy back. It completely bubbled over, and she hoisted the mouse pokemon up in the air, laughing and rejoicing in her friend's glorious evolution.

Perrine held up her PokeDex right as a tear escaped from her left eye. _"Pikachu, the mouse pokemon, and the evolved form of Pichu. Pikachu can evolve into Raichu with a Thunder Stone. When several pikachu gather, their electricity builds, causing lightning storms. They mostly live in forests, away from people. They keep their tails raised to monitor their surroundings, and can bite if someone yanks on their tails. Pikachu are intelligent and can roast hard berries with electricity to make them tender enough to eat. They also use their thunder powers to recharge fellow pikachu if they are sick, injured, or weakened. The red sacs on their cheeks become electrically charged during the night while they sleep, and occasionally discharge it after waking up."_

"...Is that so?" J mused on the walkie talkie. Nobody noticed the brief flash of disappointment on her face. "...So the legendary beasts are not needed? I see. I'm leaving now," With that, J leaped back into the base.

"Hey! Come back here!" Officer Jenny and several armed guards raced toward the base, only for the airship to fly away, turning invisible right as the sky cleared, revealing an intense orange hue. Once again, J had escaped. "Don't let her escape!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The armored trucks raced after her despite the airship turning invisible.

Julia spun around with Hikaru in her arms, laughing and rejoicing. Even her other pokemon, weak as they were, danced all around, exalting the two for their bravery. All Raikou did was stand up and smile, watching the group of kids celebrate, basking in their happiness. No, Raikou was the happiest legendary in the world right now. His child saved him and her trainer, learned a new attack, and evolved on top of all of that. Warmth surged through his body. He was proud. Proud to have raised this pikachu. Proud to see her happy and smiling after all that she went through.

" _You truly have grown up, my child. That girl has taught you well,"_ Raikou growled to himself.

"I love you, Hikaru!"

"Pika pikachu!" Julia didn't need to translate that. She already knew what she said. The joy on the mouse's face said everything she needed to know.

All of a sudden, Hikaru leaped out of Julia's arms and raced toward Raikou. Julia didn't even go after her. She figured her orange friend wanted to talk to her father. Julia watched as Hikaru smiled, palavering on and on about what just happened, and how proud Raikou looked upon seeing her bravery on full display. Of course she'd want to spend time with him. He was her father, and they had been separated for a long time. She decided to let her have her quality time with her father. Hikaru deserved it.

Seeing the two together made Julia happy. But somehow, doubt sprang forth. All Hikaru ever wanted was to be with Raikou again, and now she has that chance. Perhaps...would it be best if Hikaru stayed with Raikou forever? Julia wondered if maybe Hikaru would be better off with Raikou. It would be wrong to separate her from her family, especially after searching for Raikou all this time. What was best for Hikaru? Staying with Julia, or Raikou?

"Man, Julia!" Caiseal wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder. "You and Hikaru really are a match made in heaven! She learned Volt Tackle thanks to you and Raikou!"

"It was kinda reckless that you went into the airship twice, but you did help save Raikou," Perrine added. "You were awesome back there!"

Julia's face turned red. "Oh, I didn't do anything. Hikaru and the other pokemon are the ones who deserve all the praise."

"Seriously!? Why be so modest?! You even caught Raikou!" Caiseal flapped his arms up and down. "A freaking legendary! How'd you even do that?!"

A hand flew to Julia's ear, giving Caiseal the message to tone his voice down. "I only caught him so I could protect him from Team Rocket," She explained simply, without mincing words. "I figured it was the easiest way to get him out of the airship."

That was all there was to it. As much as Julia liked Raikou, she had no intention of keeping him. Raikou was a legendary pokemon, perhaps even a God, and he deserved to be free. Free to cross the land and help other pokemon. Julia wasn't sure if she had any right to keep such a legendary pokemon. She pulled out Raikou's pokeball, pressed the front button twice, and it glowed in a blue light for just a moment. The blue light disappeared shortly after.

Julia walked right up to Raikou without hesitation. She had grown used to the electrifying pressure his body gave off. "Raikou? I just released you from the pokeball I used to catch you," Raikou's ears twitched. "You're free now. You can go wherever you want now," She looked down at Hikaru. "Hikaru...now you can finally live the rest of your life with Raikou, like you always dreamed."

The pikachu's ears twitched. But instead of smiling, her mouth made an O shape, and she looked confused. What was Julia implying?

"Hikaru...you should go be with Raikou," Julia said in a low, trembling voice. Hikaru could hear the sadness peppering it. "You deserve to be with him after all you've been through. You're such a great pokemon. You've worked hard to see Raikou again. You're...probably better off with him rather than a silly girl like me."

Julia convinced herself this was for the best. Hikaru deserved this. She deserved a choice, the chance to be with her father. Now, Hikaru was happy. She needed nothing else...or did she?

"Pi pikachu!" ( _"You're not getting rid of me!"_ )

"What?"

"Pikapikapi!" ( _"I'm staying with you, Julia!"_ )

The girl almost fell on her rear. Did Hikaru just say she wanted to stay with Julia. "But...but you deserve to be with your dad! You finally got to see him again!"

Hikaru stood on all fours, staring right at her trainer with a scrutinizing look. Julia actually read her expression this time. She had a look that outright said, _"I'm not leaving you!"_ Instead of backing down, Hikaru told Julia how happy she was that she got to spend time with her, get to know her, be with her, and go on this journey with her. Being with Julia taught her so much, even things that Raikou could never teach her. As happy as she was to finally see Raikou again, Hikaru was sure that she wanted to spend her life with Julia, the human who taught her what it meant to truly be alive. The human who gave her a reason to exist.

Seeing as there was no chair around, all Julia could do was sit on the ground. This was just too much to take in. Hikaru said she wanted to stay with Julia forever, that Julia is her reason for continuing to live in spite of all the hardship she endured. Never before had she ever been so touched in her life. Never had anyone said these things about her. Well, she heard her parents say things like that a few times, but she questioned whether it was really genuine or not.

" _Hikaru deserves to be with you, Julia,"_ Raikou let out a low but gentle growl. That was a first. Raikou actually called Julia by her name. _"You can teach her so much more than I ever could. She's changed. I believe she will be happier with you,"_ Raikou smiled warmly. _"Hikaru. Go with the girl. There's so much more for you to experience."_

Hikaru nodded affirmatively. "Pikachupi," ( _"I will. Thank you, father."_ )

With that, Raikou leaped away from the group, gracefully racing over the mountains before disappearing. The orange sun bathed the entire area, warming it up like a summer breeze.

"Raikou…" Julia stood back up, with Hikaru in her arms. "HEY RAIKOU! GOODBYE, MY FRIEEEEEND!" She screamed loud enough for her voice to echo.

"PIKACHUUUUUU!" ( _"GOODBYE FATHEEEEEER!"_ ) Hikaru did the exact same thing.

The echoes traveled across the mountain wind for miles.

* * *

"Hmmm…" A police officer sat behind the counter as Kassia and Truman showed him the letter, along with telling him about their daughter's machinations. The police officer examined the letter with tired eyes, scratching the hair on his head. "We'll do what we can, but I can't guarantee we'll be able to find her. Besides, we have other cases that take priority."

Hearing that left the two crestfallen. "We understand," Truman said with a bow. "Thank you," With that, the two left the police station. In a way, they had expected this. Of course they'd have other cases that were probably more important. Grand heists, murders, pokemon hunts, sex trafficking rings...the world had no shortage of crime, and Amara's machinations could be perceived as petty compared to what others go through.

Even so, they hoped that Amara was at least safe, and that the police would find her. They did some searching themselves as the J fiasco went on. But of course, like always, their searches came up empty.

* * *

 **Whew! This subplot is finally over! I really enjoyed working on these particular chapters. Also, Hikaru evolves! The votes were unanimous, and I had been planning for her to evolve since the beginning, so I thought it'd only be fitting. Buuuuut this chapter came out short. Sorry about that! I want to add more, but I don't want to drag it out either. You'll get a nice long chapter in the next one! I have been receiving some concerns that some of Julia's pokemon don't have a lot of screentime, particularly her two nidoran. I plan on rectifying that with the next chapter. Sorry guys, another filler one. But the battles with Jasmine will come soon! She's my favorite Johto gym leader, along with Falkner.**

 **Random Fact: Jasmine's arsenal of pokemon, such as her two togetic, ampharos, and many magnemite, are actually inspired by Pokemon Adventures (aka Pokemon Special). She had those pokemon in the manga, and I just think it'd be interesting to see a gym leader use many different types of pokemon despite normally specializing in one type. So why not? And also...Togetic needs more love!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Papillon (Butterfree, Female, Calm Nature)**

 **Ability: Compound Eyes**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Stun Spore**

 **Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)**

 **Ability: Keen Eye**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister**

 **Blossom (Gloom, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	31. Poisonous Problems

Chapter 25: Poisonous Problems

Everyone knows that Team Rocket can easily be identified by their black and red uniforms, and the red R emblazoned on their shirts. But outside of those uniforms, they look just like every other citizen. Instead of her stuffy uniform, Harriet thought today was the perfect day to wear a lacey white blouse over a pink tank top, a long beige skirt, a pair of chocolate brown loafers and a white sunhat with a blue ribbon wrapped around it. She clutched a letter in her hands tightly as Cookie, her beloved krabby, followed her from behind. Sideways.

"Kuukii kuukii…" Cookie warbled, opening and closing his pincers.

Harriet smiled, holding the letter to her chest. "I know, Cookie. I just have to mail this letter, then we'll go buy some food. Okay?" A deep blue mailbox came into view. Harriet wasted no time opening the mailbox and sticking the letter inside. She silently hoped her parents would get it. It had been a while since she last sent them a letter.

Food shopping proved to be just a little difficult. Pokemon weren't allowed to run around in food stores because of their potential to destroy property, so Cookie had to be put away in his pokeball. Not only that, there were crowds of people rummaging through the shelves, picking out whatever they wanted or needed. It took Harriet a while to get the things she needed. It didn't help that the checkout line was long because of one customer's items taking up the entire space of the counter.

"Hey! Move it!" One customer shouted. "I have a meeting after this!"

Being the patient girl that she was, she didn't mind standing in a line like this for very long, even if her feet did hurt from spending so much time standing. It was better than being around Team Rocket. Then again, she was a member of Team Rocket, so who was she to talk? Still, just being in Team Rocket made her feel...inhuman. At least being in here made her feel as though she had some sense of normalcy. Finally, she paid for her things and left the store.

The apartment wasn't far from the store by car, but it was on foot. Just a twenty minute walk, something that Harriet didn't mind at all. The scent of the heated summer breeze, the songs of the bird pokemon echoing in the sky as they flew overhead, the crunching of the grass beneath her feet...it was all so serene, combining into a perfect euphony that would please anyone's ears. Harriet loved the summer scenery so much that she didn't notice Ariana's white car in the driveway.

"I'm home-"

"What?!" Once again, someone yelling pulled Harriet back to reality. This time, it was Margeaux, not Ariana, despite both of them being in the living room. "The mission was a failure?!" Margeaux exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

Ariana crossed her arms, giving the floor beneath her an austere expression. "I'm afraid so. As it turns out, the three beasts have nothing to do with J's overall goal," Ariana explained tersely, with a hint of irritation peppering her voice. She had wanted to succeed so bad. If only those children and the police hadn't gotten in the way. She was lucky she and Proton managed to get away when they did. Otherwise, the police might have arrested them. "We are no longer pursuing them."

"Is this about the special mission you told us about?" Harriet asked, putting the bag of food down on the living room couch.

"Yes," Ariana tapped her foot. "As much as I detest this, what J says goes," All of a sudden, her hand balled into a fist, and her face contorted angrily. "And do I absolutely detest this! I wanted to catch Raikou, Entei, and Suicune for J and see her sell them for big money! Those little brats just haaaaaaad to get in the way!"

Harriet was dumbfounded, not understanding what Ariana was talking about. But Margeaux had an idea. "Would one of those brats happen to have brown hair and have a shiny pichu following her around?"

"What?!" Ariana whipped her head around, her anger subsiding. "Yes! Yes she did! How do you know?!"

Margeaux told Ariana about her run-ins with Julia and her gang whenever she was with Yannick. Ariana listened attentively, nodding as the story went on. "Disgraceful," Margeaux felt as though an arrow pierced through her heart. "We're Team Rocket. We can't let a couple of kids completely derail our ambitions!"

The green haired girl kept herself out of the conversation, remaining silent all throughout. In fact, she wished someone would destroy Team Rocket completely. She clutched a piece of her skirt tightly, wanting to get the pent up anger out.

"Well, you two are low ranking grunts," Ariana brushed some crimson hair out of her face. "So the worst that can happen to you are either getting arrested or losing your jobs. By the way," The crimson haired executive turned to fixate her gaze on Harriet. The green haired girl shivered. "Can we talk in private, Harriet? There's something we need to discuss."

Harriet's arms began to tremble. Why would Ariana want to talk to her? She couldn't think of any reason for doing so. But whatever the reason, Harriet wanted nothing to do with her. But she knew she couldn't disobey an order from a Team Rocket executive. The consequences would be perilous. Anyone who disobeyed an order from Team Rocket were often subjected to harsh punishment. Harriet did not want to be on the receiving end of that. She figured she might as well hear what Ariana had to say.

The two of them went into another room. More specifically, Harriet's room. It was for the most part rather sparse, with a white bed, a mahogany desk, a window overlooking the street behind them, and grey walls. There was nothing to make it remotely individual. No pictures to hang on the wall, no colorful decor, no furniture that gave it any kind of warmth. Large boxes were still shoved in the corner of one room, with shipping tape still sealing it shut.

"Harriet," Ariana began. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I've heard from other grunts that you haven't taken on many missions or even the ones assigned to you, and the ones you do take on, you fail," Ariana didn't mince words. Harriet squeezed her eyes shut, ready to face the music. "I must ask...are you content with your current position as a low-ranking grunt?"

Harriet's eyes snapped open. "Uhh...Yes! Yes, I am! I mean…" It didn't take long for the words to come flying out. "I'm obviously a failure as a grunt!" Oddly enough, she sounded happy when she said everything. "I can never get anything right! I personally don't mind doing grunt work! I don't want to be a burden on anyone!"

As much as she wished for Ariana to believe her, she knew that this red haired executive was a very no-nonsense person who could see through anyone's intentions. But Ariana remained quiet and crossed her arms, still giving the green haired grunt her usual austere expression. She remained in her current position, ruminating.

Then she spoke. "Look, I get that you're new here. You've only been here for about four months. It takes time for Team Rocket grunts to get the hang of things," Ariana began. "However, you should know that our other boss, Giovanni, did a good deed in housing you, Margeaux, and countless other grunts when he could have easily thrown you all out on the streets," She continued tersely. "He cares about public image, and Team Rocket cannot allow our ambitions to be known to the public eye, and the police are on our tail as it is."

"Yes, Commander Ariana," Harriet replied, staring down at her hands.

"To ascend the ranks and do your job shows that you're grateful to Giovanni for all that he has done for us," Ariana elaborated further. "That goes for J as well. If you're content with your current rank as a grunt, your current pay included, that's fine. We have no room for more executives at the moment. However," Harriet shivered as she felt the commander's crimson eyes fall straight on her. "You must do whatever I or other executives or higher ups tell you. You are a member of Team Rocket, and you are expected to do your duties as ordered."

' _I don't want to be ordered to hurt others or steal pokemon…'_ Harriet thought bitterly. _'All I wanted was a job...not this…'_ But there was no backing out of Team Rocket. She knew it. If she tried, it wouldn't end well. All she could say was, "Yes, Commander Ariana."

"Good. Your pay will be the same as usual. Ascending the ranks will increase it, so if you work hard, you can live in luxury if you so wish. Just a suggestion," With that, Ariana left the room, leaving Harriet alone.

All Harriet could do was sit down on the foot of her bed. She had already known the implications of this job, that she was basically being paid to steal, hurt, and sell innocent pokemon, both wild and owned by trainers. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. Her eyes burned, and tears came streaming out, dripping onto her skirt. Before long, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. In response, Cookie came out of his pokeball. Seeing his trainer cry wounded the crab pokemon's heart. He gently stroke his trainer's back with the side of his pincer, taking care not to accidentally poke her.

"Kuukii...kuukiiiiiii…" Cookie warbled.

"Oh, Cookie…" Harriet continued to sob. She didn't care if her clothes got wet. All she wanted was to get out. Get out of Team Rocket. "How did we get roped into this mess?"

* * *

A black sky dotted with shining stars blanketed all of Cianwood City in darkness, turning the ocean into a liquid pool of obsidian, with the white waves crashing across the surface. The people of Cianwood City had long gotten used to hearing the melody of the waves as they slept. Hearing them at night was like a lullaby to them. Crowning the night sky was a perfectly round, pristine white full moon that kept everyone company, waiting for the sun to take its place, should dawn arrive.

Deep in the mountains of Cianwood, Amara slept against a rock, covering herself with a brown comforter. Her pokemon all slept outside of their pokeballs, circling around a pile of charred, black wood that was probably used to start a campfire at one point. However, the croconaw she stole from Elm's lab as a totodile was now the biggest pokemon on her team. A large, blue alligator with long, muscular limbs, with a beige chin and a matching V shaped mark between its thighs. Three sets of red spikes dotted its body, one on its head, another on its back, and the smallest set was near the tip of its long tail.

Rustling sounds caught Amara's ears, but she just stirred in her sleep. The rustling sound returned, louder this time, finally pulling Amara out of dreamland. "Urrrgh…" She sat up, rubbing her eyes with her fists. "And I was having such a nice dream, too…" She complained in a low voice. The leaves continued to rustle. Amara pulled out a flashlight, turned it on, and tiptoed past the push.

Granbull's ears perked up, as Amara's footsteps pulled the bulldog from her sleep. Granbull saw Amara head into the bushes. Becoming curious, the granbull followed Amara into the bushes, on her guard. A few steps in, and Amara turned around to find granbull and beedrill behind her.

"What are you doing up?!" She hissed in a low whisper. Immediately after she asked that, she figured her tiptoeing might have woken them up. Right after, she said, "Don't do anything stupid."

The oval shaped light from the flashlight cut through the darkness somewhat. Amara got closer, seeing a small clearing nestled in some trees. Sitting in said clearing, basking in the moonlight's soft white glow was a lone eevee, smiling contentedly. Eevee...the memory of those two eevee she tried to catch flashed through her mind. Julia had one of them. Was this the one Amara herself tried to catch? She had no way of knowing.

All of a sudden, the moonlight's magic made the eevee glow in a white light, brightening up the entire clearing. It was so bright, it woke up all of Amara's other pokemon. The fur on its body disappeared, and its limbs grew longer and leaner. When the light dissipated, out came a creature of the night. The pokemon had a pitch black pelt, with a gold circle on its forehead, matching circles on its legs, and stripes going across its ears and tail. Its crimson red eyes glowed in the night, making it come off as a scary ghost-like creature.

Amara's jaw fell open, and she was only able to stop herself from screaming by slamming her hand on her mouth. _'Oh my lanta...an umbreon! My all time favorite pokemon!'_ Yes, even this self-proclaimed pokemon hater was a pokemon lover before Chanel's death, and even she had a favorite pokemon. She had always loved umbreon's elegant form, it's pitch black pelt, the range of attacks they were confirmed to use...she had to catch that umbreon. At any cost.

Pity to the poor umbreon that the trainer intent on catching it wasn't necessarily kind to pokemon.

At this point, she noticed her other pokemon were awake. This time, she didn't scold them. She needed their help. "Granbull, use Play Rough," Amara whispered.

The umbreon's ears twitched the moment granbull began glowing in a pink light. All it could do was whip its head around, barely enough time to dodge the attack. Before it could do anything, granbull was suddenly bashing the black feline all over the ground, throwing it on the ground like it was a rag doll.

"Don't you dare let up, granbull!" Amara yelled. "Make sure it's too weak to event stand!"

Amara was the type of trainer who expected her pokemon to go all out. Absolutely no mercy on the foe. Beat them up until they're too weak to go on, even beyond that. Umbreon found an opening when granbull stopped to rest and bit the bulldog on its ear, making it yelp in pain. But since umbreon was a dark type and granbull a fairy, the bite attack didn't do much damage, not that Amara was planning on taking any chances.

"Feraligatr! Use Ice Fang!" Amara commanded. The large alligator pokemon stomped over to umbreon, baring its freezing cold fangs that glowed in a blue hue. At one point, umbreon's tail glowed in a steel, silver sheen, before it slammed it into feraligatr's face. But the impact wasn't strong enough, and feraligatr successfully dug its large teeth into the umbreon's pelt.

"Breeeeeeeee!" The umbreon let out a pained howl.

"Beedrill, use Pin Missile!"

"Bzzt!" Feraligatr didn't even let umbreon go, which made the black pokemon open for a barrage of green needles digging into its pelt. Once more, umbreon let out another howl.

Now was her chance. Amara threw a pokeball at the umbreon, watching it turn into red light as it got sucked inside. The pokeball fell to the ground, wobbling left and right violently, as though umbreon was doing its darndest to get the heck out of there. Umbreon kicked, scratched, and rammed against the pokeball with all its might. No way was it going to let a human catch it. Unfortunately, all the strength seeped out of his body, and the pokeball stopped wobbling, the red light fading.

"Woohoo!" Amara cheered, throwing a fist in the air as she jumped up once. Feraligatr, snubbull, and beedrill backed away, cowed by Amara's sudden cheerful demeanor. Weepinbell simply hid behind feraligatr. Haunter and fearow didn't move.

Amara stashed the pokeball in her bag. "Phew. Got the Cianwood gym badge, caught a new pokemon...all that's left are Olivine, Mahogany, and Blackthorn," The girl slipped back underneath the blanket. Her smile faded when she saw the other pokemon simply staring at her with faces that made her think they wanted something. All she did was scowl at them. "Go to sleep, you idiots!" She picked up a nearby stick and threw it right at fearow. The stick bounced off its beak, and fearow let out a pained howl, covering its face with its wings. "Don't disturb me while I sleep! Got it?!"

"Reeeeeeeh!" ( _"That really huuuuurt!"_ ) The fearow trilled, its beak throbbing from the heavy stick bouncing off of it.

Unbeknownst to Amara and all the other pokemon, despite its weakened state and the gravity of its injuries, the umbreon continued to scratch at the pokeball's walls. Few people understood the true concept behind the pokeball. The beam of light it emitted was a form of radiation that was confirmed to be harmless to humans, but on pokemon, it had the effect of turning their physical forms into pure energy that was highly unstable. If the pokemon came out of its ball, it would return to its solid state. But even in energy form, a pokemon was alive, and could still do what it wanted, such as claw at the walls.

"Umbreon umbreon!" ( _"Let me out! Let me out of here!"_ ) No matter how hard the umbreon scratched, kicked, pounded, and rammed against the pokeball, it refused to open, its injuries adding to the problem. Finally, umbreon fell asleep, too weak to continue. _"At least...I know my friend...is being treated well…"_

Most pokemon had a way of knowing which humans were kind and which ones weren't.

* * *

(dream)

 _A small boy of about nine sat in the back seat of a car, his bushy, scraggly blonde hair still not combed since he had been yanked out of bed without warning. The silhouette of a woman with similar blonde hair stood behind the steering wheel, facing the road in front of her, never turning back, even once. Eyes still weary from sleep, all the boy figured out was that he was in a car, in an area far away from his neighborhood. He saw dead trees and a few buildings flying right by, none of which he recognized._

" _Mom? Where are we going?" The boy asked, confused. His mother didn't answer. However, the more they drove, the more the boy began to tremble from the frigid cold. Despite wearing thick clothes fit for winter weather, the cold's frigid teeth bit his hands. Shoving them in his pockets only made them feel itchy and scratchy. It didn't help that the heat wasn't on._

" _Are we going on a trip?" The boy asked again. No answer. The boy kept looking outside, wondering where they were and where they were going. "We're still in Blackthorn, right?" Again, no answer. What was going on? Nothing the boy said or did pulled any answers out of her._

 _Finally, the car stopped, and rather abruptly to the point where the boy lurched forward. He would have fallen on the floor had he not been wearing his seatbelt. Thankfully, he had one on, preventing any potential accidents._

" _Jeez, Mom!" The boy complained. "You almost made me hit my head on the seat!" His mother had already gotten out of the car, running over to his side._

 _That was when things got strange. His mother yanked the boy's door open, forcibly removed his seatbelt, and yanked him out of the car by his arm. Her fingernails dug into the boy's sleeve, managing to reach his skin._

" _Ow! Ow!" The boy yelped. "That hurts, Mom!" His mother didn't stop pulling him away from the car, even as the boy pleaded._

 _He had no idea where his mother was taking him. But the area around here was bitterly cold. Of course it would be could this time of year. Their boots smushed the snow beneath them down into the ground, and any wind that blew into their faces would make their skin yearn for warm summer heat. All the boy could think was...where was his mother taking him? This was not a part of town he was familiar with._

" _Why are we here?" He asked as his mother continued to pull on his arm. At one point, she pulled so hard, it felt as though his arm would pop out of his socket. "Ow! Quit it!"_

 _The boy saw a cave come into view. A large cave covered with clear, pristine ice from ground to ceiling that sparkled in the morning sunlight. The golden light reflecting off of the clear surface made the ice sparkle like diamonds. But as pretty as the cave was, the boy's eyes widened with shock. He knew this place after all._

" _You took me to the Ice Path?" The boy asked. "We're all the way at the other end of town?!" He had heard his father say that the distance between his house and the Ice Path usually took about two hours by car. All kinds of questions ran through his mind. Why did his mother take him here of all places? Wasn't it extremely cold? He could tell they weren't on some kind of trip. If they were, his mother would have packed a lot of suitcases full of clothes, food, water, and other odds and ends. There was nothing of the like in the car, and it didn't look like they were staying here._

" _Mom, let's go home," The boy said right as they walked to the entrance. The inside was almost pitch black despite the icicles reflecting light. "It's way too cold here."_

 _At first, his mother said and did nothing. She continued to grip the boy's arm with an iron fist. She squeezed it so hard, the skin she grasped almost turned snow white. Then it happened. His mother dragged the boy away from the entrance and pushed him._

 _Into the cave._

 _The boy's hazel eyes were wide with shock as he fell, watching as the silhouette grew smaller and smaller. He reached a hand out to grab her, but he had fallen too far._

" _Mom?! Mom!"_

 _Before long, the silhouette disappeared. Where was his mother going? Why wasn't she rescuing him? Why was she...leaving?_

"MOOOOM! HELP MEEEE!"

 _No answer. Her silhouette had completely disappeared._

 _Finally, he fell on ice with a thud. When he sat up, he looked up at the exit, seeing that it was at least thirty feet away from him. The only way to reach it was going up a very slippery rock covered in ice. That must be how he fell and couldn't save himself. The ceiling was covered with a blanket of icicles in different sizes. Small ones, medium ones, and icicles so big that if one were to break it off, it would look like a giant sword._

" _Mom…" The boy's hands balled into fists, his hazel eyes burning as tears came out. "Why did you do this to me?!" Cracking sounds made him whip his head up to face the ceiling._

 _The edge of a particularly large, sword shaped icicle was breaking. Finally, it came right off. The icicle descended downward, charging right at the boy._

 _He was frozen._

" _Caiseal?"_

 _A voice echoed. But it wasn't his mother's voice._

" _Wake up, Caiseal!"_

 _The voice grew clearer._

" _Caiseal! What's wrong?!"_

(end dream)

Caiseal sat up on his bed with a pained scream, his face completely beaded in sweat. Even his green pajamas had dark water droplets dotting the fabric. His hazel eyes were wide as he gasped for large breaths of air, like he had run a marathon. His bangs were matted, wet from the sweat. Mallow, Apollo, and Ravenclaw all watched from the foot of his bed with worried expressions. Flippy was still sleeping, and Stacey and Viole were sitting on the other side of the room, huddled in a corner.

"Caiseal?" He turned to his side to find Julia next to him, fully dressed, looking just as worried as his pokemon. She was wearing a sleeveless light green shirt and a pair of brown shorts that went just slightly above her knees. Perfect summer attire.

"J-J-Julia?" The blonde boy's face turned red from embarrassment. "What are you doing in here?!"

"Uhhh...Perrine and I can hear your screaming in the other room," Julia pointed out. "Are you okay? You sounded like someone was murdering you."

' _Yeah, nice analogy, there. Did you really think I was dying?'_ Caiseal thought. As happy as he was about her being concerned for him, even he could tell Julia had an odd way of processing situations, with her strange analogies and all. But even he knew he was screaming like someone had broken into the Pokemon Center, so it wasn't like she was off the mark. For a moment, Caiseal did think he was close to dying.

"Sorry about that," Caiseal grabbed a rag from his backpack and wiped the sweat off. "I just had a nightmare, that's all. Sorry if I woke you and Perrine up."

"Do you…" Julia paused for a moment. She knew that Caiseal didn't want to talk about his past, and that was okay. She didn't want to pry. But at the same time, these nightmares sent him into screaming fits. A lot. It had happened often during their journey. Just what was causing it? "Do you want to talk about it?" She finally asked. "My mom says that keeping everything inside just hurts you and makes things worse."

Caiseal got out of bed, stroking Mallow's skull helmet. "I appreciate it, but no thanks."

Julia sighed. Oh well. She figured as much. He can tell her when he's ready. It didn't seem right to press the issue or push it. "Okay. Mom, Dad, and I are gonna have breakfast at the Olivine Cafe. Do you want to come?"

"Sure!" Caiseal exclaimed, beaming. "That'd be great! Let me just get ready."

It didn't take long for both Perrine and Caiseal to get ready. He threw on a sleeveless grey shirt, a pair of loose camo pants, white socks, and his grey boots. All of his pokemon smiled at each other, happy that Caiseal was back to his old self. Still, the worry from before continued to linger in the back of their minds. By the time he put everyone in their pokeballs, Julia, Perrine, Kassia, and Truman were waiting for him in the Pokemon Center lobby.

Olivine Cafe was a popular hotspot for people to go to when they wanted a light meal or a nice dinner. It had been around for at least thirty years, and was well known for their seafood. But it served other contemporary meals as well, such as pizza and hamburgers and spaghetti. Since it was morning, the Parisa family, Perrine, and Caiseal all had breakfast. Julia secretly wished she could share some of it with her pokemon, but the cafe had a rule that pokemon were not allowed outside of their pokeballs.

"So, Julia," Truman was the first to start a conversation as soon as they were handed their menus. "Since you have six pokemon with you and we brought four of them along, would you like to send some of your friends back with us for a while?" He asked calmly.

"Hmmm…" Julia crossed her arms and ruminated. She hadn't spent much time with Saoirse since Cianwood City, so she figured she could send Papillon back home so Saoirse could stay with her. She did learn Fire Fang, and that was a decent movie to use against Jasmine's magnemite and magneton. She definitely felt Rina and Rino wanted to spend some time with her, but who could she send back home? Tsubasa certainly wouldn't be too happy about that, but since Jasmine's steelix probably knew rock type moves, she wasn't sure if Tsubasa could handle it despite her love for battling. Plus, the last time Tsubasa stayed with Truman, she wasn't on her best behavior.

After much rumination, she came to a decision. "I'd like to switch Papillon, Tsubasa, and Blossom for Saoirse, Rina, and Rino, if that's okay," She told them. "I'm planning on battling Jasmine soon, and I figure maybe they'd like to take a break for a while."

Truman suddenly became rigid. Memories of Tsubasa terrorizing the poor man flashed through his mind. But he didn't dare show his fear, even though Julia could see his shoulders hunching. "Th-Th-That's perfectly fine."

"I do kinda feel bad about sending Lucretia back though," Julia said, looking over the menu. "I know the rules say I can only carry six pokemon, but I wish I could play with her, too. I don't want her or the others to feel like I'm not a good friend to them."

Immediately, the scyther she caught back at National Park, Lavinia, came through her mind. Of all the pokemon she was never able to spend time with, Lavinia was the one she neglected the most. Well, not neglected, per say, as her parents were taking good care of her at the ranch at home. But they never interacted since National Park. Guilt weighed down on Julia's heart. She only exchanged pokemon with her parents so as to give them a break or pick the pokemon she felt would be suitable for certain gyms. She wondered if maybe she could ask for Lavinia sometime soon.

"I'm sure they'll understand," Kassia told her.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Perrine exclaimed, putting a fist on her palm. "I should get Luminita from Mom and Dad. I'll have to send Baloo over after this. She's a fairy type and weak against steel types."

"She doesn't use steel types all the time," Caiseal piped in. "I've been hearing some gossip around town. They say Jasmine uses Ampere and her two togetic in her gym battles too, and they're electric and fairy types, so I doubt she'll use only steel types in battle."

Julia smiled. A good point. Perhaps it was a good idea that she decided to keep Saoirse, Rina, and Rino with her after all. After that, once their breakfast was delivered, they talked of other things as well: their journey, their pokemon, the things they saw, heard, and experienced, etc. But there was one thing that was on Julia's mind.

"So...have you heard anything about Amara?" Julia asked.

Truman shook his head. "We reported the letter she sent us to the Olivine police, and they said they'd look into it, but they have other cases to deal with on top of that," He explained. Julia could tell from the way he looked down at his food and sighed that he was clearly sad about Amara's disappearance and her crimes. After the way Amara had been treating them over the past year and a half, and everything else she had done, who wouldn't be?

"I see…" Julia took a bite out of some bananas. Bananas were the only fruit she would ever eat. All others just didn't appeal to her tastes. "I wish you two could stay longer."

"We do too, sweetie," Kassia told her. "I'd certainly like to keep looking. But we can't ask Lauren to watch the pokemon forever, and we only managed to get this week off, so we have to go back to work starting tomorrow."

Being a parent was hard. Pair that up with raising a ranch of pokemon, two kids, and working separate jobs. Julia had to wonder how they were able to deal with stuff like that and not wind up on their knees crying. But she knew how hard they worked to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. The Parisas weren't impoverished, but making money and raising the family was important. It wasn't something they could just stop doing for a while and then go back to it. Julia wasn't an adult, but in a way she could tell doing all of that must be hard work.

Once breakfast was over, Julia watched as her parents prepared to leave for the airport. Papillon, Blossom, Lucretia, and Tsubasa sat in the back seat of the car, with their pokeballs at the bottom of the seat. Julia held Lucretia's paw gently. "Sorry, girl. I know we haven't spent much time together, but we'll play soon. I promise."

The eevee flashed a smile. "Eevee vui."

"You all take care now, okay?"

"Eeee free!"

"Gloom!"

Julia flashed a smile. "I figured you guys deserved a little break."

Tsubasa sat in her seat, tucking her feathers into her body. "Sorry, Tsubasa. I know you don't like being at home, but it's not anything you did," Julia told her reassuringly. "I just want to be smart about the gym battle with Jasmine. Don't be sad. We'll spend time together next time. You're not grounded anymore, if that helps."

The bird pokemon didn't say a word. But her feathers did twitch upon hearing that last sentence. "But if I hear that you're pecking my parents and other pokemon, I won't let you battle! Understand!" She told her feathered friend in an authoritative voice.

"Pijo pijo…" ( _"I promise…"_ ) Tsubasa grumbled, not happy with being sent back home. Then again, she could use the time to train herself and get stronger. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.

"Call us if you need anything, slick," Truman said before giving his daughter a hug. "I'm so proud of you. You've come so far."

"I love you, Dad."

"Me too."

"Tell everyone I said hi."

"I will."

"Oh!" Julia rummaged through her bag and handed Truman some items. Most of them were clothes, including her blue hoodie and pink shorts. Other things included books and stuffed animals. "Would you mind taking these back home? My bag's starting to overflow."

Truman smiled, putting them in the back seat without hesitation. "Sure, sweetie."

"Julia!" Kassia suddenly ran over to her daughter. "I don't know if you'll run into Amara again, but...in the event that you do…" She pulled out a letter and handed it to her. "Can you give this to her?"

Julia looked at the letter, taking it into her hands and examining it closely. "This is my response to her letter," Her mother explained. "I think I finally understand now. I don't know if it'll help much, but…"

"She probably won't accept it, but if I ever run into her, I'll make sure she gets it," Julia replied before hugging her mother. Kassia returned the hug, happy to finally embrace her daughter after so long. But she knew she needed to get home. Now, she was confident that Julia was just fine. She had certainly grown over the past few months, and she had Perrine and Caiseal to thank for most of it.

"You all take care of each other," Kassia told them before getting behind the steering wheel. Once they said their goodbyes, the Parisa parents drove away, heading deep into the city. The three kids were now all alone in front of the Pokemon Center.

"So...do you wanna go train?" Caiseal asked. "We have plenty of time to do so."

Perrine pushed some hair out of her face. "Sure! I could use some time with Nita. What do you think, Julia?" The orange haired girl was surprised to see her friend rubbing her face. "Are you...okay?"

"Y-Y-Yeah…" Julia sobbed, her face wet with fresh tears despite forcing a smile. "I already miss them, even though I can call them any time…" Julia whimpered. Any attempt she had to hold the tears back was futile, and they just wouldn't stop flowing. It just felt so nice to be with them after so long. True, she could always call them, but hugging them and receiving their love was just so much better.

"I know the feeling," Perrine replied, wrapping her arms around the girl, giving her a reassuring hug.

Caiseal looked down at his boots. Something rose up inside him, and it had gnawed at his heart ever since Julia's parents had arrived. What was it? Seeing Julia be loved by her parents, and her parents showering their daughter with love, warmth, and affection made Caiseal feel oddly angry, like he was being betrayed. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, as it was normal for parents to love their kids. But he was not loved by his own parents. That just made it worse.

He finally found the word for it: resentment.

The shame that accompanied these feelings was instantaneous. It shamed him to resent Julia and Perrine for having loving parents. That was not a reason to resent his friends. He tried to tell himself that they were his friends and that they weren't deliberately trying to make him angry. Even if he had his own issues, that didn't mean he should resent his friends for having been dealt better hands. He pushed those awful feelings all the way to the back of his mind, hoping they'd stay there and never come back out.

After that, Perrine swapped Baloo for her chinchou, Luminita. It had been a while since they interacted, and Perrine was happy to hang out with another one of her pokemon. She figured Baloo deserved a break and would like some time at her house. Once everyone was ready, Julia let all of her pokemon out of their pokeballs. When Rina and Rino came out, Julia kneeled down to their level.

"Hey, guys!" Julia greeted them with a warm, beaming smile. "It's been a while since we hung out. Would you like to play a little before we start training?" She asked.

"Nyu!" ( _"No!"_ ) Rino tersely held his head up, averting his trainer's gaze. All Rina did was stare down at the soil.

"Oh…well, that's okay!" Julia rummaged through her bag and pulled out some pokemon food. "I have some food here with me. I bet you're hungry. Want some?" She put some food in her hand and showed it to the two nidoran.

The two sniffed the food for a brief moment, their noses twitching with each whiff of the food. However, Rino gave Julia a quick glare before averting his gaze once more. Rina did the same thing. Julia found herself dumbfounded.

"Uhh...what's wrong?" She asked. The two nidoran didn't answer.

"Pika?" Hikaru's ears twitched as she watched them walk away.

"That's weird," Caiseal piped in, stretching his arms out. "They were pretty set on coming with you when you first caught them. I wonder why they're being like that?"

"Me too…" Julia wondered out loud. He was right. When she first met them, they were head over heels for her despite being afraid of them herself. Exactly what changed? She had no idea. But from the way they ignored her and walked away, she wondered if maybe they were angry about something. Maybe...angry at her?

Seeing the despondent look on her trainer's face, Hikaru put a paw on her leg reassuringly. "Pikapikachu," ( _"Don't be sad. They'll come around."_ ) She told her, with a twinge of doubt. "Pika pikapi." ( _"Just give it some time."_ )

"Yeah. You're probably right," Julia agreed. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why they started ignoring her. Last time she checked, she hadn't done anything to make them mad. Perhaps they weren't used to being called back, or maybe they were mad because they got taken away from the ranch. Julia told herself to calm down. It'll be okay. They'll get used to it.

That was what she thought, at first. As she and her pokemon trained, Rino and Rina continued to distance themselves from the group. Hikaru and Tokiko especially noticed that whenever the two would look their way, the nidoran would scowl at them with intense glares, like they were saying they were too good for them. Not even Julia was spared their scorn.

"Would you like to train with us?" Julia asked them. "I'm sure you'd love to get stronger."

"Nido nido nyu!" ( _"Just leave us alone!"_ ) Rino suddenly hissed, his tall ears standing upright in a rigid position. The hissing noise he let out made Julia jump a little, and she went two steps backward. This was not like them at all. Perrine and Caiseal both exchanged confused glances. So did the rest of the pokemon. What in the world?

Julia got the message and left them alone without a word. Aqua and Hikaru followed her to a bench that was nearby. Perrine was dumbfounded, scratching her orange hair with one hand. "Okay, this is weird," She said. "They never treated her like that before."

Caiseal found himself glaring at the two nidoran, who were occupied with themselves. "Hey!" He yelled. "What's your deal?!" His loud voice caught their attention. It didn't exactly help that since their ears were so large, their ears could pick up on any noise, no matter how low it was. The two nidoran gave Caiseal expressions that seemed to say, "You're still going on about that?"

"I don't know what your problem is," Caiseal wagged his finger at them like he was scolding a naughty child. "But your trainer wants to spend time with you and be with you and that's how you treat her?! What did she ever do to you?!"

That was when Rino did something very out of character. He stuck his tongue out at them. Julia looked away, like she had been slapped. With that, the two nidoran scurried off to another tree, probably to make out in private. Julia squeezed her eyes shut, feeling as though she wanted to hide in the darkness forever. What happened? Why were they treating her like this? She had no idea, but boy, did it hurt!

"Jule?" Even Caiseal could see the hurt on her face. It was pointless to ask her if she was okay, because she clearly wasn't. But what could he do? "Come on. Let's have a practice battle."

"Sure," Julia nodded affirmatively before accompanying Caiseal to the battlefield.

Unbeknownst to her, Hikaru and Saoirse stayed behind. The two of them exchanged confused glances. What had gotten into those nidoran? They were there when they saved them from that mother houndoom. They were happy to be Julia's friends and join her. To see them suddenly treat her like she was a nuisance completely blew their minds.

"Snubbull snub snubbull," ( _"I want to talk to them about this."_ ) Saoirse said, crossing her arms. "I want to know what's going on."

"Pika-pikachu," ( _"Me too. This is just too strange."_ ) Hikaru agreed. "Maybe they can give us some answers."

Holding hands, the snubbull and the pikachu ambled over to the tree where the two nidoran were sitting. Rina's large ears twitched, picking up on the footsteps approaching them, crushing the grass beneath them. This time, Rina's eyes fixated on them curiously. Once they got close, she was the first to greet them.

"Nido nido nyuu?" ( _"You're Saoirse, right?"_ ) Rina asked, leaning closer to get a better look at them. "It's been a while."

"It sure has," Saoirse held her hand out, letting the poison pin pokemon shake it gently.

"You're...Hikaru?" Rina cocked her head to one side. The last time she saw Hikaru, she was still a pichu. "You look so different. Did you evolve?"

"I sure did!" Hikaru announced with a friendly smile. Rina bopped herself on the head with one paw. Of course she did. She saw everything that happened. Even a chimchar could figure that out. "But enough about that. Listen...can we ask why you and Rino are…" Hikaru wasn't sure how to put this delicately. But she had to ask. "Well...treating Julia the way you are?"

"It's very unlike you," Saoirse added. "You were eager to join her back when we first met."

Finally, Rino stepped out from behind the tree, glaring at them. "She made it very clear that she hates poison types," Rino hissed, waving his small horn around. Hikaru and Saoirse didn't move a muscle. They could tell from the way his ears were moving that he had a lot of anger to release. "We thought she liked us in spite of that!"

"She does," Saoirse interrupted calmly. "She loves you a lot."

The glare Rino shot at them could kill if it was any stronger. But Hikaru held onto Saoirse's hand, not letting it get to her. "If she really loved us, then why did she leave us at that ranch?! She never even took us with her since then!" Rino argued, his voice going up an octave. The anger in his eyes was overwhelming. "She said she loved us, but she never even spent any time with us or played with us or let us come with her! She lied to us!"

Rina popped into the conversation once her friend finished. She didn't sound nearly as angry as Rino did, but the fairy and electric pokemon could tell she had to let off some steam as well. "It really hurts...to hear that someone likes you but then drops you like a piece of trash…" Rina's ears drooped, facing the grass.

"She does love you!" Hikaru interrupted. "She doesn't hate you at all, and she didn't lie to you, either!" She waved her arms up and down. "You saw the whole Raikou incident, right? A lot's happened on our journey!" She reasoned. "We barely had time to even think about hanging out, nor did we have any access to those pokeball transporter machine thingys!"

The poison pin duo gave Hikaru a look that said, "Did you, really?" Like she was telling a falsehood.

"Besides," Hikaru continued. "I hear that trainers can only carry six pokeballs. It's a rule or something. I don't know," She scratched one of her long ears. This was awkward. "But really, it's nothing you did. She doesn't hate you. She's still afraid of poison types, yeah I don't deny that, but let's face it: nobody gets over their fear at the drop of a hat."

Saoirse nodded in agreement. "She sent me to the ranch because I got seasick," Saoirse explained. "She sent me to her parents for my benefit. She felt I needed some time away from battles and traveling," The nidoran exchanged glances. "I don't like fighting, so I didn't mind at all," The bulldog walked up to Rino and put a hand on his ear. "Please understand. If Julia really didn't like you, she wouldn't have caught you at all."

The two nidoran winced. Saoirse made a good point. A really good point. They had seen the naked fear she displayed on their first meeting. But she actually tried to overcome it and be their friend. Would someone who hated them really do that? They had no idea, since she was the first human they really interacted with. Looking back, Julia did make efforts to spend time with them and give them a chance to interact with her.

But they rejected her. There was no denying that,

"I'm not gonna lie," Hikaru told them. "You guys have been pretty rude when she's done nothing but try and engage with you. I've been with her since she rescued me from a beedrill horde, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't hate you. Can you at least...give her a chance?"

An awkward silence fell on the quartet. The two nidoran exchanged glances once more before nodding. Finally, Rina spoke. "We'll try," She didn't sound irritated like before, but they could see from the way she held her paws to her chest that she still seemed guarded.

"I'm not taking any risks," Rino hissed. "If you're lying to us, then I'm bailing."

"We're not trying to force you to do anything you don't want to," Saoirse added calmly. "We just want you to understand. So…" Saoirse scratched the hem on her dress-like body. "Do you want to play with us?"

"Sure!" Rina chirruped. Rino crawled out from behind the tree. Perhaps some playing would do him some good.

Hikaru, Saoirse, and the poison pin duo played tag around the area surrounding the battlefield. The trainers and the rest of their pokemon were out, so everyone could watch them. Once she finished her practice battle with Caiseal, Julia noticed the four of them playing. Warmth enveloped her chest. Good, at least the nidoran were playing. Rino's gesture still jabbed at her heart like poison, just like his type, but she figured he needed some space. She decided to talk to him after they were done playing.

At one point, Rino broke away from the group. His tiny nose caught the fresh scent of oran berries. Mmmm. He almost bolted into a bush, only to accidentally dig his horn into something soft and fleshy. The poison pin backed away to get a better look. It was something pink peeking out from the bush. The leaves rustled. Then…

"Granbuuuuuuull!" A loud roar echoed throughout the back of the Pokemon Center, pulling everyone and the pokemon out of their current activities. A large pink pokemon shot up from the bush, its large eyes blazing with rage. Large fangs were ready to bite the purple rodent into pieces.

"Nidooooo!" ( _"Oh craaaaaap!"_ ) Rino bolted away from the bush as fast as his tiny legs could take him. But the pink bulldog pokemon bolted after him.

"What in the world?!" Perrine yelped.

Julia had no time to be shocked. Rino was in trouble. A granbull was chasing after him. Time to take action. She looked down at Rina. That was it! Poison types are strong against fairies. "Rina! Save Rino with Poison Sting!"

"Niiiiii!" ( _"I'll save you!"_ ) Rina charged right at the rampaging granbull, whose large paws stomping onto the ground made everything rumble beneath its feet. With her small horn glowing in a purple light, she rammed herself into the pink bulldog, dredging her horn into its side. Rino stopped to catch his breath.

"What's a granbull doing here?" Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex. The granbull stared at the two poison pin pokemon, its eyes still brimming with rage.

" _Granbull, the fairy pokemon and the evolved form of snubbull,"_ Caiseal couldn't help but think that granbull looked absolutely nothing like a fairy. Why didn't they call it the bulldog pokemon? To him, that classification made more sense. "Because their fangs are so heavy, they always keep their heads tilted down. Although they are normally timid in nature and easily spooked, they can make most pokemon run away simply by opening its mouth to reveal its fangs. Unless they're startled or threatened, they usually don't bite or attack indiscriminately. Their biting attacks are very powerful, and can easily break human bones."

Saoirse found herself frozen, her whole body trembling just from watching that rabid beast swat the poison pin duo into a tree with just its back legs. That thing was what she was going to evolve into? Just imagining herself evolving into that beast made her eyes widen in horror.

"Nido nido nido!" ( _"I didn't mean to sting you, honest!"_ ) Rino pleaded, waving his tiny limbs up and down. "Nido!" ( _"Sorry!"_ )

Unfortunately for them, the granbull didn't accept their apology. In fact, the bulldog let out a mighty roar, causing them all to cover their ears. Then, the granbull got on all fours and charged at them like a loose tauros. Perrine was quick to pull her pokemon back into their pokeballs, as did Caiseal.

Not Julia. As soon as the poison pin duo ran over to their trainer, an idea hatched in her head. She had no time to think. "Rino! Rina! Hold it off with Double Kick!" She commanded. On cue, the poison pin duo threw themselves at the angry bulldog pokemon, kicking it on its face with their small legs. Julia knew it was a fighting type move, and it wouldn't do much on a fairy type. But she had to do anything to make sure this granbull didn't get into town and possibly destroy everything.

Being the pacifist that she was, little Saoirse simply hid behind Julia, cowering in fear of the large beast. "Snubbull snubbull," ( _"I'm staying out of this one."_ ) She mused, finding security in her trainer's presence.

"Good job!" Julia praised. The granbull stopped to shake its head, brushing off the attack. "Rina, use Scratch on its face, and Rino, you use Horn Attack!"

The nidoran duo wasted no time attacking. Rina was the first to take the initiative, using her small claws to scratch the angry granbull's face to the point of drawing some blood. But not enough to make it gush right out. While it was distracted, Rino snuck up behind the granbull and dredged his horn into the bulldog's back. The granbull let out a roar as it swatted Rina in the air with its paw.

"Rina!" Julia extended her arms out, ready to catch the blue rodent. Thankfully, Rina fell right on top of her, and Julia caught her without missing a beat. "Are you okay, girl?"

"Nido," ( _"I am thanks to you."_ ) Rina replied with a merry smile. Her friends were right. Julia did love them after all. How could she have doubted her before.

"Luminita! Come on out!" Perrine threw a pokeball, allowing the chinchou to come bursting right out.

"Chinchoooou!" Luminita announced her presence with a shrill cry, descending before the angry bulldog with just a dense look on her face.

"Use Supersonic!"

"Choooou!" The angler pokemon let out another shrill cry, accompanied by harsh soundwaves that struck the bulldog without warning. Before long, the granbull was wobbling back and forth, unsteady on its feet.

"Alright, nidos! You ready?!" Julia held her hands into fists.

Both Rina and Rino nodded affirmatively. "Nido!"

"Use Poison Sting to drive it away!"

"Nidoooooo!" The poison pin duo fired a barrage of purple needles at the bulldog. Unable to take the burning pain anymore, the granbull darted into the bushes, going deep into the forest.

"We did it!" Julia cheered, jumping into the air.

"Nido nido!" Rina and Rino imitated their trainer, this time smiling radiantly.

"Chinchou!" Luminita leaped into her trainer's arms with a smile.

"Good job, Nita. You were great," Perrine nuzzled her friend warmly.

Finally, Rina and Rino were on speaking terms with Julia. They helped drive the granbull away. Rina and Rino squeaked to each other happily, and Julia couldn't help but marvel at their battling prowess. She had truly befriended them. But her smile faded, and she kneeled down to their level. The poison pin duo noticed this and looked up.

"Nido?"

"Hey. Listen…" Julia began. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend much time with you," She apologized, using a low, calm voice. "A lot's happened, and as much as I'd love to spend time with all of my pokemon, it's hard because there are rules to being a pokemon trainer. If I could take all of my pokemon with me on my journey, you guys included, I would. But I can't. But I definitely don't hate you."

Rina and Rino could see their trainer's eyes trembling. "I know...I'm scared of poison types. I've always been afraid of them, even though I love pokemon. But…" She clutched her pant legs with her hands, telling herself to go on. "...that doesn't mean I don't love you. I'm sorry for making you think I didn't like you or that I broke my promise to you."

Guilt weighed down on the duo's hearts. So Saoirse and Hikaru were right after all. To think they themselves had been so rude to the trainer who opened her heart to them in spite of her fear. "Plus, the gym leader uses steel types, and I don't want to put you two in a situation that you may or may not be able to handle. It's more about strategizing and making appropriate choices for battles than anything. Know what I mean?"

They weren't sure what gym leaders were, but they could see what she meant. Even the two nidoran had trouble fighting enemies they couldn't handle, especially ones whose types were immune to poison. "So...can we be friends again? Please?" She held her hand out.

Rina didn't hesitate and slapped her paw onto Julia's. Rino just sniffed it for a moment before putting his paw on her palm. Julia smiled again before she scooped them both into her arms, nuzzling their heads with her cheeks. "Alrighty then! Problem solved! Do you two want to have lunch with us?"

"Nido nido!" ( _"Heck yeah! I want sausages!"_ ) Rino squeaked happily.

Rina rolled her eyes. "Nido nyuuu!" ( _"What are you, a sausage addict?"_ ) She asked. _"On the other hand, I'd love to try some cheese!"_ She added.

"Okay then! Lunch is on me!" Julia announced, putting them down as she and her pokemon darted into the Pokemon Center.

Perrine and Caiseal shrugged. "Well, that solves that problem," Perrine added.

"I'm itching to battle Jasmine," Caiseal crossed his arms, tapping his foot. "But I could really go for some burgers right now."

The orange haired girl smiled, gesturing for her friend to accompany her inside. Their hungry stomachs were in dire need of food, and nobody could ignore hunger, no matter how much they wanted to.

* * *

 **Another day, another chapter done! Yeah, this one's a filler chapter. Someone I know said that Julia's nidoran didn't get much spotlight despite being hyped up back in chapter 14.5. Well, I hope this rectifies that, and you'll see more of them in the future! And yes, the kids will battle Jasmine in the next chapter. Look forward to it!**

 **Random fact: Remember way back when, when Julia first caught Saoirse the snubbull? The original plan I had for their first encounter was drastically different from what I eventually went with. I was going to have Saoirse belong to a suicidal trainer who would cut herself, and Saoirse would have met them through asking them to help save her trainer, who was also names Saoirse. The trainer would have relinquished her trainer's license, get the help she needed, and let Julia take her snubbull, feeling that Julia could take better care of her than she herself could, and felt it was for Saoirse's own good. But I had no room to put it anywhere in the story, so I just chucked the idea and had Saoirse meet them in the wild instead.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Aqua (Marill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Rollout, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Poison Powder**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Feraligatr (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Hydro Pump, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Superpower**

 **Weepinbell (Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Slam, and Sleep Powder**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Poison Jab, Fury Attack, Fell Stinger, and Pin Missile**

 **Granbull (Female, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Run Away**

 **Attacks: Fire Fang, Play Rough, Lick, and Thunderbolt**

 **Fearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Drill Peck, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Leer**

 **Haunter (Male, Impish Nature)**

 **Ability: Levitate**

 **Attacks: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, and Poison Jab**

 **Umbreon (Male, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Synchronize**

 **Attacks: Iron Tail, Confuse Ray, Shadow Ball, and Bite**


	32. Jasmine The Iron Maiden

Chapter 26: Jasmine The Iron Maiden

"Come on out, umbreon!" As the morning sun brightened the world with her light, Cianwood City included, Amara sent out the pokemon she had caught just a few days ago. The white light materialized to form a feline shape before umbreon took form. The first thing the black creature noticed was that it was light out. His long ears twitched as he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with a human being.

Other pokemon were with the human as well, many of which he had never seen before, the feraligatr and gengar being two such pokemon. Immediately upon making eye contact with the human, the guarded umbreon took on a defensive stance, lowering his head and ears before scowling at her. Amara scowled right back, crossing her arms.

"Don't try anything stupid, because I caught you," Amara told the black creature without any warmth in her voice. "I'm your trainer now, and you do as I say! Capice?"

The umbreon had no idea what capice meant, but the hair on his body stood right up as he took a few steps back, continuing to glare at Amara. Just because this random human caught him with a pokeball, that didn't give her any right to call her his trainer! The umbreon always considered himself a free spirit, but wasn't necessarily distrustful of humans. However, he could feel a very bad vibe coming from this girl.

Not only that, all the pokemon looked at Amara with fearful expressions, like they were afraid of her. Already, red flags sprung up in umbreon's mind. Just what was this girl capable of to make them look so afraid of her? All he knew for sure was that he was not going to submit to Amara.

"Umbreon!" ( _"Absolutely not!"_ ) The black creature yelped indignantly, his red eyes giving off a defiant look.

"Fine then," Amara crossed her arms. "If you're not gonna listen to me, I'm gonna have to beat it into you!" All of the hair on umbreon's body stood up further. Amara glanced at feraligatr. "Hey! Feraligatr! Teach it a lesson and use Ice Fang!"

The large alligator pokemon, feraligatr, hesitantly ambled right up to the umbreon, twiddling its sharp fingers. At one point, the blue alligator looked over his shoulder as though he was saying, "You really want me to do something like this?!" Like usual, Amara continued to glare at the feraligatr. His body tensed, getting the message. All of a sudden, the feraligatr opened his gaping maw, his large fangs glowing in a light blue sheen.

"Umbreon!" The umbreon knew he had to do something. Before the feraligatr could charge at him, a black sphere of energy materialized in front of umbreon's mouth. Seeing an opening, umbreon shot the black shadow ball at the alligator's face, making the Ice Fang attack disappear. The black ball hit feraligatr so hard that he had to take two steps back, the energy was too overwhelming to even see.

"Seriously?!" Amara cried as the feraligatr recoiled. "Come on! Knock that thing out! Use Crunch!" Once the blue alligator got over the pain, he bared his teeth once more, charging at the black feline. The umbreon nimbly leaped out of the way, jumping on the alligator's back.

His pointed tail glowed in a silver, metallic sheen right as he landed on feraligatr's back. Once again, he found an opening and spun around in a circle. In mid-air, umbreon struck feraligatr across the back of his head. The blow was so strong that it made feraligatr fall to his knees. The sight made granbull, beedrill, and weepinbell huddle together, cowering in fear.

Haunter simply floated over to the fallen alligator and said, "Hauntahh hauntah hauntaaaaaah!" ( _"Wow! To think such a big, ferocious pokemon could be easily beaten by a little night crawler! You're pathetic!"_ ) He burst into loud, hearty laughter, his big pink tongue hanging out.

Feraligatr shot a glare at him. "Feraligatrrrrrrr," ( _"Try saying that when he whips your butt! Ghosts are weak against dark types, y'know!"_ ) Feraligatr shot back, his growl dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh my lanta!" Amara facepalmed, groaning in disbelief. "You're freaking useless!" She wasted no time kicking feraligatr on his side twice. Since his hide was thick, he was able to tolerate the kicks better, and they didn't hurt as much as before. But it didn't mean it hurt him any less emotionally. "After all that time training and battling and beefing you up, you get knocked around by this thing!"

"Umbreon!" ( _"Don't call me a thing!"_ ) Umbreon hissed. He was a lot of things, and a thing definitely wasn't one of them. The fact that Amara talked about him like he was some object she wanted to parade around for all to see made his skin crawl. And why kick her pokemon after they were defeated? The awful sight made his blood boil.

Before she could complain and beat feraligatr more, her stomach rumbled with the intensity of a pyroar's roar. "Uuuuugh. Great, now I'm hungry!" She whined. "I'm gonna go get some grub!" She pointed to all of her pokemon. "All of you, stay here! If one of you runs, I'm gonna beat you so hard your legs will be so broken they'll never heal!" With that, she turned on her boot and left, leaving her arsenal of pokemon all alone.

Umbreon took the chance to get some answers. "Umbreon umbreon!" ( _"Who the heck is she?!"_ ) He exclaimed, his ears standing up. "Why does she treat you all like that?!"

Everyone exchanged pitiful glances except for haunter. "Hauntah hauntahhhh," ( _"She hates pokemon, and from what we've heard, a gyarados killed her friend,"_ ) Haunter explained, crossing his disembodied hands.

Umbreon's red eyes widened. That was it? She was treating them like trash all because of what a gyarados did to her friend? He had seen and heard ridiculous things before, but to take her anger out on pokemon who had nothing to do with it? His blood burned even hotter.

"And that makes it okay for her to beat you all into a pulp if you so much as lose a battle?!" Umbreon hissed, stamping his paw into the soil. "Why don't you guys say something?! Do something?!"

Weepinbell shivered behind granbull, cowering in fear. Once again, he was drowning in a puddle of tears. "There's nothing we can do…" Weepinbell blubbered, his voice dry and scratchy from too much crying. All granbull could do was stroke his back, but the fly catcher pokemon was inconsolable. "She's so scary…"

"Raaaaaah," ( _"We tried running,"_ ) Fearow added, flapping his wings. "But where would we go? We're too far away from our homes."

"So?!" Umbreon hissed again. "Wouldn't it be better than sucking up to that...that...poor excuse of a human?!" He pointed to the thicket that Amara passed through to empathize his point. "I don't see why you can't just run away!"

"Do you really think we haven't thought about that?!" Feraligatr roared so loud, it made everyone cower in fear. Except umbreon. He had dealt with tough enemies before. There was no scaring this black feline. "She's smart! She knows when we're planning to go against her, and anything we've tried hasn't worked, and when we did, she always catches us and beats us!"

The black feline couldn't believe his ears. These pokemon were big, strong, capable of delivering lethal attacks. It was so easy for them to just cut her loose and run away. For all he knew, they could easily attack that girl and leave her injured enough for them to run. Why not try that? Or even…

"If I were you, I'd kill her before I even let her lay one hand on me!" Umbreon exclaimed.

The pokemon exchanged shocked glances. Was this umbreon serious? Yes, he was. The dead serious look in his eyes told them all they needed to know.

"You're all big, strong pokemon! You can kill this girl easy!" Umbreon added. "I don't see why you can't!"

Nobody said a word. An awkward silence fell on the group. But it told umbreon everything that he was afraid of. They had accepted their fates. Just what kind of hold did this girl have on them to make them so scared that they can't even act on their own anymore? Now, just the sight of the group made umbreon's stomach go into a knot.

"Tch! I don't believe this," Umbreon let out another hiss. "Submit to her all you want. Don't expect me to do the same," He told them unsympathetically. "I refuse to be a slave to that humanoid trubbish."

Being someone's slave was not part of umbreon's agenda for survival, and he was going to make sure this girl knew it. If he had to kill her to save himself, then so be it. But he hoped he wouldn't resort to such a drastic measure. For his own sake.

* * *

"Ugh!" Caiseal sat on a bench in front of the Olivine City gym, holding a book of crossword puzzles in one hand, and a yellow pencil in the other. Perrine sat on his left, listening to a radio drama on her PokeGear. She had attached purple ear buds to her PokeGear, and the buds were shoved in her ears, taking her away from reality. The joy on her face was almost sickening to the blonde boy. He was sure he could see hearts fluttering out of her body. "Man, these crossword puzzles are hard!"

Julia sat on his right with Rina on her lap, brushing her fur with a small hair brush. Rina smiled the whole time, enjoying the soft texture of the brush on her hide. "I didn't know you liked crossword puzzles," She said, brushing Rina's ears next.

"They're okay," Caiseal mused as he wrote something down. "They're certainly a good cure for boredom."

Hikaru sat down on the ground with Rino, tapping their paws together in a game of patty cake. The two of them stayed close to Julia's feet, making sure they weren't out of her line of sight. "Uuuugh...what's this supposed to be?" Caiseal grumbled out loud. Julia leaned closer, staring at the white blocks covering a black page. Some of them were already filled with words written out in pencil.

"What's up? You stuck on a word?"

"Yeah…" Caiseal used the end of his pencil to scratch his hair. "Some of these word descriptions really boggle me," She could tell that he sounded quite flummoxed. "Melted metal scum, slang for kill, a miltank's opinion, a well known incestuous mother...good Arceus, who made this?!" He shouted impatiently. Julia backed away. "And when the heck is Jasmine gonna be here?!"

One of Julia's hands covered her ears. "She'll get here when she gets here," It was here that Rina hopped off of Julia's lap to join Rino and Hikaru in their game.

In fact, all of Julia's pokemon were out and about, running around, their fur being warmed by the sun's rays. Rina, Rino, and Hikaru scurried around the bench in a friendly game of tag. Tokiko and Saoirse sat on the sidewalk in front of the gym palavering amongst each other, probably talking about girl stuff. Aqua sat all by herself, right next to Perrine's part of the bench. Saoirse's ears suddenly twitched as her small eyes fixated on the lone aqua mouse.

Aqua's round ears drooped, facing the ground beneath her feet. To the little snubbull, that was almost always a sign that meant someone was sad or depressed. "Choki?" Tokiko noticed Saoirse stand up, tilting her head to one side in confusion, wondering what was up. Saoirse suddenly walked over to Julia and pulled on her sock. She didn't pull too hard, as Saoirse was gentle like that, but the pull was firm enough to get Julia's attention. Once she felt Saoirse pulling on her sock, Julia looked down.

"Saoirse? What's wrong?" She asked.

The pink bulldog pointed in Aqua's direction. Julia stood up from the bench, moseyed over to her mouse friend, and kneeled to her level. One look said a thousand words. Aqua stared down at the ground she sat on with a despondent look on her face, her round eyes having lost all of their shine. All she did was stroke the ground with one of her stubby arms, and her tail sat lifelessly behind her.

"Aqua? You seem sad," Julia told her in a soft, dulcet voice. "You okay?"

Aqua shook her head left and right. No.

"Do you want to talk about it? We're here to listen," Julia said reassuringly, keeping her voice low.

Aqua let out a sad sigh, her expression still despondent. Finally, the water mouse held her head up, making eye contact with her trainer, and said, in a low, trembling voice, "Marill marill marill?" ( _"Why haven't I evolved yet?"_ ) Julia's heart sank to the pit of her stomach as soon as she saw those round, sad eyes that were begging for an answer to her question.

"Is that what you're sad about?" Julia asked for confirmation. Her friend nodded.

The two girls listened as Aqua told them about what was bothering her: even though she was one of Julia's many pokemon who had been with her the longest, no matter how much she battled, she never evolved. Tokiko evolved, Tsubasa evolved, Neji evolved, Papillon evolved, etc. Even Hikaru, who had stayed a pichu for a long time, managed to evolve during the Raikou fiasco. Seeing her friends evolve made her feel as though she was being left behind. She trained and battled and made herself stronger, but there were no signs of evolution.

Once again, Aqua's ears drooped, facing the dirt beneath her feet. "Marill marill…" ( _"I want to evolve so bad…"_ ) She murmured in a soft, trembling voice, like she was about to cry any moment. All Julia could do was smile and stroke her friend's ear with one hand.

"You'll evolve," Julia reassured her friend. "I'm sure you will. You probably need some more time and experience, that's all."

"Marill marill marill!" ( _"All I've done is battle and wait, but nothing's happened!"_ ) This time, Aqua was yelling and flapping her arms up and down. A hand flew to Julia's ear like before, but this time, she didn't flinch. It was better to let Aqua air out her frustrations. Julia looked away, regretting what she just said earlier.

That was when Saoirse put a hand on Aqua's. "Snubbull snubbull," ( _"It's not the end of the world if you don't evolve."_ ) She told her plainly. Julia whipped her head up, shocked by Saoirse's boldness. She herself had planned on saying something similar, but she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. That, and she didn't want to accidentally hurt Aqua's feelings. Saoirse continued, "Snub snub snubbull snubbull." ( _"You can't force it. It doesn't happen in a day."_ )

For once, Saoirse had Aqua's attention. Julia's as well. She had a good point. The trainer couldn't hold back the smile that pushed her cheeks up. Who knew Saoirse could be so reliable. "Saoirse's right. If you evolve, that's great. But it's okay if you don't, too. You'll evolve on your own time, and don't give up," Like before, Julia stroke Aqua's ear.

Just hearing that immediately lifted Aqua's spirits. Not entirely, but Aqua was at least happy to know that no matter what, Julia still loved her. Not once did she regret going on this journey with her. True, she still wanted to evolve, and wished she could evolve right now, but even she knew that some things just needed to take time.

"Oh! Good morning, children!" A familiar, feathery voice made the kids turn their heads to their left. There was Jasmine, wearing her usual white dress, looking as pretty as the flower she was named after. Speaking of flowers, resting in her hands was an orange clay pot filled with soil, with a flurry of white flowers right on top, with their foliage open wide for soaking up the sun. She flashed her signature feathery smile.

"Hi, Jasmine!" Julia greeted. Perrine kept listening to her radio drama, so she stayed silent throughout the conversation.

"I take it you're all here to battle with me," Jasmine inquired sweetly. "I'm sorry to make you wait, but I have to plant these flowers in my garden and give Angelo his medication, but I shouldn't be too long," She explained. A crisp breeze lifted her brown hair up just a little bit. With that, she moseyed inside the gym to finish what she needed to do.

Finally, Perrine pulled out her earbuds, her radio drama having ended. "Okay, so...which one of us is going to battle Jasmine?" She asked.

"How about we decide through rock-paper-scissors?" Caiseal suggested. "Quick and easy, right?"

"Sure! Great idea!" Julia cheered. The kids gathered round and held their hands out, shaking their fists. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" All fists. Try again. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" All of their hands were flat. One more time. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Perrine and Caiseal had their hands balled into fists. On the other hand, Julia kept one of her hands flat.

"Yay!" She playfully smacked her friends fists with her open hand. "Paper covers rock! I win! I get to battle Jasmine!" Rejoicing in her victory, she jumped in the air twice.

"Man, we've been sucking at this game lately, haven't we?" Caiseal groaned.

Perrine shrugged. "It's not so bad. We can watch the battle and see what Jasmine's battling style is like before we battle with her," Leave it to Perrine to turn a negative into a positive.

Once that was settled, the kids went into the gym. The Olivine City gym wasn't like other gyms that they had seen. The battlefield was made of soil and dirt, but everything else was solid steel or titanium. The walls were a sleek, shiny shade of cobalt blue, making them almost look like solar panels. The bleachers were silver and spotless, very much resembling those one would see at sports events, like football or soccer. It didn't take long for the lady of the hour, Jasmine, to strut on her side of the battlefield like she was a model on a runway.

Behind her were some of her pokemon: her two magnemite, Albert and Alphonse, her magneton, Argentine, the ampharos from the lighthouse, Ampere, and her two togetic, Angela and Angelo. The kids wondered where her steelix, Amandine, was. But then again, she probably kept Amandine in her pokeball, probably because it was so big.

"Hello, and welcome to my gym!" Jasmine greeted them like a queen would, curtseying by bowing and pulling on her dress. "I am honored to battle with you today."

"Same here!" Julia said. She had to wonder why Jasmine had most of her pokemon out. Was she like her in that she liked spending time with her pokemon? Who knows? But as far as she knew, Jasmine specialized in steel types, and three of them were electric or fairy. Jasmine did have steel types with her, so it wasn't like she was wrong.

Steel types...it hit Julia right there. Three of her pokemon were fairy types, and weak against steel. Tokiko is double weak to steel and electric types, being half flying type. None of her pokemon knew any fire type moves except for one, and she wasn't sure how that would go. But this was no time to back down.

Jasmine turned to one of the magnemite behind her. "Albert? Do you wish to battle?"

The magnet pokemon held its magnets up like it was cheering, happy to be able to battle. "Magnemiiiite!" Albert trilled in a robotic voice, but the way its only eye closed and how it zipped onto the battlefield told Julia that it was quite happy.

"Magnemite…" Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to examine Albert, who kept bouncing in the air like a little kid whose parents gave it candy.

" _Magnemite, the magnet pokemon,"_ How fitting. _"Magnemite can float in the air by emitting electromagnetic waves from the units on its sides, defying gravity. The faster the units on their sides rotate, the greater the magnetic force they generate becomes. Because of this, they are equally attracted to similar EM waves emitted from things like PokeGears or generators. They become incapable of flight if their internal electrical supply is depleted. They can generate enough magnetism to draw in iron objects from 300 feet away, and they attach themselves to power lines to feed on electricity. If a house has a power outage, it's usually caused by magnemite attaching themselves to breaker boxes."_

Right then and there, a realization hit: steel types are weak to fighting type moves, too. Two of her pokemon knew such a move. It took no time for Julia to choose a pokemon. "Rina, come on out!" She threw Rina's pokeball, allowing the blue poison pin pokemon to materialize.

"Nido!" ( _"I'm ready!"_ ) Rina took on a battle stance.

Jasmine made the first move. "Now, Albert! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Magnemiiiiite!" The magents on Albert's body rotated as a jolt of electricity discharged all over the place. Rina was quick to dodge them all, since she was small and agile. One of the sparks almost electrocuted her, though she barely managed to evade it in time.

"Use Leer, Rina!" Julia commanded. Rina stopped in front of the magnet pokemon and gave it a dark scowl, unnerving it somewhat. "Now use Double Kick!" The poison pin kicked her legs up and rammed them into Albert, sending him flying across the battlefield. But he didn't fall on the ground, as Albert rotated his magnets, allowing electromagnetic waves to keep him from making contact with the ground.

"Don't give in, Albert!" Jasmine encouraged. "Use Supersonic!"

"Cover your ears, Rina!"

Rina pulled her long ears down right as Albert screeched a piercing sound wave. Albert generated round circles of yellow energy that hit Rina with the blast of a screech attack. Although she kept her ears down, she could feel the intense pressure the supersonic was piling on her body. She couldn't afford to be confused.

"Use Bite on the magnets!" Julia shouted. Rina got the message and leaped on top of Albert before digging one of her teeth into his magnets. It wasn't enough to dredge right through, as Albert's magnets were hard as steel. Just making contact with them made Rina's teeth ache. But this was a battle, and there was no room for complaining.

"Thunderbolt again!" Jasmine found an opening and took it. Albert discharged a barrage of electricity all around. Since Rina was on top of him, she couldn't escape in time and found electricity surging all throughout her little body. But she clung to Albert like she was hanging from the precipice of a cliff.

"Hang on, Rina!" Julia exclaimed. "Use Double Kick, and make it a good one!" Rina nodded and slammed one of her feet on Albert, finally stopping the thunderbolt attack. Once he was down, Rina didn't give him time to get up, as she spun around in a rolling kick before her foot made contact with Albert's face, sending him rolling across the battlefield.

Oddly enough, Jasmine was calm. She didn't show any signs of fear, anxiety, or confusion. Julia could see her small, thin hands balling into fists. "Albert, I believe in you. Use Tackle!" She told him in a soft voice. Albert floated in the air and charged right at Rina.

"Double Kick again!" Once Albert got close, Rina slammed her two back feet on his face. This time, Albert hung on, and didn't budge one bit.

"Mirror Shot!" A silvery flash of light formed at the ends of the magnets on Albert's sides. They formed two spheres of energy before forming into one.

"Rina, run!" Julia commanded.

Although Rina sprinted away, Albert already unleashed the attack. The flash of silver light chased after Rina until it finally made contact, blowing up a part of the battlefield. The blue poison pin pokemon found herself in mid-air.

"Hang on, girl! Use Double Kick on the ground!" Julia told her. Now, Rina was calm and used both feet to kick the ground. Soon, she was back in the air, this time cool and in control. "That's it!" Perrine and Caiseal were glued to the battle.

"Albert, use Tackle!"

"One more Double Kick!"

Rina and Albert collided once more. This time, Rina got the last shot and slammed the magnet pokemon across the battlefield. The force was so strong that a cloud of sand obscured Jasmine's view of her friend. Once the sand cloud faded, Albert was lying on the ground, his eye displaying an X sign. Jasmine flashed a sad smile.

"It seems my dear friend lost," She pulled out a pokeball and called him back. "You did good, my friend."

"Yay! We did it, girl!" Rina leaped into her trainer's arms as the two rejoiced in their first victory. "You really showed your stuff!"

"Nido nido!"

It wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot. Julia knew it. "Do you want to take a break?" Julia asked. Rina nodded, figuring she needed to rest a bit before the next time she had to battle. Julia called Rina back to her pokeball.

Jasmine crossed her arms. "I'm impressed. Not many trainers can get past Albert so easily," She praised kindly. Normally, Julia wasn't one to like praise, as she could never tell if it was genuine or just a facade for something sinister. However, something inside her said that Jasmine's praise was genuine. "Considering your feats from before, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's easy to see why your pokemon trust you so much."

"I don't know about that," Julia scratched her head, her cheeks turning red.

The lovely maiden closed her eyes. "Pokemon can be the best of friends," She folded her hands together. "Their friendship is absolutely wonderful. You can share anything and everything with them, and most of them won't judge you," A shiver ran through Julia's spine. Her voice had a twinge of loneliness about it. Does she...know what it's like to be lonely and to have pokemon for companions?

"Yeah, that's true," Julia agreed.

But the determined look came back. "But the first rule of battle: never let your guard down!" Jasmine edicted, turning to her group of pokemon once more. "Ampere, show them your soul of steel!" With a bright smile, Ampere waddled onto the battlefield.

"Ampaaaar!" Ampere held his arms up and cheered.

Julia grinned. _'Ampharos is an electric type and probably doesn't know steel type moves,'_ She pulled out Saoirse's pokeball. Maybe it was safe to use her gentle friend. She gripped the pokeball tighter. No time to waste. "Saoirse, this one's on you!" The pink bulldog descended onto the battlefield with a princess-like curtsey, just like Jasmine.

The maiden in the white dress let out a soft giggle. "My, how lovely. Your snubbull has very good manners," She said.

"Ampar?" Ampere tilted his head to one side in confusion.

"She may be cute and polite, but she can pack a punch, too!" Julia crossed her arms. "Saoirse, start off with Scary Face!"

Despite being a friendly, gentle pokemon, Saoirse contorted her face to make herself look like a monster out of a horror movie. It worked, as Ampere suddenly froze in fear before covering his face with his stubby arms.

"Don't be frightened, Ampere!" Jasmine told him reassuringly. "Use Power Gem!"

"Paaaaaro!" Ampere overcame his fear quickly and raised his arms up toward the ceiling. A parade of white lights circled around Ampere, shaped like diamonds. As soon as the ring stopped mid-air, Ampere threw his arms out, and the glowing stones flew right toward Saoirse.

"Jump on them all and use Headbutt!" Julia commanded. Saoirse leaped on the rocks like they were a path toward the exit. Once she got close to Ampere, she rammed her head right on the sheep's forehead, causing him to back off two steps. Rather unsteadily, at that.

"Thunderbolt!" Like Albert before him, Ampere unleashed a barrage of lightning strikes all around the battlefield, intent on electrocuting Saoirse into submission. But the pink bulldog wasn't going to let lightning bring her down. Without Julia telling her to, Saoirse did backflips, ran, and jumped away from the lightning bolts whenever possible.

"Build your speed, Saoirse! Keep running!" Julia exclaimed. "Use Ice Fang!" Once Saoirse was fast enough, she leaped onto Ampere's head and dropped her fangs onto his ears. Her teeth glowed in a blue light, and chunks of ice began to form around Ampere's left ear.

"Ampere, throw her off!" The sheep's ear was covered in ice, stinging with intense cold. With a cry, Ampere slapped Saoirse off of her ear. "Use Confuse Ray!"

"Use Lick!" Before Ampere could use its attack, Saoirse leaped onto the sheep again. This time, she stuck her tongue out and dragged it across the sheep's neck. Covered in saliva, Ampere looked at the pink bulldog with its face contorted with disgust. There was no other way to describe it. The slimy tongue made it unable to use Confuse Ray.

' _Yes! Saoirse's got the upper hand!'_ Julia balled her fists, her confidence building. _'We can win this if we keep this up!'_

However, once again, she noticed that Jasmine was calm. Eerily calm. She looked as though she was watching the battle while contemplating something. Just what was she thinking? Soon, the lovely maiden clad in white flashed a smile.

"I admire your battling skills, but you should never underestimate your opponent," Jasmine said, her soft voice brimming with confidence. "Iron Tail!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone, even Caiseal and Perrine, shouted in unison. Ampere's tail glowed in a silvery sheen, shining like pristine steel. Saoirse leaped off of Ampere and tried to run, but the sheep caught up and slammed his tail right into her, sending her rolling across the battlefield. "Saoirse, no!"

Despite the damage, Saoirse managed to get back on her feet, albeit unsteadily. Julia couldn't believe it. How could an ampharos know Iron Tail? As far as she knew, ampharos couldn't learn it naturally. Unless...they had special training. Jasmine was a steel type specialist. Did she maybe train her pokemon to learn steel type moves?

"I can see why you used your snubbull against Ampere," Jasmine folded her hands once again. "It's smart to think of ways to avoid type disadvantages. However…" She waved her index finger in front of her face with a wink. "Some pokemon can learn very unlikely moves if you train them enough, as you just saw. Always learn to expect the unexpected."

As much as Julia hated to admit it, Jasmine was right. She even knew this, too. Hikaru knew Disarming Voice, a fairy type move that pichu and pikachu normally don't learn unless their parents knew it from another source. Tokiko knew Extrasensory and Dazzling Gleam, even as a freshly hatched togepi. Lucretia knew Shadow Ball. How could she not have expected this? She shook her head. This was no time for self-pity.

"Snubbull snubbull!" ("I can still fight!") Saoirse cried, her raspy voice brimming with determination. The look in her scary-looking eyes was imminent. She wasn't going to go down like this, no matter what.

She had to believe in Saoirse. There had to be a way around this. Already, another plan was hatching in her head. "Alright, Saoirse! Use Ice Fang on the battlefield!"

"Huuuuuh?" Everyone exchanged confused glances. Ice Fang on the battlefield?

Even Saoirse looked confused. But she figured Julia had some kind of plan, so she had to trust her. Saoirse bit down on a small rock that was nearby. The ice from her glowing fangs covered the rock, which gradually extended to cover Julia's half of the field. Ampere's side was untouched.

"I do wonder what you plan to do," Jasmine pushed some hair out of her face. "Ampere, use Iron Tail."

Ampere's tail glowed once more, and he tried to move toward Saoirse's side of the battlefield...only to realize his feet wouldn't move. He looked down, realizing the ice from Saoirse's Ice Fang didn't just cover her half of the field...it completely froze his legs! Jasmine finally noticed as well, and gasped.

"Saoirse, use Fire Fang!" Julia commanded. Saoirse skated across the ice like she was a professional ice skater, her fangs burning with red hot flames. Ampere slammed his hands on the ice, but nothing he did could free him. Soon, Saoirse's burning fangs made contact with his neck. Some of the flames fell onto the ice freezing Ampere's feet, melting. "Now use Headbutt!"

Without hesitation, Saoirse rammed her head against Ampere. The blow was so strong, the ice from the battlefield broke off of his legs and he was rolling on the dirt. The yellow sheep tried to get back up, but his legs were stiff from being stuck in the ice. It didn't help that he had no energy left to continue. With a groan, Ampere collapsed, unable to move, right as Saoirse used Fire Fang to clear out the rest of her side of the field.

Realizing that Ampere lost, Jasmine called him back. "You did great, my friend."

"Woohoo!" Julia cheered, rejoicing in another victory. The pink bulldog leaped into her arms. "You were awesome, girl!"

"Snub snubbull!" Saoirse flashed a big smile, and Julia nuzzled her friend's pink fur.

"You are a great trainer," Jasmine told her, right as she put Saoirse back in her pokeball. "I can almost see the bond you and your friends have," The memory of seeing Hikaru evolve after freeing Raikou was strong in her mind. "It's no wonder your pokemon trust you so strongly."

Julia's heart slowed. The gym leader's voice was so soft and tender, like she truly meant what she said. Her whole body just exuded a warmth that neither girl could explain. Jasmine's eyelashes fluttered open and closed for a brief moment, as though she was ruminating.

"Tell me...what have you seen on your journey with your friends and pokemon?" She asked, her voice as lofty as a cloud, warm and gentle, but that softness hid steel. "What have you felt, meeting so many trainers out there?" Soon, Jasmine's determined expression returned. "I want you to come at me with everything you've learned. That is the true purpose of a Pokemon battle!"

What had she seen on her journey? What had she felt? There was so much to say, but not enough time to explain it, and how could she put it into words? Before she could answer, Jasmine turned to her white winged friends. "Angela. Angelo. Show her the strength of your bond."

"Chokikko!" The two togetic floated over to the battlefield, all smiles, ready for battle.

"This will be a double battle now," Jasmine said. "They always battle together."

Togetic. Flying and fairy types. Hikaru and Rino would be good choices. Julia looked down at her yellow friend. "Hikaru? Ready to knock her socks off?"

"Pikapi!" Hikaru scurried onto the battlefield. Without a word, Julia released Rino from his pokeball, allowing him to materialize.

"Nidoooo!" The spikes on Rino's back stood upward as he waved his horn.

"Angela. Angelo. Use Extrasensory," Jasmine told them in a calm voice.

"Chokiiiii!" Both of their eyes glowed in a purple light. Rino and Hikaru were unable to dodge, as they found themselves levitating off of the ground.

"Hikaru, Thunderbolt! Rino, Poison Sting!" Julia shouted. As the togetic duo threw them across the field, Hikaru called forth a lightning strike that struck Angela. Rino fired a barrage of purple needles that hit Angelo point blank. It was enough to stop the attack from holding them up in the air. The two pokemon managed to land right on their feet as the togetic duo floated back in the air despite the damage they took.

"Use Steel Wing. Don't hold back!"

Their tiny wings glowed in a fierce, silvery shine, like steel, as they charged right at Hikaru and Rino. "Hikaru, Volt Tackle! Rino, use Horn Attack!" The rodents ran as fast as their tiny bodies could muster. Electricity surrounded Hikaru, forming what appeared to be an electric force field around her body as she ran toward the duo of tiny, angel-like beings. Rino's horn just glowed in a white light, but he hoped it would do some good.

Finally, the two pokemon collided. An explosion of thunder covered the battlefield. Perrine, Caiseal, and Jasmine held their hands up to prevent dust from getting into their eyes. When the dust cloud faded, both pairs of pokemon were on the ground. Angela and Angelo's tiny bodies were covered in brown marks, a combination of both dirt and charred skin. Hikaru had some scratches on her head. Rino didn't have a scratch on him.

Angelo was the first to get to his feet, followed by Hikaru, Rino, and Angela. However, as soon as he hovered back in the air, his body suddenly felt an intense pang of burning pain. Like blazing flames were running through his veins.

For the first time, Jasmine's jaw dropped. "Angelo!"

At first, Julia found herself confused. Then she looked closer. A purple, circle shaped mark was on Angelo's chest. It hit her right then. "Poison Point!" Rino's ability. Once they made contact, Angelo had become poisoned. This was their chance.

"Angela and Angelo! Don't give up!" Jasmine threw her hand out. "Use Dazzling Gleam!"

"Chokiiiiiii!" The two togetic joined hands as their bodies radiated a flash of blinding white light. Hikaru and Rino covered their eyes.

"Rino! Use Poison Sting on both of them!" Julia commanded. On cue, Rino fired a frenzy of stinging purple needles at them. Although they did massive damage, it wasn't enough to knock them out completely.

"Now use Ancient Power!"

"Disarming Voice, Hikaru! Blow them away!"

Glowing purple rocks were hurled their way. "Pi-KAAAAAA!" Hikaru's shrill cry generated a wave of pink circles and hearts, blowing the rocks in the togetic duo's direction. Some of them hit Angelo, as his poisoned body rendered him too weak to dodge them. Angela fared better as she dodged them whenever they came her way.

"Extrasensory on Rino!"

The duo's eyes glowed once again. This time, Rino was unable to move or struggle. The burning pain in his body was unfathomable. Soon, he was hurled across the battlefield, landing right in front of Julia. "Rino!" The dark marks on his body told the trainer all she needed to know. Even so, Rino managed to hoist himself back on his feet. "Can you still battle?"

Rino nodded affirmatively, his dark eyes sporting a determined sheen. "Nyu nyu!"

Angela and Angelo floated in the air, their wings unmoving. Jasmine found her heart pounding. Never before had a battle with a young trainer made her feel so excited, so pumped, so...amazed. The girl's ingenuity, sincerity, and the bond with her pokemon was almost too overwhelming to look at. But her pokemon continued on. That told Jasmine all she needed to know about how much they trusted her.

"Angela! Angelo! Steel Wing!"

"Volt Tackle and Horn Attack again!"

Once more, the pairs charged at each other to deal the final blow. As soon as they made contact, yet another explosion covered the area, generating a gale that almost blew everyone off their seats. Or, in the case of Julia and Jasmine, sending them falling to their rears. When the dust cloud faded, both pairs of pokemon were on the ground, battered and beaten, unable to continue.

A draw.

Both trainers put their pokemon back into their pokeballs. Argentine, Jasmine's magneton, suddenly approached Jasmine, rolling the magnets on its sides and shaking its body.

"Oh. You and Alphonse don't wish to battle?" Jasmine stroke the screws on Argentine's head gently. "I see. That's okay."

Julia exhaled a sigh of relief. That's two less pokemon to deal with, and most of her friends were tired from the earlier battles. But that left one pokemon: steelix. The giant snake covered in steel. Argentine and Alphonse left the area. But not before Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine Argentine.

" _Magneton, the magnet pokemon,"_ Once again, how fitting. _"Magneton are formed when three magnemite are linked together by a strong, magnetic force, even though a single magnemite can evolve by itself when no other magnemite are within its vicinity. The magnetic force holding them together is powerful enough to dry up all moisture, raise the temperature to 3.6 degrees fahrenheit within 3,300 feet, and can disrupt electrical devices like cell phones or television sets. They usually appear when sunspots flare up. Despite their modern appearance, recent studies have confirmed that magneton have existed for over 1,500 years."_

It's amazing what pokemon can do. Not once was Julia ever not impressed by a pokemon and its abilities. But she would be further impressed when she noticed something on the ribbon on Jasmine's torso. It looked to be a small brooch, shaped like a marble that looked almost orange, yellow, green, and blue, with a black wave shaped symbol inside it. It wasn't anything she had seen before. Wait, upon further reflection...she had. In a book somewhere. But what was it? She couldn't put a name on it.

Jasmine pulled out her pokeball. "You've humbled me with your strength. However, properly tempered steel won't be made rusty no matter what you throw at me! Amandine!" She threw her pokeball, allowing the large, steel covered snake to materialize.

Everyone looked up...and up...and up. The steelix was large, towering over everything, but the gym was big enough to accommodate its large size. The scary expression on its face, combined with its pearly white teeth showing, was enough to make everyone shiver. Julia immediately froze. How could her pokemon possibly beat that?

"Rina! Go!" Julia sent Rina out. At first, Rina wondered what was up until she looked up at the steelix towering over her. Rina froze.

"Steeeeeeel," Amandine let out a low growl.

That was when Julia noticed something else. Strapped to one of the spikes on its body was some kind of gold brace, with a large, blue and grey orb embedded inside. Said orb, which Julia couldn't help but think looked like a large marble, had a blue and periwinkle wave shaped symbol resting inside it.

"Julia? May I ask you something?"

"You already did," Julia joked.

Jasmine let out a giggle. "It seems I did. Anyway…" The white clad maiden crossed her arms. "Have you ever heard of Mega Evolution?"

Mega Evolution. Those two words had never been put together in the same sentence before. At least, not in Julia's mind. Still, it sounded familiar. Then she looked at the brooch on Jasmine's dress again. "I...I think I have. Sorta. Isn't that the new evolution where pokemon take on new forms but they go away after battle?"

"You're correct," Jasmine flashed a sweet smile. "Please allow me to show you the strength of our bond."

All of a sudden, the brooch on Jasmine's dress glowed in a magnificent, rainbow hued light. "Amandine, my dear friend!" She exclaimed, placing her hands on her brooch. "Unleash the power of our bond and take on a new form! Mega Evolve!" The light from her brooch flooded into the brace on Amandine's brace. Soon, the steelix itself was encased in the rainbow light.

Amandine's body gradually began to change shape. The light was so blinding, everyone had to cover their eyes to make sure they didn't go blind. Before long, the light dissipated, and out came a new Amandine. Long, rectangle shaped structures protruded out from the bottom of its mouth. Hexagonal glass stones floated in a circular motion around its neck. Some stones on her body increased in size, and the spikes were replaced with rainbow hued, crystalline structures, including one such crystal at the end of its tail. The smaller stones on its body turned black, with blue circles dotting them.

Everyone's jaws dropped, and their eyes couldn't avert their gaze. For a moment, Julia's heart stopped. Amandine had become a new creature. Just how was this possible? Even seeing it with their own eyes, they just couldn't believe it.

"Uhhh...what just happened?!" Julia yelped.

"It's Mega Evolution," Jasmine explained simply, her tone of voice still soft and gentle. "It only occurs during battle, and when a trainer and pokemon share a strong friendship. Of course, it was just recently discovered. But..." The determined sheen in her eyes returned the minute she opened them. "I won't hold back."

The urge to run away and forfeit the gym battle seized her. How could any of her pokemon stand up to that?! Three of them were fairy types, and for all she knew, Mega Steelix-scratch that, Mega Amandine-could wipe them out easy. True, type advantages weren't everything, but she wasn't battling any run of the mill trainer. Jasmine was a gym leader, and one who could utilize Mega Evolution, at that. Sure enough, Saoirse, Tokiko, and Rina were knocked out, all with one Iron Tail attack.

Only one option left.

"Aqua! Go!" Aqua was the only pokemon she had now. Even if she was weak, what else could she do? With that, the battle resumed.

"Amandine, use Iron Tail," Jasmine told her friend.

"Liiiiiiix!" Amandine's tail shined like a crystal.

"Aqua! Use Water Gun on the ground to dodge!" Julia commanded. Right as Amandine's tail got close, Aqua fired a blast of water at the ground, using it to fly into the air. "Now use Water Gun on Amandine!" Another blast of water soaked the steel snake to the bone. Julia knew Aqua was her only chance. Even though Amandine was a steel type, steelix were still part ground type, and was possibly still weak to water.

"Use Rock Throw!" Jasmine cried valiantly. The rock snake slammed its tail onto the ground, making rocks come flying into the air.

"Jump on them all and use Water Gun again!" The aqua mouse leaped on all the rocks, finally reaching Amandine's face, before spitting another water blast at it. Amandine squeezed its eyes shut and turned the other way.

"Use Slam!" Jasmine commanded, not once losing her cool. Once Amandine shook off the water in its face, the steelix finally rammed itself against the tiny aqua mouse. Aqua wasn't able to dodge in time and was thrown into some rocks. Upon contact, the rocks shattered. They almost seemed to fall on top of Aqua. Thankfully, the little round mouse scurried out from the wreckage before she could be crushed.

"Aqua! Are you okay?!" Julia cried.

"Marill mar!" Aqua wished she had a thumb so she could flash a thumb's up. For now, she just waved her stubby arms and said she was okay.

"Use BubbleBeam!"

"Rock Throw again!"

Aqua shot forth a strong barrage of bubbles as big as she was, all of them flying right toward Amandine. The crystalline steelix slammed its tail on the ground, making a shield of rocks that blocked the bubbles. Some of them did manage to knock some of the rocks away, making them bounce on the ground. Others she managed to hit with near perfect accuracy. Some managed to hit Amandine's rock-like body, but it wasn't enough to render it unconscious.

"Use Screech!" Everyone covered their ears instantaneously. They all knew what was coming. Amandine opened its mouth wide before letting out a piercing roar. It was so loud, it seemed as though gravity intensified, pressing everyone way down on the ground. Aqua curled up her ears to block the noise, but the roar generated a strong blast of wind that not even her tiny body could resist. Before long, she was blown away, once again smashing against a large rock. This time, she couldn't escape as rocks piled right on top of her.

"Marill!"

"AQUA!" Julia cried, her voice bordering on hysterical. There was no movement. The screech disappeared, but Aqua didn't come out. Immediately, fear seized the girl. Was Aqua grievously hurt? Or possibly dead? What if…? No. Julia shook her head. There was no way that could happen. Even Jasmine found herself trembling. Being the steel maiden she was, she kept her cool expression.

Then, it happened. A blinding white light shot out from the pile of rocks, strong enough to light up the entire arena. Suddenly, the rocks trapping Aqua were blown away. However...it didn't look like Aqua. The creature was taller, reaching Julia's waist, with long rabbit ears. But the zig-zag tail and ovaline body shape said it all. Aqua was evolving! Just like she wanted! The light dissipated, and out came a new Aqua. Her body was a slightly lighter blue tint, and the lower half of her body was white, with some white circles dotting her abdomen. Her ears had grown longer, resembling rabbit ears.

"Azumarill!" Aqua announced, waving her arms as she popped out from what was left of the rock pile.

The fear morphed into joy that Julia just couldn't contain. "Aqua! You're safe, and you evolved just like you wanted!"

Aqua's long ears twitched. Did she really? She looked down and examined herself. The markings on her abdomen were different. She could see higher up than before. Her legs and arms grew longer. It hit her right then and there, and Aqua couldn't hold back the bright smile that tickled her face. She really evolved! She really did, and all this time she had been so worried about not being able to! Even if she was in a battle, this was a cause for celebration. Aqua jumped up and down like a little kid who won a prize.

"Awesome! Right in the middle of a battle, too!" Perrine pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Azumarill, the aqua rabbit pokemon, and the evolved form of marill. Azumarill can make balloons out of air so they can save drowning pokemon or people and give them air to breathe. They usually always live in water, and can spend days without going to the surface. The wave-like pattern on their bodies allows them to camouflage themselves in order to hide from predators. Their ears are very sensitive, and because of their hypersensitivity, they can tell what's hiding around it, even in environments as loud as wild, fast moving rivers."_

Jasmine exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was scared for a moment there…" Her soft expression morphed back into determination. "But this battle's not over! Steel will hang on, even to the very last moment!"

"Ready, Aqua?"

"Azumarill!"

"Use Water Gun!"

"Iron Tail, Amandine!"

The battle raged on. Caiseal and Perrine could see flames of determination dancing in their eyes. As Amandine readied her Iron Tail, preparing to slam it right on top of the newly evolved Aqua, the blue rabbit managed to hold it off by shooting a blast of water at the tail. Once she held it off long enough, Aqua rolled away from the scene as Amandine slammed its tail on the ground. For just a moment, it seemed as though Aqua emitted an orange light.

Since Amandine was so large, it was unable to attack as quickly as it would have liked. Aqua was naturally faster, and her speed allowed her to land some hits on the giant steel snake. Jasmine's heart raced like it had never done before. For once, she was shocked at the turn of events. Not many people and pokemon could handle Amandine's mega form. How was Aqua managing to keep going, even as the odds were completely against her? Actually, she knew the answer to that.

All of a sudden, a large orange sphere formed in between Aqua's hands. With a valiant battle cry, Aqua threw the glowing orb at Amandine. It hit with perfect accuracy, knocking the steel snake straight to the ground. Everyone's hearts stopped for just a moment.

"What was that?!" Julia yelped.

Caiseal stood up. "That was Superpower!" He cried. "Hey, Julia! Aqua just learned Superpower! It's a fighting type move!"

Superpower. A fighting type move. First, Aqua evolved, and now she learned a new move. All in the same battle. Evolution never ceased to leave her awestruck. Now she had a fighting chance. At this point, Amandine was struggling to get back.

"Amandine, you can still fight!" Jasmine pleaded.

"Aqua! Let's win this!"

"Azumarill!"

"Knock it out with another Superpower!"

Aqua was glad to be able to launch another Superpower attack at the steel snake. Once again, the blow struck the steel snake to the ground. As Amandine fell, it generated a dust cloud. When it dissipated, her mega form disappeared along with it, returning the steelix back to its normal form. Finally, Aqua herself fell to her knees, her entire body battered and exhausted from the fierce battle.

Jasmine flashed a sad smile. "It seems you've won, Julia Parisa," She told her in a soft, modest voice.

"Yaaaaay!" Julia cheered and jumped in the air. As did Caiseal, Perrine, and Aqua, who all gathered around her, rejoicing in her victory.

Even now, Jasmine's heart was still pounding. She couldn't believe it. A young trainer actually managed to defeat her mega evolved steelix. But she knew the answer to why. She called Amandine back to its pokeball. "You were wonderful, my friend. Take a good rest."

"Man, you and Aqua were amazing!" Caiseal cheered.

"You totally tore her down, Julia-dactyl!" Perrine exclaimed, throwing her arms around her friend.

Jasmine ambled over to the happy trio, this time with a satisfied expression. "Our battle was wonderful. You were wonderful. No, you are a great trainer," Jasmine told her. "Now I see what made you come this far on your journey."

"Thanks. I hope...we didn't injure your friends too badly," Julia replied modestly.

"It's nothing a trip to the Pokemon Center can't handle," Jasmine told her. She rummaged through her dress pocket and pulled out a badge. It was a simple, cobalt blue badge shaped like a hexagon with a silver outline. "As the league rules decree, you are worthy of this Mineral Badge."

Without hesitation, Julia took the badge in her hand. "Thank you."

"You love your pokemon a lot, don't you?"

Julia nodded affirmatively. "I'm autistic, and when I was little, I didn't have friends my own age because I was different. I always found myself connecting better with pokemon than people, not that I didn't want human friends," She explained.

Normally, Julia barely ever disclosed that kind of information to anyone, especially if she hadn't warmed up to them. Caiseal and Perrine already knew, so they were okay. However...Jasmine just exuded a kind of warm, welcoming aura that seemed to make the girl feel safe around her. Not once did Jasmine ever make her feel uncomfortable or try to invade her personal space. She just simply acted the way she usually did, even in battle. She didn't hold back, nor did she try to avoid or pity her like Morty did. In fact, Jasmine smiled the whole time.

"I'm not autistic, but…" Jasmine began. "...I see a lot of myself in you," She put a hand on the key stone resting on her brooch. "I've always been shy, and kids my age were too busy with their own lives to notice me," It was here that Argentine hovered to Jasmine's side. "Argentine has been my friend for as long as I can remember. Amandine, too. People say steel types are cold and unfeeling, but they're really just like other pokemon."

Yes. Someone who understands. No wonder she liked Jasmine right off. She had been there. Sure, she can't understand pokemon speech like she can, but the fact that she knew the sheer comfort and love a pokemon could provide was enough to make Julia want to hug her. Instead, all she could do was shake her hand. It was soft and warm to the touch. Kind, just like she was.

"Thanks for...battling with me," Julia said shyly. But she wasn't afraid. No, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Your pokemon love you very much. I see you and your friends are on a journey?"

"Yes."

"The real world comes with many hardships. There may be times when you want to run away and cry. I've had those times myself. But no matter what happens...never forget who you are and that your friends, family, and pokemon will always love you."

Peppering the maiden's soft voice was the wisdom of a woman who had lived many years. Julia had to wonder what Jasmine went through to say something so...genuine.

"Hey! We still want to battle you, too!" Caiseal exclaimed, hoping Jasmine didn't forget.

She didn't, and chuckled. "I know. If you want, I'll battle you both later in the day. I have to heal my friends and talk to my mother first, though."

"That's fine!" Perrine agreed. "Ohhh! A double battle with Caiseal!" She pumped her fists. "We'd better get to training!"

With that, the kids went to the Pokemon Center. Julia to heal her pokemon, and Perrine and Caiseal to do some training before their battle with Jasmine. As she waited, a lot weighed on the girl's mind, the biggest thing being Mega Evolution. Exactly what was it? How was it possible? How could she do it? How did Julia even manage to defeat a mega evolved pokemon? Jasmine said that it was only recently discovered and that it comes from the bond someone has with their pokemon. But what were those stones? She wondered...could she maybe utilize Mega Evolution in the future? Could any of her pokemon mega evolve? Was her bond with them strong enough? She loved all of her pokemon dearly, but...was it enough?

Julia wished she knew the answers.

Before long, both her and Jasmine's pokemon were healed. However, Tokiko suddenly popped out of her pokeball. "Wha?! Tokiko?!" Tokiko didn't even react when Julia yelped. She just tapped two pokeballs, forcing Angela and Angelo to come right out. As soon as the three togetic made eye contact, time seemed to stop all around them.

"Uhh…" Even Jasmine found herself flummoxed. "Has she done this before?"

"No," Julia replied, looking just as confused. "This is new. Tokiko, what's up? This isn't like you?"

None of the togetic said a word to each other. Tokiko turned around to face Julia, sporting a stern expression. "Choki…" ( _"I think…"_ ) She paused before finishing. "Chokikko!" ( _"...I think they're my parents!"_ )

Both girls' jaws dropped. Even more so when Angela piped in, "Chokikko! Choki!" ( _"It's true! I can feel it! You are our child!"_ )

* * *

 **OH MY GOD WILDSTAR93 WANTS TO MAKE A SHOUT-OUT TO THIS IN HIS FAN FIC AAAAAAAHHHHHH! I seriously don't deserve such kindness but he is such a sweet person and I give him full permission to do so! He just made my day! Seriously guys, check out his work. He's a great writer!**

 **Fangirling aside, I had a job interview recently at a Dunkin Donuts, and it went really well despite it being my first interview! I don't know if I'll get the job or not, but I'll wait and see. I'm gonna have to start searching and making money, after all. But expect more chapters to come out soon!...if I'm not working on my Steven Universe fic or planning an Akatsuki no Yona fic I plan to write. And Red/Blue/Yellow are coming out on the Virtual Console in 11 days! Awesome! I'm gonna get them all, even though I already own them, that way we won't have to worry about internal batteries dying out!**

 **Also, I'm sure a bunch of you guys are wondering, "When is Amara gonna get arrested?" She will in due time, but I still have some things I want to do with her before she's brought to justice. I have a plan for this story and I intend to see it through no matter what. Expect her to be turned in before they get to Victory Road at the latest. Hopefully that satiates your curiosity for now.**

 **And yeah, I made her steelix Mega Evolve. Why not? If Elite Four members can do it (according to ORAS, anyway), why can't Gym Leaders do it?**

 **Random Fact: Out of all the Johto gym leaders, Jasmine is my favorite, along with Falkner. I hope she doesn't come off as a creator's pet.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Aqua (Azumarill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Superpower, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Bayleef, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Acrobat**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Feraligatr (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Hydro Pump, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Superpower**

 **Weepinbell (Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Slam, and Sleep Powder**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Poison Jab, Fury Attack, Fell Stinger, and Pin Missile**

 **Granbull (Female, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Run Away**

 **Attacks: Fire Fang, Play Rough, Lick, and Thunderbolt**

 **Fearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Drill Peck, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Leer**

 **Haunter (Male, Impish Nature)**

 **Ability: Levitate**

 **Attacks: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, and Poison Jab**

 **Umbreon (Male, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Synchronize**

 **Attacks: Iron Tail, Confuse Ray, Shadow Ball, and Bite**


	33. Ending a Double Battle with a Clang!

Chapter 27: Ending a Double Battle with a Clang!

"Uhh...what?" That was all that Julia was able to blurt out, the moment the three togetics' eyes met. Tokiko was their child? How did they even come to that conclusion? How could they know right off? This was all so confusing. Even Jasmine was flummoxed. "Shouldn't they get a DNA test or something to actually confirm it?"

"Well…" Jasmine put a hand on her chin, ruminating. "I hear that pokemon have a stronger sense of kinship than humans do," She replied hesitantly. Julia could tell from the unsure tone of her voice that not even she really understood. "I do hear that pokemon have the ability to figure out which pokemon are their children. But I don't know how true that is."

That wasn't the only odd thing the two girls noticed. Angela and Angelo were chirping like happy fletchlings, their tiny wings flapping up and down, all smiles. Tokiko, on the other hand, stared at them with a strange look on her face. Julia wasn't sure what it was. Was it confusion? Was she disturbed? Unsure? Curious? Tokiko's eyebrows furrowed, looking as though she was sizing them up in an accusatory manner, like they did something they shouldn't have.

"Tokiko…?" Julia crept closer. "How do you know they're your parents?"

"Chokikko…" ( _"I can feel it."_ ) Tokiko mused. Julia's eyes widened slightly. Her normally happy friend's voice adopted a strangely bitter, resentful tone to it. Very unlike her. Tokiko was never bitter or resentful. She was always happy or smiling, even during battle. Always looking on the positive side of things. Angela and Angelo were all smiles, flapping their wings and waving their arms back and forth.

At one point, Angela turned to Jasmine. "Chokikko choki choki?" Angela squeaked, but Jasmine tilted her head to one side.

"She's asking if she and Angelo can stay out of your double battle with Perrine and Caiseal," Julia translated.

"Sure. I don't...mind…" Jasmine replied, finding herself flummoxed before turning to Julia. "Wait...is that what they really said?"

It took a brief moment for the implications to set in. Julia let out a choked irk sound upon realizing what she just did. _'Oh no! I translated what her pokemon said and she doesn't know I can understand them!'_ She screamed in her head. Anxiety seized her from the inside. She was sure there was no way Jasmine would believe that she can understand pokemon speech. But at this point, there was no denying or hiding it. Reluctantly, she told Jasmine the truth. She expected to hear Jasmine say one of the following:

"What? You must be pulling my leg! There's no way someone can talk to pokemon!"

"I don't believe you. Are you telling lies?"

"You're deluding yourself, thinking you can talk to pokemon."

Oddly enough, she was met with a curious stare from the white clad maiden. She didn't have that look or stance that said she didn't believe what she said. Her stomach didn't turn itself into a knot, like it usually did when she told others about it. Instead, Jasmine flashed her signature soft smile, raised her index finger like a teacher, and asked, plain as day, "Do you have any psychic type pokemon?"

"Whaaaaa?" Julia raised an eyebrow. Where in the world did that question come from? That was a first. Not once in her whole entire life did anyone say something like that when she told them she could talk to pokemon. It almost blew her mind. "No…" She answered. "What does that have to do with understanding pokemon speech?" She asked, looking at Jasmine like she had steelix coming out of her ears.

"You'd be surprised," Jasmine began. "There have been a lot of confirmed cases of people understanding pokemon speech through exposure to the energy that psychic type pokemon produce," Immediately, Julia leaned closer, her green eyes glowing with a desire to learn more.

"Is that true?"

"I know a gym leader in Kanto named Sabrina who can understand pokemon through her psychic powers," Jasmine elaborated, beaming. "I hear that if people interact with psychic type pokemon throughout the majority of their life, they can develop psychic powers such as telepathy or telekinesis, or the ability to read pokemon's thoughts!"

"That can happen?!" Julia found herself aghast. Her hands flew to her cheeks. She had no idea such a concept was possible. A light bulb flashed in her head. Her parents owned some psychic pokemon. She definitely remembered playing with one yellow pokemon who always held a pendulum in its hand, but it wasn't very often, and she didn't have a close bond with it like she did with other pokemon. There was another one she played with often, a green fairy-like pokemon, but that was the only other one she could think of.

What if...what if that was how she could talk to pokemon? Could that be the answer she always yearned for all this time? Where had Jasmine been all her life?

Unable to hold back her bubbling joy, smiling so big her mouth seemed to take up her whole face, Julia leaped onto the white clad maiden, throwing her arms around her. She threw herself at the woman with such force that she almost fell over, had she not managed to hold herself up in the nick of time.

"Miss Jasmine Pitt, I love you!" Julia announced for all the Pokemon Center to hear. She didn't care that some people turned their heads to stare at her with raised eyebrows, narrowed eyes, or even dirty looks and the occasional gossip. She was just too happy to have potentially found the answer to the question that had always plagued her for most of her young life. "You're officially my favorite gym leader!" She shouted in a loud, cheerful voice.

Unlike most people, Jasmine didn't mind the younger girl's abundance of joy. All she did was giggle, happy that someone admired her. Seeing that Jasmine didn't mind, the rest of the people in the center went about their way.

Unbeknownst to the two girls, however, the three togetics all sat down on some soft chairs in the lobby, talking amongst themselves. The tension around them was thick. None of them had smiles on their faces despite togetic being classified as the happiness pokemon. Tokiko's stomach felt as though it was tied into knots, and she folded her lips tightly. All Angela and Angelo did was stare down at the soft fabric they were sitting on.

Finally, Tokiko was the first to speak. She looked her parents' straight in the eye and asked, in a low, bitter voice, "...Why did you not keep me?"

Silence. Angela and Angelo didn't answer. It made the togetic's body run cold. Tokiko balled her little arms into fists and clenched her teeth. She had known that she had come from someplace else, but never bothered to really think about it. Julia and the others had raised her from scratch, and Tokiko had accepted all of that from the beginning. She figured she had no need to know who her birth parents were, as long as Julia and the others loved her.

But now...all of the questions came rushing into her mind, overwhelming her, drowning her in unease and...bitterness. Why didn't they keep her? Did they not love her? Did someone take her from them? If they did love her, why hadn't they searched for her? Did they ever think about her, even for a second? Tokiko wanted answers, and she needed them now.

"Did...did you love me at all?!" Tokiko blurted out without meaning to. She didn't want to sound angry, but her voice just came off that way.

Again, Angela and Angelo didn't answer. A brief silence fell upon them until Angela spoke. "We're sorry," She confessed, her voice trembling. "We had children before you. Lots of them. Sometimes, when Jasmine was away and couldn't take us with her, she would send us to the Goldenrod City pokemon day care."

Angelo finally found his voice. "We laid many eggs. But the humans would always take them away from us, no matter how much we begged," Angelo explained, his voice also trembling. "We wanted to keep them, you included. We wanted to have a family. But…" He paused for a moment, and a sob escaped his mouth. "There's a human law that decrees that in order to prevent overpopulation in care facilities, eggs are usually given away to trainers, researchers, or other caregivers."

Tokiko's bitterness dissipated. So that's what happened. They might have had to give her up against their will. Angela continued on from there. "We lost so many children...so many children…" Her voice caught in her throat for a moment. "...that eventually...we just stopped getting attached to the eggs we bore," She looked down, covering her eyes with her hands. "We just let them take our eggs away. This time...we didn't beg or cry or protest. Hardening ourselves...we thought it'd make it easier to deal with it."

The more Tokiko heard, the more her stomach tightened the knot it made for itself. She could tell from the way they hung their heads down and their dejected faces that they certainly didn't enjoy letting people take their eggs away, even if it was to prevent potential crises. Angelo in particular was biting the tips of his hands, like he was nervous about something.

"There were other concerns they had, too," He pulled his hands out of his mouth. "We never met our parents," He confessed. "The caregivers were concerned that since we were cared for by humans and other pokemon, not our kinfolk, we wouldn't know how to care for our eggs and children properly. They thought we'd become bad parents or neglect or abuse whatever children we had."

"So...you never wanted to give me up?" That was all Tokiko could ask. No other words she had came out, even though there was so much she wanted to tell them.

Angela shook her head. "We wanted to see you hatch so badly. You and all the children we had before you. We wanted to raise you, feed you, sing to you, teach you how to fly…" A single tear streamed out from one of her eyes. "But we gave up on ever being able to fulfill those dreams. We didn't think we'd ever see one of our children ever again."

Tokiko could imagine why. They had lost all hope. Gradually, the pieces all came together.

"Then we saw you, and…oh, you have no idea how happy we are!" Unable to hold it back anymore, Angelo threw himself on his daughter, trapping her in a hug. Tokiko's nose could touch her father's chest. The faint scent of dust from the battlefield wafted into her nostrils. "You look so well...and you've evolved…"

Soon, all three togetics couldn't hold back tears. They didn't cry out loud, as they wanted to be considerate of the other trainers and pokemon around them. All Tokiko could do was stroke her father's side with one hand. Her entire being was enveloped by a strange warmth. She could feel their love brimming forth from their bodies. Her previous anger left, her heart opening the gate to shame. She couldn't believe she had been angry with them over something that wasn't their fault. Guilt weighed down on her.

"We love you, even though we just met," Angela said, stroking her fully grown daughter with one hand. Finally, Angelo released his daughter from his embrace. "But we can see that the girl Julia has treated you very well. You're happy with her. We can feel it."

It was true. Julia was all Tokiko had known, and was the first person she saw upon hatching. Of course Tokiko would view Julia as her mother. Togepi are known for imprinting on the first thing they see upon birth.

"As much as we'd love to have you stay with us," Angelo continued on. "It'd be wrong to take you from your trainer, the person you know so much better than us."

Her heart went out to her parents. Their feelings were genuine. She could feel it in her soul. Tokiko had an inkling as to why Angela and Angelo wanted to stay out of the double battle. "...I wouldn't mind…" She decided. "...spending the day with you and getting to know you. I'm sure Julia won't mind. If…" Tokiko averted their gaze. "If that's okay with you, of course."

It took only a second for the two to smile so big, their cheeks began to hurt. "We would like that," Angela approved. A smile burst forth on Tokiko's face.

Julia and Jasmine watched in silent awe. The sight of a happy, reunited family warmed their hearts. "...I think we should leave them be," Jasmine suggested in a soft voice. "They probably want to get to know each other."

"Nothing wrong with that," Julia agreed with an affirmative nod.

It was here that Hikaru crawled up on Julia's shoulder, watching the togetic trio palaver on and on about the time they missed and the adventures they had. Hikaru smiled at them from afar, happy that Tokiko reunited with her parents. But...something else bubbled up in the shiny pikachu's heart. Something Hikaru didn't want to feel, but it kept nagging at her like an annoying caterpie trying to eat leftover food they wanted to save.

Jealousy.

All sorts of thoughts began to swirl in Hikaru's mind, none of them happy. Why does Tokiko have parents that love her and I don't? Her family didn't abandon her. They loved her despite not knowing her and being separated. Why couldn't my parents love me? Why can't they be like them? What did Tokiko do to receive her parents' love? What was so special about her? Realizing these awful thoughts were plaguing her mind, Hikaru shook her head to force them out. No. She shouldn't be jealous of Tokiko, she told herself. Tokiko was her friend. She shouldn't resent her over something like this. Besides, she vowed to never think of her real parents ever again.

The guilt that accompanied the jealousy was instantaneous. Hikaru immediately regretted even thinking such thoughts about her friend. _'What am I doing? I can't envy Tokiko over this,'_ She told herself.

Once everyone was healed at the Pokemon Center, the three kids and their pokemon went to the back of the center to train. Well, Julia just sat and watched. Tokiko and her parents accompanied them, wanting to spend some alone time together, which nobody seemed to mind. Now, Perrine and Caiseal were engaged in a mock battle. Mallow and Flippy versus Florian and Luminita.

"Mallow, use Bonemerang, and Flippy, use Water Gun!"

"Florian and Nita, use Vine Whip and Bubble Beam!"

"Baaaayeeeef!" A slender vine shot out from one of Florian's leaves, knocking away Mallow's bone, sending it rolling across the field. Flippy's geyser of water collided with Luminita's barrage of bubbles, evenly matched.

"Now, Florian! Body Slam!" Perrine swung her hand upward.

Before Caiseal could give Mallow a command, the leafy dinosaur leaped in the air with a high jump before slamming right down on the brown pokemon. Florian proved to be quite heavy, and despite Mallow swinging his arms and legs around, he couldn't wriggle himself out.

"It's okay, Mallow! You can do it!" Caiseal encouraged. Finally, Mallow managed to pry himself out from underneath the leafy dinosaur's body.

"Nita, use Water Gun!" Perrine exclaimed.

"Chooooou!" The angler pokemon wasted no time shooting a geyser of water at the lonely pokemon, soaking him to the bone. But Mallow hung on and spun his bone around, pulling it out against the water. Rotating it like a propeller, the water spread out all over the place. Flippy just stood there, soaking up the sun and what remaining water Mallow was managing to repel.

"Nice one, Mallow!" Caiseal praised, flashing a thumb's up.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now," Perrine said. "Good job, guys."

"Yeah, really," Caiseal added. "You were great out there."

"Bay!" Florian flashed a smile.

"Cubone!" Mallow waved his bone around like he wanted more.

"Chinchou!" Luminita jumped up and down, waving her little fins around.

"Quaaaaaaag…" As usual, Flippy didn't have a care in the world.

All of a sudden, both Mallow and Florian found themselves enveloped by bright white lights. They glowed with such intensity that everyone had to cover their eyes. It didn't take long for both pokemon to grow in size and gradually change shape. Soon, Mallow reached up to Caiseal's waist, and Florian grew taller than both Julia and Perrine combined. Finally, the light dissipated, and out came brand new pokemon.

Florian's yellow skin had changed to a bright, soothing spring green, and the leaf on his head was replaced with two long, yellow antennae. His neck stretched long and far, about as long as Perrine herself, and his golden eyes were brimming with joy. The leaves that circled his neck had blossomed into a large flower with pink, white, and yellow foliage that spread outward, as if to absorb every ray of sunlight it could.

On the other hand, Mallow didn't change much. The cracks in his skull have disappeared, the spikes protruding from it looked sharper and more polished, and his eyes were a sharp brown color, just like his hide. His yellow belly was still there, only it had black lines going across it, and a small brown spike shot up from just past his tail. The bone in his hands was longer, and complete, resembling a real bone this time.

"Megaaan!"

"Marowak!"

"Holy cheese!" Perrine's heart soared. She leaped on her evolved friend, throwing her arms around the flower circling his neck. "You evolved, Florian! You did it!"

"Man, look at you, Mallow!" Caiseal kneeled down to Mallow's level and examined him closely, pride welling up in his heart. "You're a marowak now, just like you dreamed!"

"Mega!"

"Marowak!"

Julia couldn't help but join in on their joy, happy that two of their friends evolved. But she pulled out her PokeDex to examine them. She had seen meganium before, since her mother has one, but was sure her PokeDex would pick up Florian's presence even if she just wanted to look at Mallow's data.

" _Marowak, the bone keeper pokemon. It originally began as a small and weak pokemon, but became adept at using its signature bone club, it's key weapon. It throws its bone like it's a boomerang in order to knock out targets, and because of this, it became more vicious over the ages. No one knows where marowak collect the bones they use. Recent studies have shown that cubone evolve into marowak when they finally manage to get past their grief over their mother's death. Rumors say that there are graveyards just for marowak, and they supposedly get their bones from there, but there is no solid evidence to confirm it. They use their bones to pound on boulders, tapping out messages to others, similar to Morse Code."_

" _Meganium, the herb pokemon,"_ Julia thought that Florian looked more like a flowery dinosaur than a herb. _"_ _Meganium's breath has the power to revive dead grass and plants, and the fragrance emanating from its flower petals could soothe any angry, hostile emotions. Anyone who stands beside it becomes refreshed, just as if they were relaxing in a sunny forest. In times past, the aroma that meganium gives off has been used for many medicines that have been used to treat fatigue, depression, and nervous meltdowns. As a result, they are often used in psychiatric facilities to calm hostile patients. They are popular among gardeners, and many civilizations have used meganium's powers to build towns and cities out of what were once barren deserts."_

"Oh yeah!" Perrine nuzzled Florian's head as he lowered it to her level. "We are SO gonna knock Jasmine dead in our battle later!"

"Mega meganyuuuu!" Florian warbled cheerfully.

Caiseal balled his fist. "You ready to rock, Mallow?"

Mallow imitated his trainer, just like he always did. "Marowak!"

Before long, the kids found themselves taking a break, rejoicing in Mallow and Florian's evolutions. Perrine even found herself riding on Florian's back like she was a jockey, and the herb pokemon was too glad to run around and let his trainer experience the thrill of riding on a big friend. The ocean wind pushed Perrine's wavy orange hair behind her, caressing her skin. Florian couldn't stop smiling as he carried Perrine around. His trainer proved to be quite lightweight, since she was smaller than he was now, and the pressure she put on his body didn't faze him one bit.

"Hey! Can I ride on him, too?" Julia asked, curiosity taking over. "I wanna ride him!"

"Pikachuuu!" Hikaru jumped up once, wanting to ride the green flower dinosaur also.

"Woooooo!" Perrine whooped, raising her fist to the heavens. "This is awesooooome!"

Once Perrine got off, Julia and Hikaru got their turn. Soon, everyone wanted to ride on Florian's back. Thankfully, they didn't ride on him for long, as Caiseal and Perrine's gym battle was afoot.

* * *

Finally, the moment of Caiseal and Perrine's double battle arrived. Jasmine stood on her side of the battlefield, with all of her pokemon sans Angela and Angelo sitting behind her. Angela and Angelo sat with Tokiko on the bleachers to watch them battle, along with Julia and the rest of her pokemon. With this being the case, Jasmine decided to have a four-on-four battle with them. Caiseal and Perrine stood side by side on their half of the battlefield. Jasmine held her hands out like she was expecting God to talk to her.

"Alphonse. Argentine," Jasmine called. "Come forth," The magnemite and magneton hovered onto the arena, their magnets rotating.

"Hey, Mallow! Show them what you're made of!" Caiseal threw his pokeball, allowing the newly evolved Mallow to materialize onto the arena.

"Marowak!" Mallow spun his bone around, taking on a battle stance.

"I'm counting on you, Kitsune!" Perrine released the fox pokemon from its pokeball. Once the light dissipated, Kitsune descended to the battlefield with a grace of a noble lady, her glossy yellow coat shimmering under the fluorescent lights.

"Niiiiine!"

The determined gleam in Jasmine's eyes returned as she made the first move. "Alphonse and Argentine, use Magnet Bomb!"

"Maaaaaag!" Alphonse and Argentine held their magnets upward, the electricity they generated creating many spheres of silvery white light in varying sizes. Once they were fully generated, Argentine and Alphonse pointed their magnets at Kitsune and Mallow. The spheres of light came charging right at them.

"Deflect them!" Caiseal yelled. Mallow understood and spun his bone like a baton, knocking away every magnet bomb that came his way.

"Blow them away with Flamethrower!" Perrine cried.

"Niiiine!" Kitsune shot a stream of fire that completely consumed the magnet bombs, reducing them to nothing. Some of the flames managed to scorch both Alphonse and Argentine. Their steel hide was soon covered in burns. But they still kept hovering in the air.

"Use Metal Sound!"

"Magnaaaaa!" Both Alphonse and Argentine generated an ear bleedingly high pitched screech, like nails scratching against steel. Immediately, Julia could feel her ears being ripped apart, like someone was cutting her ear drums with a knife. On instinct, her hands flew to her ears in a futile attempt to block out the sound. Not even her thin hands could muffle the awful screeching noise. Hikaru's ears twitched, as she sensed her trainer's pain. She hopped onto her trainer's shoulder and hugged Julia's head, using her body to cover Julia's hand.

"Pi-pikachu!" She told Julia reassuringly.

"Knock them out with Bonemerang!" Caiseal exclaimed.

"Maro...wak!" Mallow threw his bone like a boomerang, watching it fly right past the two magnet pokemon. Before long, the piercing metal sound finally ceased. Argentine was quick to hover toward Kitsune, but Alphonse didn't move away in time. The bonemerang struck the small magnet pokemon across the back, sending him to the ground.

"Alphonse! Can you continue battling?" Jasmine asked.

"Magnemite…" Alphonse replied in his robotic monotone voice.

"Use Flamethrower again!" Perrine commanded.

Once more, Kitsune fired another stream of flames. This time, both Argentine and Alphonse hovered away, evading the blazing fire storm. Perrine fixed her gaze onto Jasmine. Despite her innocent looking demeanor and appearance, it was foolish to underestimate her. She learned this as she watched Julia battle her, more so when her steelix, Amandine, managed to Mega Evolve.

Jasmine held her hand out, taking on a battle stance. "Argentine, use Thunderbolt on Kitsune! Alphonse, use Magnet Bomb on Mallow!"

"Magnaaaaaa!" Argentine's magnets rotated so fast, they generated a flash of electricity. The elegant yellow fox attempted to dodge, but one lightning bolt struck her, sending electricity surging all throughout her body. Kitsune fell to the ground, the burning sensation in her body paralyzing her. Her muscles tensed right up.

Mallow fared better than she. When Alphonse generated metallic spheres of light, he shot them right at the fallen Kitsune. The skull pokemon leaped in front of his paralyzed friend and whacked every single sphere right back at Alphonse, like he was a professional baseball player. They came so fast, both Argentine and Alphonse were given no time to dodge. Magnet Bombs exploded right as they made contact, leaving rust marks on their metallic surface.

"Atta boy, Mallow!" Caiseal exclaimed. He gently elbowed Perrine before whispering, "Don't worry. We can do this. Didn't Kitsune learn a new move recently?" He told her reassuringly.

A new move. Perrine hadn't thought of that. She had made the discovery earlier today, when she and the others were training. She had looked at her PokeDex, only to find that Kitsune had learned a new move. Perrine had been so excited that she told Julia and Caiseal about it like she was a happy little kid who won a prize. Perhaps this was a good time to use it. But with Kitsune being paralyzed, she knew there would be a chance that it wouldn't work.

"Niiiiine…" Despite her body going numb, Kitsune pulled herself back on her feet, even as Mallow continued to whack Magnet Bombs away from her.

"Kitsune! Do you want to keep battling?" Perrine asked, holding her hands over her mouth so her friend could hear her. "You can switch out if you want!" As much as she wanted to win, she knew her pokemon's feelings were important as well. If Kitsune didn't want to battle, especially in her current state, then it wasn't worth it to make her get seriously injured.

Oddly enough, Kitsune turned toward her trainer, giving her a solemn nod. "Ninetales!" That told Perrine all she needed to know.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Jasmine commanded.

"Toooon! Miiiiite!" Both Argentine and Alphonse generated bolts of lightning that came out from their rotating magnets.

"Send them right back, Mallow!" Caiseal bellowed. Using his bone like a baseball bat, Mallow deflected the lightning bolts. This time, both bolts of lightning struck Argentine and Alphonse. "Now use Rock Smash!"

"Marowak!" Mallow's free arm glowed in an orange light as he leaped from the ground, ascending toward the two magnet pokemon with ease. Once he got close, Mallow punched Alphonse right in the face with his glowing arm. Alphonse found himself running right into Argentine, with the two of them collapsing onto the dirt.

"My friends!" Jasmine's hands flew to her mouth.

"Kitsune! Use Flamethrower on yourself!"

"Niiiine!" Like in the battle with Chuck, Kitsune doused herself in fire, allowing the flames to dissolve into her fur, turning into much needed energy.

Now, the golden opportunity. "Now use Heat Wave!"

The yellow fox stood on all fours, her mouth and nine tails glowing in fiery red lights. Soon, a gale of blazing, fiery wind spilled forth from her body, trapping the entire arena in flaming air. The temperature in the room suddenly skyrocketed to boiling levels. Julia found herself covered in sweat. No matter how much she waved her hands in front of her face, the intense heat didn't dissipate. Alphonse and Argentine were helpless, trapped in the boiling wind. Finally, Kitsune ceased the attack. The two magnet pokemon fell to the arena, with X-shaped marks on their eyes.

"Alright!" Caiseal cheered, throwing his fist in the air, jumping up once. "We did it!"

"Good job, Kitsune!" Perrine was quick to throw her arms around her paralyzed but stubborn friend.

"Niiiine!"

With a sad smile, Jasmine recalled both magnet pokemon. "You did great, my friends," She gestured for Ampere and Amandine to march onto the battlefield before facing the kids. "I'm impressed. Your determination astounds me. But can you stand up to my friends?"

"Kitsune? Do you want to take a break?" Perrine asked gently. She could tell Kitsune was still paralyzed. The fox's legs were shaking, numb from the electricity. "I don't want you to get seriously hurt."

"Nine nine," Kitsune nodded this time, allowing Perrine to put her back in her pokeball.

"Alright, Florian!" Perrine pulled out another pokeball and threw it onto the battlefield. "We can win this!"

The newly reborn Florian hopped out from the pokeball, descending onto the battlefield with his large feet making a loud thud. The rumbling sound it made reverberated all throughout the arena, almost making Mallow and Ampere lose their balance. Amandine was unfazed, as all she did was stare down at them with her red eyes.

"Steeeeeeelix…"

"Think you can go on, Mallow?" Caiseal asked.

Mallow turned back to face his trainer, nodding affirmatively. "Marowak!"

"Let our battle begin!" Jasmine announced, clasping the Key Stone on her dress with her thin hands, closing her eyes as if she were engaging in prayer. The Key Stone glowed in a light that shined with the hue of a rainbow after a downpour. "Amandine, my dear friend! "Unleash the power of our bond and take on a new form! Mega Evolve!" The light from her brooch flooded into the stone on Amandine's brace.

Once more, Amandine's appearance changed, in tune with Mega Evolution. Perrine and Caiseal suspected that she would Mega Evolve her steelix. If she had done it with Julia, who was to say she didn't do it with other trainers she battled with as well. They knew one thing for sure: they couldn't underestimate this steelix. Who knows what kind of increases in strength Amandine might have received from having Mega Evolved.

"Florian, start off with Razor Leaf on both of them!" Perrine made the first move. Florian made sharp leaves fly out from the foliage circling his neck. Ampere curled himself into a ball, avoiding the leaves. Since Amandine was so big, she didn't have that luxury, and being half-ground type, the leaves managed to slice through her hard, rocky body.

"Ampere and Amandine! Use Iron Tail!" Jasmine cried.

"Steeeel!"

"Paaaar!"

Both of their tails glowed in silver, steely lights as they charged right at Florian and Mallow. "Hold them off!" Both Caiseal and Perrine shouted in unison. On cue, Florian coiled thin vines all around Amandine's tail, managing to hold it off just a little bit. Since Amandine's tail was so heavy, Florian's vines almost gave out under the weight, but he didn't dare let the tail hit him, even for a second. This time, Mallow didn't fare as well. He tried to defend himself with his bone, but Ampere's tail managed to knock his bone away. Ampere took the opportunity to slam Mallow with Iron Tail, sending the bone pokemon rolling on the dirt.

"Marowaaaaak!"

"Mallow, no!" Caiseal cried. Thankfully, Mallow managed to get back on his feet.

"Ampere, use Confuse Ray!"

The light pokemon's eyes glowed in an eerie red light, which then generated into a red ball of light that circled around both Florian and Mallow. The two pokemon tried to knock it away, Mallow by swinging his bone around and Florian with Razor Leaf, but it was too late. Before long, their minds were asunder. The two pokemon wobbled all around, unable to keep a balanced stance.

"Awww no!" Caiseal ran his hands through his hair. "I can't risk this!" He pulled Mallow's pokeball out. "Mallow, return!" A red light shot out from the pokeball, forcing Mallow back inside. Caiseal didn't want to risk Mallow hurting himself in the battle.

Perrine, on the other hand, was in turmoil. _'I want to switch Florian out, but none of my other pokemon can stand up to steelix or ampharos!'_ She thought. As much as she wanted to use Luminita, she was an electric and water type, and despite having an advantage over ground, Amandine's ground attacks could still defeat her. Kitsune and Fukuro were definitely a no go. She thanked her lucky stars that she sent Baloo to her parents. With Amandine being a steel type, using a fairy type was not an option.

Thankfully, Caiseal had a back-up. "Go, Flippy!" The quagsire leaped onto the arena with her signature smile, unfazed by the chaos happening before her.

"Quaaaaaaag."

A hand on her shoulder pulled Perrine out of her reverie. "It's okay. We can win this," He told her reassuringly. It didn't do much to ease her doubts, but she knew she needed to get through this battle. Perrine gave him a solemn nod.

"Sorry, Florian! You're gonna have to endure this for a while!" Perrine told her friend ruefully.

"Megaaaaaaa," Florian kept shaking his head in an attempt to shake of the confusion. But so far, nothing was working.

"Amandine, use Earth Power!"

The diamondized snake gave off a mighty roar as the earth beneath Florian and Flippy suddenly exploded, giving off a ray of light that shot through them both. Thankfully, Flippy managed to get back on her feet by shooting water at Amandine, defying gravity to set herself back on solid ground. Caiseal commanded that Flippy use Mud Bomb on both of them. Flippy generated two spheres of muddy earth, shooting them at both Amandine and Ampere. Once they made contact, the bombs exploded, trapping Ampere and Amandine in sticky mud.

"Florian! Use Petal Blizzard!"

"Megaaaaann!" Not having gotten over his confusion, the flower circling his neck glowed in a pink light as a storm of petals surged through the arena. Julia and her pokemon, Angela and Angelo included, ducked underneath the bleachers, avoiding the petal blizzard. Since the petals came so fast, Ampere and Amandine could only cover themselves, but they could feel the foliage slicing through their skin or hide. Not even Flippy was spared.

"Alright! Flippy!" Here was Caiseal's opportunity. "Use Earthquake, and make it count!"

Flippy wasted no time. She stomped on the ground with her large feet. The entire arena rumbled. Ampere fell on his stomach, unable to get up, as the rumbling evolved a pounding that shook the entire gym. Even Amandine was unable to stop herself from feeling the effects of the attack. Soon, rocks came shooting up from the ground, piling up on both Ampere and the diamondized snake. Julia and the pokemon kept hiding under the bleachers, the former with her hands on her ears, remaining as still as a statue, her eyes squeezed shut, blocking out everything.

"Vine Whip, Florian!" Perrine commanded.

Instead of slapping Amandine with his vines, Florian suddenly began slapping himself in the face. He struck himself at least six times. Finally, his mind became clear. "Now use Petal Blizzard once more!"

"Iron Tail!" Jasmine cried.

"Water Gun!" Caiseal exclaimed, intending to end this battle.

On cue, Florian called forth yet another tornado of flower petals that overwhelmed everyone and everything around him. This time, Flippy managed to leap into the air with grace as she blasted water at Amandine, trapping her in place. Not even Ampere was able to hold off the barrage of flower petals that sliced through his yellow fur.

Finally, the pounding of the earth ceased. Nobody moved. Amandine and Ampere were down on the ground, unconscious and dormant. The tension in the gym was so thick, one could easily cut it with a knife. Ampere had no energy to stand up anymore. Amandine's Mega Evolution dissipated, and she returned to her normal form.

That was all the confirmation Jasmine needed.

"It seems I've been defeated once more," Jasmine mused, recalling both of her pokemon.

Defeated. Their anxiety had suddenly morphed into a joy that bubbled right over. Before they realized it, Caiseal and Perrine were cheering, rejoicing, and hugging each other, jumping up and down. "WOOHOO! Aw yeah! We did it! We wooooon!"

"Mega mega?! Manyuuuuuu!" ( _"Can I sleep now? I'm tired!"_ ) Florian complained as he slumped on the ground, his legs weary from standing. His cheeks still throbbed from slapping himself with his vines. But he was at least happy that doing so knocked him back to his senses.

"Quaaaaaag," ( _"We'll have plenty of time to rest, Florian. Just enjoy the moment for what it is."_ ) Flippy told him without a care in the world.

Perrine and Caiseal called their pokemon back. "You guys were great," Perrine said.

With an odd joy in her heart, Jasmine ambled over to the two children. Julia found it safe to leave the bleachers. Her ears still rang, but she found it safe to uncover her ears. "You guys did it!" Julia hugged both of her friends.

"Here," Jasmine held out two Mineral Badges. "Proof of your victory."

The two kids took the badges without hesitation. "Thanks, Jasmine," Caiseal bent forward, leaning in a graceful, grateful bow.

"Hey! I was gonna do that!" Perrine complained. Soon, everyone was laughing, even Jasmine. Angela and Angelo flittered over to her, joining them in their celebration. "Anyway, next up is Mahogany Town!" Perrine raised a fist in the air.

"Awwww! Do we have to go?" Julia asked, her voice adopting a subtle whine to it. "There's so much I wanna do here, and I wanna talk to Jasmine some more!" The girl wasted no time running over to Jasmine's side, like she was a little sister wanting to imitate her elder.

Jasmine flashed a sweet smile, enjoying the younger girl's company. "I don't see why not."

* * *

Before long, Jasmine and the kids got their pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center before she decided to treat them to a meal at the Olivine Cafe. Late in the day, it was full of sailors and fishermen, with some ordering beer and getting so drunk they raised their voices. As much as Julia wanted to enjoy a nice dinner with her friends and her new favorite gym leader, the drunks were so loud, it seemed as though their voices were like explosions overwhelming her ears. She kept her ears covered the whole time.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked kindly, noticing Julia's discomfort. Julia kept eyeing the drunks with an expression that told them, _"Keep it down! We're trying to relax here!"_ But yelling at them wouldn't do any good. Messing with a drunk was never a good idea.

"They're really loud," Julia said, taking a bite out of some spaghetti she ordered. "Sorry. I'm kinda sensitive to loud noise, people yelling taking the number one spot."

"I do apologize on their behalf," Jasmine said as she bit on some grilled garlic shrimp. "They do get loud when they drink. Ahhhh, grilled garlic shrimp is my Nirvana! I am SO saving some for Amandine and Angelo!" She suddenly crooned as soon as she swallowed a piece of shrimp. Perrine and Caiseal found themselves staring at the glowing steel maiden. They were sure they saw stars and hearts fluttering around her. The woman's cheeks turned red with delight.

"Wow. I never realized...how suspiciously similar those two are," Caiseal noted. It was true. Julia and Jasmine were quite alike. Both were rather shy but fawned over their favorite things, in Jasmine's case, her favorite grilled garlic shrimp, were nice to others but firm when they needed to be, and loved their pokemon. No wonder Julia liked her.

After that, they went to the library, the last stop for the day, as Jasmine wanted to pick up a book. Coincidentally, Julia found a book she wanted to read and checked it out. With that, they said their goodbyes and watched as Jasmine went back to her gym. When they checked into the Pokemon Center as night fell, Perrine, Caiseal, and their pokemon were sure Julia was lost in some happy dreamland. She kept staring at the ceiling with the book she rented in her hands, eyes sparkling like morning dew, with a smile so big it seemed almost radiant.

"You're...quite happy," Caiseal took some steps back, admittedly a little unsettled by Julia's state of absolute bliss. Not because he hated it, but because he had never seen Julia so unabashedly joyful before. He had seen her be happy before, but he could tell she always seemed a little guarded around new people, which was no surprise, since she was shy and anxious around strangers.

' _Tch. Real nice, Caiseal,'_ He scolded himself sharply. The shame that accompanied his thoughts was instantaneous. _'You're freaked out about someone being happy and not guarded when you yourself can't trust people for the life if you.'_

"Of course I am!" Julia sprang up like a jack-in-a-box, holding the book to her chest. "I just met the most awesome, beautiful, amazing, kindest, smartest, sweetest, and understanding gym leader I ever met! For once, she didn't claim I was lying when I told her I could talk to Pokemon! Oh my goodness, where has this woman been all my life?!" She palavered on and wouldn't stop for a full ten minutes, gushing about what a great person Jasmine was.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you go ga-ga over someone," Caiseal mused. Perrine was in the shower, so the two of them were alone in the same room. No, they're not going to sleep together in the same room. He could understand why she gushed about Jasmine. The woman had been nothing but nice to them since they arrived. He overheard their conversation about Julia's ability to talk to pokemon and the possible causes of it. Soon, a smile tickled his face, as now he was genuinely happy for her.

The book in Julia's hands caught his attention, giving him pretext to change the subject. "What's that book you have there?"

"Oh! This?" She looked down at the book. The large, thick, brick-like book's cover was a light green transitioning to a pale, sunny yellow. A girl in a green dress and a green, fairy-like pokemon with an onion shaped head stood on a dirt path that led to a dark green forest. The title of the book read _The Maiden and The Voice of the Forest_ in shiny, gold letters that reflected the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. The author was apparently named Augustine E. Montmorency. "This is my favorite book of all time!" She showed it to Caiseal. "I already have a copy at home, but it's been so long since I read it, and I've been craving it for a long while."

He immediately thought about asking, "Then why rent it when you can easily read it at home? Why even read it again when you must have read it hundreds of times?" But Julia already gave him the answer, and he thought it rude to talk to her like anything she did was strange, so he simply asked, "What's it about?"

"Ohhhh! It's one of the best stories I've ever read!" Julia began. "It's about a girl named Jezebel who lives in a forest town with her parents and siblings. Her parents loved her very much, and she was actually a very privileged girl. She always got good food, books to read, pokemon to play with, all that stuff. But she isn't liked by her classmates because she was born with a tumor on her face, and even though she got it removed, she was left with a big scar on her face, and her parents didn't have the money to get it removed. Kids bullied her like crazy, and one day, things got so bad she ran away crying into a forest. That's when she finds a rare pokemon stuck in a trap. Taking pity on it, she manages to free it, taking it to her parents so they could take care of it. This one here!"

Julia opened the book to show him a page that depicted a watercolor picture of the pokemon in question. It was a cute fairy pokemon, with large, blue eyes shaped like ovals, with an onion shaped head, translucent wings, small curled antennae, long arms that stretched farther than its body, and stubby feet. The upper half of its body was light green, but the lower half was a normal, forest green.

"Never seen that pokemon before," Caiseal mused. Mallow and Hikaru crept closer to get a look for themselves. "What is it?"

"A Celebi!" Julia announced. "A rare pokemon that can travel through time and protects forests and villages! It actually exists, you know! Anyway, after she and her parents nurse Celebi back to health, Jezebel and Celebi eventually become great friends. They spend lots and lots of time together and become super close. But one day, an evil sorceress using dark magic tracks them down, putting them under a spell and taking them to a dark place called Monde Noir, where there is no sun, moon, or stars, and everyone has to suffer under Neesha's wrath. Jezebel and Celebi are appalled by what Neesha has done, and decide to band together and save not just Monde Noir, but their world as well, from a future of darkness. Along the way, they meet other friends as well. The first friend they make is Marianna, a girl from a wealthy family but never felt comfortable at home. Her parents wanted her to marry a prince that she didn't like, and she wasn't good at anything girly or princess-y at all. She left her kingdom to become an archer and help people she felt were impoverished or treated badly by her royal parents. She and Jezebel become best friends! There's Anoush, a man who at first tries to use Jezebel and Celebi to go back in time and save someone he wasn't able to protect, almost breaking infamous taboos. He almost betrays them, but learns the error of his ways and becomes their friend. There's also Xanthe and Gaspar, twin siblings who at first seem like happy twins but are deeply troubled because they did something that ruined their hometown and got people killed, so they hide a lot of sadness. Together they strive to stop Neesha and restore the world to its original state and I love it so so so so much!"

Finally, Julia was out of breath from talking so much, and her throat became somewhat dry. With that, she stopped talking and let herself be absorbed in the book. Caiseal just rubbed his head with one hand.

"Pika pika."

"Marowak."

"You knock yourself out, then," Caiseal mused with a sheepish smile on his face.

"If you want, when I'm finished I'll let you read it!"

"No thanks. Doesn't sound like my kind of thing."

"Boooo!" Julia complained. "You're seriously missing out on a masterpiece in ancient and modern literature!"

Caiseal didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't mind. It was about time he took a shower for the night anyway. With that, the kids stayed in the Pokemon Center for the night, eagerly awaiting the new day to come.

* * *

 **OH MY GOD, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon! Generation seven is a go! I totally called it the minute Magiana (or Magearna or whatever the heck its called) was revealed! Just in time for Pokemon's 20th anniversary! Happy (belated) 20th anniversary, Pokemon! I wonder if they'll make new Eevee evolutions? I wonder if there'll be Pokemon that'll be a good muse, like Sylveon was for me when it was first revealed? Ohhhhh I want November 2016 to get here alreadyyyyyy!**

 **Also, another filler chapter next time. But it'll reveal more about Perrine and her life before starting her journey, so hopefully that'll be a good appetizer before the Red Gyarados arc begins. I have BIG plans for the Red Gyarados arc. Look forward to it, peeps!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Aqua (Azumarill, Female, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Thick Fat**

 **Attacks: Superpower, Bubblebeam, Play Rough, and Water Gun**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Acrobat**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Earthquake, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	34. Old Friends, Renewed Connections

Chapter 28: Old Friends, Renewed Connections

Before any of her friends awoke from their slumber, Julia was already alert and awake, sitting at the Pokemon Transporter machine next to the video phone, talking to her father. Aqua began missing Papillon and Neji and wanted to go back home for now. Julia requested that her father send Lucretia over so Aqua could be sent to the Parisa house to hang out with Papillon, Neji, and the others. It took a few seconds, but to the Parisa Ranch Aqua went, and Lucretia's pokeball came in her place. She crept back into her room and left a note for Perrine, letting her know that she was out and about the city.

Oddly enough, the sun was completely blocked off by thick, grey clouds that seemed to spell rain. But so far, Julia didn't feel any rain drops, and nobody else had their umbrellas out. Still, the beautiful beachside town seemed to lose its cheerful, happy atmosphere. But people were still running around to and fro, so that didn't change. Julia walked into the district where there were lots of stores, with Saoirse and Lucretia trotting behind happily. Street lights were still lit, as even though it was light out, the clouds darkened the city a lot, and any passing cars would need to see where they were going.

"Wow. It sure is dreary out," Julia mused, looking up at the clouds. Since it wasn't bright out, her eyes didn't naturally produce tears like they usually did when the sun was out.

"Eevee eevee," Lucretia agreed, twitching her nose to smell any disturbances in the air. It didn't smell heavy, so there seemed to be no sign of rain.

"Oh well. I kinda like it like this," Julia said as she scooped Saoirse into her arms.

"Snubbull?" ( _"How come?"_ ) Saoirse asked, looking up at her trainer with a curious look in her eyes, wanting to know more.

"Well…" Julia wasn't sure how to explain her autism to her pokemon. Better yet, she herself barely had a grasp on its complicated concepts. But she did manage to scrape together an explanation that she hoped would at least satiate their curiosity. "When the sun's out, it gets really really bright, and my mom says that if you stare at the sun, you'll go blind. My eyes are especially sensitive to really bright lights, and I often feel like I'm being blinded, even though others can deal with it just fine."

Lucretia suddenly began jumping up and down like she heard great news. "Eevee eevee!" ( _"I know the feeling! That happens to me, too!"_ ) Lucretia squeaked.

A smile touched the girl's face. "I don't mind if it's nice out, but if it's too bright, I feel like I have to squint every time I go out," Julia explained further. Saoirse closed her eyes, looking happy with her trainer's explanation. "So...is there any place you want to go? There's lots to see here."

Both pokemon didn't seem to have an answer. Julia shrugged, figuring that Lucretia didn't get to spend much time here and that Saoirse was too focused on battling to do sightseeing. That was okay. They had their chance now, so they took the time to walk around. All of a sudden, Saoirse found herself staring at a large window leading into a dress shop. Something bright, crimson red caught her eyes, and the pink bulldog's mouth fell open, in awe of what was on display.

"Snubbull snubbull!" Saoirse suddenly exclaimed, waving her arms up and down.

"Whoa! What's up, Saoirse?" Julia asked out loud. It wasn't like her friend to shout like that. She looked up, realizing they were in front of a dress shop. The purple, glowing letters read Beau Boutique de Olivine. Kalosian for The Beautiful Olivine Boutique.

Saoirse's eyes were completely glued to a cute, crimson red dress draped on a small white mannequin. The hem of the skirt was lined with two-tiered frills, accompanied by translucent lace with flowers embroidered all over it. The sleeves were small but puffy, and a small lace collar circled around the neckline. Next to the mannequin were two matching ribbons with tiny, flower shaped jewels giving them a neat, sophisticated air to them.

"You like that, Saoirse?" Julia asked, but immediately realized that was redundant. The intense way Saoirse stared at the dress with her eyes large and curious told her that her friend definitely liked that dress. "It does look cute. It kind of looks like a dress that babies could wear."

However, what Saoirse said right afterward sent the trainer for a loop. Saoirse pointed to the dress and told her trainer, without hesitation, "Snubbull snubbull!" ( _"I want that dress, please!"_ )

"Huh? You want that?" Julia asked out loud, finding herself aghast for a moment. She looked at the dress, then at Saoirse, then back at the dress. The girl had no plans on going in a dress shop for anything. She was never one to fuss over clothes for hours like her peers, and she especially hated dresses and skirts. But why would Saoirse ask for a dress? Dressing up pokemon wasn't exactly uncommon, but her dear snubbull was never one to ask for anything. "Why do you want it?" She asked.

"Snub snubbull snubbull snubbull snub," ( _"I think it's pretty, and I've always wanted to wear human clothes."_ ) Saoirse answered, flapping her arms up and down.

That last statement made Julia's mouth fall open. Saoirse had always wanted to wear human clothes? Since when? Saoirse had never told her such a thing. She wanted to refuse, saying that there was no need for something as superfluous as a little red dress. They could easily get dirty while they were on their journey, and the money her father saved up for her was only to be used for important things, like food, water, potions, and other bare necessities. Julia crept closer to the window, getting a closer look at the price tag. It read $30. It seemed affordable, but was it necessary?

Even with these thoughts in her head, Saoirse gazed longingly at the dress, like she wanted it dearly. Julia thought that Saoirse was imagining herself wearing it. Her friend didn't need to say anything in order to convey her want for that dress. The snubbull was always so quiet and so sweet, never making a fuss and hardly asking for anything. She was always a good little snubbull. Just thinking about what Julia put this little snubbull through...perhaps maybe Saoirse deserved a little treat. After all, Julia wasn't going to be the one to wear the dress.

Something that her mother said to her one time echoed through her mind. _"Julia? I understand you don't like dresses or skirts, especially the short ones kids like them wear. But just because they wear them doesn't mean they're bad people, and you shouldn't say that they shouldn't wear what they want because you don't like it. It doesn't cast you in a good light. Would you like it if someone told you not to wear pokemon shirts because they didn't like it?"_

Julia sighed. Her mother was right. Saoirse deserved to be happy. Putting her grievances aside, she said, "Okay. We can go try it on and see if it fits. If it doesn't, we can't get it," Julia told her, offering the option of a compromise. "But if we do, it's the only thing we'll buy in there. Mom and Dad say we have to only spend money for things we need. Okay?"

The bulldog pokemon nodded without complaint, satisfied with the compromise her trainer offered. "Snubbull!" ( _"Got it!"_ ) Julia could see her friend smiling and clapping her little hands together like a kid in a candy store. The sight made the girl giggle.

With that, Julia pushed through the door and went inside. A small bell jingled, letting the cashier know that a customer had come in. Neither Julia nor the cashier said a word as the former walked over to the dress in question. Lucretia followed from behind, staying close to keep within her trainer's line of sight. Julia gently placed the snubbull on the floor to let her walk around.

"Hello!" A dark haired employee greeted them with a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked.

"My snubbull wants to wear this dress," Julia replied, focusing her gaze on the woman's low ponytail, averting her eyes. The woman, whose name tag read Brittany, glanced at the red dress.

"I see. We have a few of those in stock. Can I see your snubbull please? I want to check if we have some in her size," Brittany told her. Saoirse turned to face her and curtseyed. "Awwww, how cute!" The employee cooed as she took out some measuring tape and coiled it around the bulldog's body. Julia watched as her friend remained calm and collected the whole time. The trainer always hated it when people would check her measurements. To her, it always felt like an invasion of privacy, and they'd always get in her personal space. She couldn't help but wonder how Saoirse could stay so calm.

"Alright. We definitely have one in her size," Brittany wasted no time ambling a row of small dresses, pulling it and the hair ribbons out. "The fitting room's this way."

"Thank you," The woman escorted the girl to the fitting room. Julia didn't go in, as she didn't know how to put a dress on a pokemon, so she let Brittany do it, figuring she was more experienced with it. She sat down on a small chair, right next to the door, and Lucretia curled up on her lap. Two older women came into the shop, browsing around looking at dresses in their size.

"Ohhhh! This one is pretty!"

"You'd look like a star in that!"

Julia looked around the shop. She saw nothing but beautiful clothes: dresses, skirts, kimonos, qipaos, hanbok, and others in all shapes, sizes, lengths, and colors. Pinks, purples, blues, yellows, reds, almost all the colors of the rainbow. Dresses with frills, lace, collars, puffed sleeves, sleeveless ones, velvet dresses, and denim miniskirts that were so short, Julia had to wonder how anyone could walk in them without fearing that someone might see their underwear. Yet here she was, wearing just a sleeveless yellow shirt, soft brown shorts, and her favorite blue sneakers, the soles covered in dirt from so much traveling.

It wasn't the first time she felt isolated and out of place in places like this. Then again, Julia always considered herself average in looks, plain in appearance, yet somehow she stuck out even in places she thought she could blend in. Whether it was a dress shop or those trendy places where Amara always dragged her to whenever she wanted to make herself look edgy and cool, she always felt as though she was an alien on a human planet, and everyone around her seemed to think so.

Voices from the past echoed.

" _Why don't you ever wear a dress or a skirt? You wonder why no one likes you."_

" _Instead of reading every book in the library, you'd be way more popular if you had pretty dresses or skirts."_

" _Do you ever wear anything that_ doesn't _make you look like a two-year-old?"_

" _A girl should always care about her appearance! If you keep acting like that, you'll never get married! People will even say you're not a real girl!"_

Not only the way she dressed, it seemed everything about her warranted someone to make some comment about her, whether to her face or to her parents. She even heard someone even say that saying she didn't like: If a nail sticks out, hammer it down. One would think that there wouldn't be some fancy way of telling her or others similar that they were freaks, weirdos, useless, that nobody liked them, or the world would be better off without them, that they need to be like others and aren't allowed to do things differently because that's expected of them. From wearing dresses to preferring the company of pokemon. Even when she did follow the rules, someone would always change things up and criticize her, and that was always the most confusing thing of all. Julia had never considered it wrong to be herself, but with every look, every insult, every joke, every whisper, every threat…was being herself really that bad in the eyes of others?

But the worst thing wasn't the looks, the insults, society's expectations, or even her own mixed up feelings about not being like everyone else no matter what she did or tried.

The worst thing was the possibility that maybe they might be right.

"Wow! Is that an Eevee?!" A chipper voice pulled Julia back to reality, but it came so suddenly that she let out a gasp and almost jumped out of the chair. Her heart stopped for a moment. She snapped her head up to see a girl about her own age looking down at her. Her pale, ash brown hair was tied into two diminutive braids that only stretched to the tips of her shoulders, and her deep blue eyes were full of surprise, probably from Julia's reaction. "Oh! Sorry! Did I scare you? Sorry!" The girl apologized.

"Uhh...it's okay," Julia waved her hand reassuringly, finding herself taking note of the girl's odd attire. She was wearing a short sleeved black shirt with a picture of a grey cross on it, a medium length black skirt that reached a little past her knees, matching boots, long socks with white stripes going across them, a silver belt on her waist, and a long sleeved red shirt that was unbuttoned. She looked at Lucretia with adoring eyes. "Yes, this is my Eevee. Her name's Lucretia."

"She is sooooo cute!" The girl cooed. "Can I pet her?"

"Sure. But be gentle. She's kinda bashful," Julia advised.

The girl with braids held her hand out, allowing Lucretia to gingerly creep up and sniff them. Her nose twitched a little before the girl's hand stroke her fur. Lucretia smiled as the girl rubbed her hand on her head, scratching her ears. Soon, the little eevee was rolling on her back, letting the girl stroke her belly. Julia was sure she could see hearts fluttering from the both of them.

"I've never seen a real Eevee in person before!"

"Really? You haven't?" Julia tilted her head to one side. She had known Eevee were rare Pokemon in the eyes of most people. They were hard to find in both Kanto and Johto. But she had grown up around some Eevee evolutions most of her life. "My mom has a Vaporeon."

"Alright!" Brittany suddenly popped out of the fitting room. Both girls stood up in surprise. Even Lucretia stopped to look at the store employee. "She's ready!"

Out from the fitting room came Saoirse, donning the red dress she adored, with matching ribbons tied to both of her floppy ears. She came marching out like a princess, curtseying with a polite bow. Both Julia and the braided girl melted.

"Sooooo cuuuuute!" They gushed.

"Snubbull snubbull!" ( _"I love it! I love it!"_ ) Saoirse warbled, waving her stubby arms at her trainer. "Snubbull?" ( _"Can we buy it, please?"_ ) She asked.

Julia picked her up. "Okay, we can get it. But this is all we're getting," Saoirse nodded as Brittany undid the buttons that held Saoirse's dress together. "Oh! I didn't know you could unbutton the whole thing!" Julia exclaimed.

"Lots of Pokemon clothes have buttons on the back to make sure they can be put on around the pokemon, rather than them just going through the collar," Brittany explained, showing Julia the buttons on the dress. "This is so Pokemon with large heads or body parts can be accommodated."

Julia and the braided girl found themselves in awe of this new revelation. Lucretia just let out a tired sigh, wondering what all the fuss was about. Julia paid for the dress dutifully as the braided girl bought something else. As soon as Julia was about to leave, her PokeGear rang and was quick to answer it. It was Perrine, wondering where she was. Julia disclosed her location, and Perrine said she and Caiseal will meet her there. Once she hung up, the girl with braids suddenly approached her again, her thin hands clasped together.

"Are you by any chance going to evolve your Eevee?" She asked excitedly. "I have a Fire Stone with me if you want to evolve her into a Flareon!"

The brown Pokemon's ears twitched upon hearing that, and she shook her head left and right. Julia got the message. "I think I'll let Lucretia decide what she wants to evolve into. But I appreciate the offer," She replied politely.

"Sure. You don't look like you're from around here," The girl noted, seeing how dirty Julia's sneakers were. "You're one of those Pokemon trainers who travel all around the region, right?"

"Sort of…" Julia replied nervously, averting the girl's gaze by looking down at her boots. "I-I-I'm Julia, by the way."

"The name's Chloe!" The braided girl, Chloe, introduced herself with unrestrained enthusiasm, her tiny braids bouncing with every movement she made. "Hey! We're both Pokemon trainers! How about we have a battle? I only just got my pokemon four weeks ago, so for all I know you might probably beat me," She scratched her hair with a laugh.

"I don't see why not-"

"Julia! There you are!" Perrine's voice made the two girls turn their heads down the street. Perrine and Caiseal raced to the entrance of the boutique, finally stopping once they caught up. The girl's orange hair was a mess, tangled and all over the place from running so much, and she bent over to try and catch her breath. All Caiseal did was cross his arms.

"You're at a dress shop?" Caiseal asked, giving his friend a curious but scrutinizing look. "You hate dresses."

"I know," Julia clarified. "But Saoirse wanted one," Saoirse nodded in agreement, affirming Julia's statement.

Finally, Perrine looked up. As soon as the orange haired girl caught her breath, Chloe's eyes suddenly widened, like she saw a sawsbuck get run over by a car, her mouth falling wide open. Perrine placed a hand on her own chest and said, "I'm glad you were close by. We should probably-"

Only to be interrupted by the braided girl suddenly shouting her name. "...Perrine?!"

Perrine met the braided girl's gaze, and found herself speechless. Caiseal and Julia found themselves dumbfounded. Soon, Perrine took a couple steps back, her entire being frozen with surprise. Finally, she blurted out, "C-C-C-Chloe?!"

They knew each other's names. Only one conclusion could be drawn from this. "Do you two know each other?" Julia asked.

"Of course we do!" Chloe suddenly whipped her head around to face Julia, her surprise morphing into cheer. "We used to go to the same school together! St. Goldenrod Girls' Academy!" She explained, her voice rising an octave. Julia's hands flew to her ears, as Chloe's voice wound up making her eardrums hurt a little. "You never told me you knew Perrine!"

"You never asked," Julia pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Right. Hehehe," Chloe laughed, embarrassed with herself. Good point.

"I…" After all this time being rendered silent, Perrine finally found her voice. "I...I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Me either!" Chloe suddenly took Perrine's hands into her own. "Oh my gosh, there's sooooo much we need to catch up on! Your friends can come with us, too! I'd love to hear about your adventures!"

"Sure thing," Caiseal added.

* * *

As soon as they got back to the Pokemon Center, Perrine and Chloe were suddenly locked in conversation only among themselves. Once Julia and Caiseal introduced themselves to the girl, they let the two girls dabble in their girl talk and catch up on old times. The two were pretty absorbed, not noticing anything around them as they palavered on and on. But Julia could tell that sometimes Perrine averted Chloe's gaze. She looked like she regretted something, but what was it?

"Your new friends seem really nice," Chloe's navy blue eyes glistened with joy, like sapphires.

"They are," Perrine replied sheepishly. "Umm...I didn't expect you to be in Olivine. Are you on a journey like I am?"

"No," Chloe explained, waving her hand. "After school ended, my dad got laid off. He found a better job here, so we moved."

"I see," Perrine looked down at her brown shoes. There was a subtle hole at the top of her shoe, just above where her big toe was. She wondered if she should buy new shoes. "I had no idea."

"By the way," Chloe leaned closer. "I heard that you ran away right after school ended. I figured you'd go on a pokemon journey, considering that's literally all you talked about, even when we were in school."

"Yeah. Dad wouldn't let me go, but I didn't listen," Perrine folded her hands together, continuing to avert Chloe's gaze. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"I wasn't worried," Chloe told her. "But man, you should have seen all the police cars zipping around looking for you! Arceus, you'd think they were on a manhunt for some crazy serial killer!" She exclaimed, making exaggerated arm movements.

Perrine was unable to hold back a laugh. She could definitely imagine her father calling every police department in Johto, begging them to find her and treat her case like it made national headlines. Good thing he pulled back on that and his restrictions once they worked things out way back when. But she couldn't help but wonder...was anyone else worried about her, other than her parents? Chloe said she wasn't, but Perrine was sure she was lying. Even now, Chloe tapped her foot on the floor. She always did that when she lied, but didn't bring it up.

"But seriously," Chloe resumed speaking, toning her voice down. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Same with you," Perrine replied. "So...how are Tamron and Vanessa?"

"Are they old friends of yours?" Julia asked.

"Yeah," Perrine answered, with a twinge of sadness. Julia found herself speechless. Perrine had friends before she started her journey, but the way she talked about them...could things not have gone so well between them? Or was their friendship strained? Despite not wanting to meddle in their business, as it was Perrine's business only, her curiosity refused to let up.

"We lost contact after school ended," Chloe tightened one of the accessories that kept her braid in place, noticing it was somewhat loose. "But from what I hear, Tamron got pulled out of school and got put in another one. One less strict."

That was when Caiseal interrupted the conversation, saying, "You said you both went to St. Goldenrod Girls' Academy, right?" Both girls nodded in agreement, confirming what Chloe said earlier. "Isn't that school, like, super strict? As in, if you so much as talk in class nuns beat you with a cane kind of strict?"

Like her friend before her, Chloe couldn't resist the urge to laugh. "Naw. Definitely not THAT strict," Chloe clarified despite snorting a couple times. Julia couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that Chloe's snorts sounded just like Amara's when she would laugh. "But it is kinda on the strict side. We had to wear uniforms and weren't allowed to wear jewelry or paint our nails."

"Any school with saint in the title is usually private," Julia noted. She was never much of a social butterfree, like her sister was, but she heard lots of classmates say they were going to certain private schools. The names she could remember off the top of her head were St. Mary, St. Edward, St. John, St. Francis, etc. In fact, there was a Catholic school that her parents would always drive past whenever she and the rest of the family were going somewhere. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacred Heart. It was right next to a funeral home.

"I never did like those uniforms," Chloe interjected. "Those shoes always scratched the back of my feet!"

"Tell me about it," Perrine agreed.

"Hey, Perrine!" Julia waved her hand to get her orange haired friend's attention. "What were your other friends like? I wanna know!"

"I don't think she wants to talk about them," Caiseal said.

"No no. It's fine," Perrine reassured. "Other than Chloe, I had two more friends. Tamron Seitz and Vanessa Grelle," She began. "They were my friends back when I went to school. But…" Once again, Perrine averted everyone's gazes. Everyone could see the dark look on her face. "...Julia, if you had met me while I was in school, I'm sure you would have hated me. I...I wasn't a very good friend. To anyone."

(flashback)

 _A pearl white limousine pulled up to the front of St. Goldenrod Girls' Academy. With a contorted, angry face, Perrine hopped out of the limo and slammed the door as hard as she could, her eyebrows furrowed. The school was made entirely of red bricks, and at the top of the tallest section, which was the front, was a pure white cross. Kids of all ages ran to and fro, playing games amongst each other, talking, jumping rope, or doing whatever it was kids did. Perrine's uniform consisted of the following: a short sleeved yellow shirt underneath a black sleeveless vest, with a yellow ribbon going through the collar, a long yellow skirt that went down past her knees with a black stripe at the hem, black stockings, and brown loafers. Sewn on every black vest was the school's insignia: a shield with the words SG sewn on it in beautiful cursive._

 _But Perrine was in no mood for school. All she did was sit on the rusty silver bleachers and let out a drawn out groan. Once again, her father opposed the idea of Perrine going on a pokemon journey. He wouldn't even let her have a pokemon, even for protection should a burglar break into the house. She had no idea what his problem was, and even if she did know, she was sure he would continue to be stubborn and refuse to let Perrine do what she wanted. The shining sun warmed her angry face with its gentle rays, but the girl found it utterly indecent that the weather be nice and clear when her heart was a raging storm sending crashing waves throughout her system._

" _Perrine! There you are!" A girl wearing the same uniform came racing in her direction, her long, straight black hair flowing in the breeze. As soon as she stopped to stare down at the orange haired girl, she used her maroon eyes to give Perrine a scrutinizing look. "Did you bring my notes this time?"_

 _As soon as she said that, a lightning bolt shot through Perrine's mind. With a growl, she facepalmed particularly hard, hoping the pain would be severe enough to leave a bruise. "Darn it! Sorry, Tamron," Perrine apologized._

 _Before she could go on, Tamron continued the conversation for her. "Seriously?! Again?!" She yelled, her voice bordering on extremely disappointed. Scratch that, she had gone past disappointed. "This is the third time you forgot to bring my notes back after you kept promising you would!"_

" _Sorry…" Perrine whimpered ruefully._

" _Sorry doesn't cut it, girl!" Tamron crossed her arms and leaned closer. "What is wrong with you?! You know what, I'm going to your house and getting them myself! I have tests to study for!"_

" _Hey! It's not my fault my dad's a sore loser who won't let me get a pokemon!" Perrine suddenly shouted._

" _What's that got to do with this?!" Tamron yelped._

 _Classes continued on, and at lunch time, Perrine sat at a table with Chloe, Tamron, and a dark skinned girl with brown eyes and deep violet pigtails. But Perrine kept staring down at a book full of information about the Johto Elite Four. Their personalities, preferred pokemon types, their pokemons' moves, their abilities, random trivia, etc. Perrine fixated her gaze on a red haired man donning a long cape. Lance Cipris, the current champion of Johto. Someday, she would defeat him and claim the title of champion. Yes, that was her lifelong dream._

" _Perrine!" The pigtailed girl shouted, pulling Perrine back to reality. "Are you listening to me?!"_

" _What? What is it, Vanessa?" Perrine asked._

 _Once again, Tamron gave the orange haired girl a disappointed, austere expression before shrugging and saying, "Girl, Vanessa needs our help. Her mom keeps yelling at her about her math scores," She explained._

" _I suck at math!" Vanessa cried, burying her face in her hands, pushing her glasses up as a result. "If I fail this next test, she and my sisters will think I have brain damage and make fun of me forever!" Chloe rubbed the girl's back gently with one hand, hoping to let her know that they were there for her._

" _It's okay," Chloe told her friend reassuringly. "We can help you out."_

" _You_ have _been studying, right?" Perrine asked. She didn't mean anything bad by asking this question, as she was just curious. "If you just take notes and listen like you always do, you should pass the next test just fine. I pass all my math tests, so I don't see why-"_

" _Perrine!" Tamron stood up from the table, slamming her hands on it. Their food trays clattered. Chloe was able to stop some milk cartons from spilling onto the floor, preventing a mess for the janitor to clean up. "Do you hear yourself right now?!" Perrine shrunk into her chair, her eyes wide with surprise from Tamron's outburst. "She's tried that already! You don't get it!" She groaned, pushing her hands through her hair. "Ugh, just forget it!" With that, Tamron slumped down in her chair._

" _Don't worry. Show me your homework," Chloe suggested. "I can show you how it's done."_

" _No no! I can-" Perrine attempted to go to the other end of the table, having already stood up from her chair, but Tamron's hand clamped around her arm._

" _Just forget it, Perrine," Tamron hissed. Perrine got the message and sat back down._

 _At the same time, however, she couldn't understand why Tamron and Vanessa were so angry. Did she maybe phrase what she said wrong? Did she come off as unintentionally hurtful? She wasn't sure, but Vanessa and Tamron seemed to think so. But why Tamron told Perrine to forget it even when she tried to help was beyond her._

 _Thankfully, that issue was done and over with. Soon, the girls met up again for a final project they needed to do before school ended. "Okay, we need to get this project done by next week," Tamron said. They had chosen to make a food pyramid sculpture that showed everything from fruits, vegetables, meats, and junk food._

" _If you want, I can draw pictures and paste them on the pyramid," Vanessa suggested, raising her hand as if she were in class._

" _That's great. Thanks."_

" _I can write about all the food groups," Chloe added. "I actually already wrote about fruits and vegetables, so I can do the rest."_

" _That'd be a big help," Tamron high fived her friend with a smile._

" _Since you're making the actual pyramid, Tamron," Perrine piped in. "I can do the report."_

" _Alright, so that's that," Tamron clapped her hands once. "The teacher said we need to make the project together, so how about you all come to my house and we can work on it," She suggested._

 _Chloe threw her hands in the air like she was trying to cheer for a favorite sports team. "I'm in! Let's do it!" She announced, her thin braids bouncing left and right._

" _I'll need to ask my parents, though," Vanessa mused. "I'll let you know if they say yes or not."_

" _I'll definitely be there," Perrine added. "Going to your house is pretty much one of the only things my parents actually let me do."_

 _Tamron crossed her arms. "Alright. All of us need to work on this project," She reminded them with a stern tone of voice. "We'll get a bad grade if none of us contribute in some way."_

 _Right after the meeting ended, Perrine put herself to work right away. They agreed to go to Tamron's house tomorrow right after school, but Perrine figured she could write her report. Her fingers danced across the keyboard, pressing every key she could use for this report. It needed to be at least two or three pages long, and double spaced, so Perrine had little difficulty getting it done. It took her at least an hour and a half to get it done. Perrine felt proud as she watched her printer churn out her two page report._

 _However, when the day of the get-together came around, the phone rang at about three in the afternoon. Perrine was quick to answer the phone, holding the receiver so close to her face, the bottom almost touched her chin. "Hello?"_

"Hey, Perrine!"

 _Perrine immediately lit up. She knew that voice anywhere. "Aunt Mao!" A smile touched her face. "Hi! What's up?"_

"I know your dad doesn't want me seeing you and all," _Mao said._ "But I'm actually in the neighborhood right now," _She explained further._ "I thought maybe we could spend the day together. There's a show going on at the Goldenrod Theater downtown."

" _I know which one you mean!" Perrine pumped her fist, immediately psyched. "And yes, I'd love to hang out with you!" She hadn't hung out with her Aunt Mao for a long time. Not since her father forbid the two from seeing each other. But she could leave a note saying she was at a friend's house studying. She had already gotten her portion of the project done._

 _Perrine's cup of happiness was practically overflowing. So much so that she had completely forgotten everything else, including going to Tamron's house to help with the project. When Aunt Mao's car pulled up, Perrine jumped right in, happy to finally be able to spend time with her beloved aunt. Honestly, Perrine could care less about any kind of ridiculous restrictions her father wanted to put on her. Now, tonight was her night._

 _Aunt and niece went downtown and did lots of things together. They watched a two hour play at the Goldenrod Theater, went to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and walked around town, admiring the sights and sounds of downtown Goldenrod City. City lights, cars zipping to and fro, and crowds of people gathering all around were par for the course in this golden metropolis. Being a city girl, Perrine had become quite used to it. But she did sometimes notice that Mao would cover her ears whenever they were near crowds of people, like some drunkards they ran into while they waited for their turn at the restaurant._

 _But regardless, Perrine had the time of her life. When night fell, she slept like a snorlax, happy to have had a fun time with her aunt. Alas, she had to be at school tomorrow, and school wasn't something she could just skip. At the same time, however, she couldn't wait to tell her friends about the day they spent together. She was sure they were going to listen with open ears._

 _Or so she thought._

" _Hey, girls!" Once Perrine saw them at recess, she was quick to wave at them and approach them. When they turned around, however, Perrine stopped in her tracks. Instead of receiving her with smiles and curiosity, Perrine was frozen in place by their disappointed, austere expressions. Chloe looked more disappointed than anything, as she just stared down at her shoes. Tamron and Vanessa, on the other hand, were staring daggers at her, their eyes blazing with rage._

" _Seriously?!" Tamron hissed like an ekans. "You completely ditch us when we needed you the most, and you're all hey girls what's up?" Perrine found herself backing away two steps, Tamron's voice was absolutely dripping with venom. "I knew it."_

 _That was when it hit Perrine. She was supposed to go to Tamron's house and help them with the project. Instead, she hung out with Aunt Mao the whole night, having completely forgotten about it. The implications hit her like a freight train: she had completely abandoned them just for a chance to have fun with her favorite aunt._

" _I...I printed out my report," Perrine mumbled ruefully, rummaging through her bag to pull the report out. With a scornful scowl, Tamron swiped the paper out from Perrine's hand. "Ow!" One corner of it cut through Perrine's pinkie finger, leaving a fresh red cut._

" _What the heck were you even doing last night?!" Vanessa yelled. Perrine told them about her aunt and how her father forbade them from seeing each other. "Oh, is that how it is!" Vanessa stamped her foot on the concrete. "Your aunt is way more important than your friends?!"_

" _No, that's not-" Perrine tried to reason with them, but Tamron and Vanessa both cut her off._

" _Stop with the excuses, Perrine!" Tamron yelled. "We needed you and you completely blew us off! And for what?! To slack off and hang out in the city?!" The girls grew more and more upset every time Perrine opened her mouth. Perrine could see it._

" _Come on, girls," Chloe put a hand on Tamron's shoulder. "I think-"_

" _Don't defend her, Chloe!" Tamron snapped, forcing the girl back two steps. "She needs to hear this! She_ needs _to be ashamed of herself!" She whipped her head back to Perrine, who was almost near tears at this point. "You're a terrible friend, you know that?! When someone wants to tell you about their problems, all you wanna talk about is becoming the champion! Anytime you ask to borrow something, you never give it back! You said you'd come to my house to help us with the project, and you just completely ditched us like we were garbage!"_

 _Perrine stood there, just taking it all in. Not once did she even try to defend herself or argue with her. She stood like a mannequin under Tamron's furious gaze. All she could say was, "I'm sorry…" Despite having said it, she knew it wouldn't help. A simple I'm sorry would never quell their anger._

" _You're not sorry at all!" Vanessa yelled. "You don't care about anyone but yourself! If this is how you're going to act all the time, then...we can't be friends with you anymore!"_

 _Perrine's eyes slammed open. What did she say? They couldn't be friends anymore._

" _Hey! Alright, calm down!" Finally, Chloe stepped in between them. Tamron and Vanessa's furious gazes fixated on Chloe, like they were accusing her of being a traitor. "I think you're being too harsh. Look, she gave us the report and we got the project done! We'll still get an A on it! She at least got the report done! Can't you give her some credit for-"_

" _That's not the issue here, Chloe!" Tamron yelled. "You should be on our side!"_

" _This isn't about taking sides!" Chloe argued. As much as she agreed with them on Perrine's behavior, deciding not to be her friend because of this? Even Chloe thought that that was going too far._

 _On the other hand, Perrine was lost in her mind, her heart having been torn to shreds. The worst part was, they were right. Perrine had been a bad friend. She made promises she couldn't make time to keep, nor did she care to. She gave Tamron her notes back, but it didn't quell her simmering anger. She promised to go to Tamron's house to help with the project, but completely abandoned them for her own selfish desire. She had always promised herself to be a good girl. She wasn't perfect, but she was never outright mean._

 _The last pieces of her heart sank, because she realized that all this time, she had been mean to them for quite a while._

 _All this time she wanted to be a good friend...and yet she had been nothing but a bad friend the whole time. The tears came out._

 _Chloe called out to her as she stormed back into the school building. This was all too much. Too much. Too overwhelming. She wished the ground beneath her feet would just break and swallow her up. To disappear from the world where she wouldn't hurt anyone or anger them with her selfishness ever again._

(end flashback)

"Oh wow…" Both Julia and Caiseal were speechless. They couldn't believe what they had just heard, Julia especially. Was Perrine really like that before they met? Perrine, the nice, sensible, polite, helpful, and dependable rich girl who was always there for them and always kept them together, being a bad friend? Such a concept was alien to them, like Magikarp learning how to climb trees.

Perrine finally looked Chloe in the eye this time. "...I'm not proud of anything I did back then. I know...it won't change much, but…" She had kept it inside the whole time, knowing it wouldn't do anything to fix what happened. Nothing could. But she needed to let it out. It was gnawing at her, and it was time to release it. "I'm sorry for being such a horrible friend."

"It's okay," Chloe told her reassuringly, without the slightest hint of hesitation. "I'm over it. Hey! You still play the piano, right?"

Everyone's eyes widened. That was a sudden change of subject. "...Yeah. But I haven't played in a while," She replied.

"You see, the real reason I'm here is because of this," Chloe pulled out a folded up flyer, complete with the creases all over the paper. The kids leaned closer to get a better look. The big blue letters on top read _'Pokemon Music Recital!'_ In big bold letters, accompanied by a picture of someone playing a large, deep brown cello. Standing on both sides of the man were a pikachu firing thunder bolts on the stage, along with a bellossom dancing in a hula dance, with flower petals floating all around in a beautiful display.

"What's this?" Caiseal asked.

"It's a show that the Olivine Theater holds every year," Chloe began. "The pokemon trainers play whatever music instrument they want, like a guitar or piano or violin or whatever, and whatever pokemon they have accompany it by showing off their attacks and making them in tune with the music," She elaborated. "It's like one of those Pokemon Showcases they hold in Kalos, and those Pokemon Contests in Hoenn and Sinnoh, but the trainers play instruments instead."

"Wow!" Julia's eyes were glimmering. "I had no idea something like that existed!"

Caiseal turned to Perrine. "I didn't know you play piano."

"I've heard her play a few times!" Chloe interrupted. "She's really good! Anyway, I already signed up three weeks ago. I'm gonna play my erhu."

The orange haired girl took the flyer out from Chloe's hand and scanned it. It was true: Perrine hadn't played the piano in a while. But she remembered loving every moment when she played by herself. Pressing her fingers on the keys, producing whatever music she liked, kicking her legs up and down, and oftentimes singing along with it, as bad as her singing voice was. The only times she didn't like playing piano were during piano lessons, where teachers always wanted her to play whatever music they wanted, not what she wanted.

But playing the piano as her pokemon displayed their attacks in a spectacle-esque manner. Somehow, the idea piqued her curiosity. She hadn't played in a while, but what harm was there in participating? She found herself growing more and more fond of the idea. Chloe was going to be in it. With that, she made her decision.

"How can I enter?" Perrine asked.

"Whoa! You're entering?!" Caiseal yelped.

"Why not? I don't mind a little something like this," She replied matter-of-factly.

The sign-up process was easy. All she had to do was go to the theater and sign a form. The Olivine Theater wasn't far from where the Pokemon Center was, and the actual performance was a week away, so Perrine had plenty of time to practice. But there was one problem: how could she practice without a piano? Chloe told her that the Pokemon Center actually had a piano in a secret room. She had seen it many times before, and Perrine was delighted upon hearing her friend tell her this.

She already had two pokemon in mind for the recital. When she got to the piano room, she let Kitsune and Luminita out of their pokeballs.

"Nine?"

"Chinchou?"

"Hey, girls," Perrine said. "Want to hear me play this?" She placed her hand on the big black grand piano.

Both Kitsune and Luminita exchanged confused glances. They tilted their heads to one side, wondering what was going on. Perrine sat down and began playing.

It was as though her hands remembered everything, never forgetting what it felt like to press those milky white keys and make those beautiful sounds. Soon enough, Perrine was lost in the music she herself produced. Bending over back and forth, pressing her fingers on the white keys, kicking her legs back and forth. Even Kitsune and Luminita found themselves lost in the music and began dancing in tune with it. Since Kitsune was a fox pokemon, she danced around the room with elegant steps, never missing a beat. On the other hand, since Luminita's limbs were so short and stubby, she fell on her rear more often than not, not that she minded.

It hit Perrine right then and there. She could do this. No, she wanted to do this.

* * *

"Wow. Perrine's practicing all the time, isn't she?" Julia noted, four days after having met Chloe. It was true: ever since Perrine heard about the contest, she and Chloe had almost secluded themselves from the world entirely, focusing solely on practicing for the recital. Sure, they knew to change their clothes, eat their meals, go to the bathroom, and care for their pokemon, but Julia couldn't help but be a little cowed by how devoted they were to this.

"It has been a long time since they've seen each other," Caiseal said as he brushed the foliage on Viole's head with a small brush. "I say leave them be. They probably have a lot of catching up to do, and they're caring for themselves and their pokemon, so I wouldn't worry about it."

On the fifth day, Julia was on her way to the bathroom when she ran into Chloe, holding a small seed-like pokemon in her hands. "Oh! Hi, Chloe!"

"Hey, Julia!" Chloe greeted her with a smile.

"Sunkern!" The yellow pokemon chirruped sweetly. It looked like a large seed with brown stripes going across its body vertically, and sprouting from its head was a green shoot.

"Is that your sunkern?" Julia asked. Chloe nodded. "It's so cute!" Although she already knew about sunkern, she pulled her PokeDex out to examine it anyway.

" _Sunkern, the seed pokemon,"_ As usual, the PokeDex's robotic, monotone voice didn't change one bit. _"Sunkern try to minimize movement to conserve the nutrients they have stored in their bodies for evolution. They will not eat, subsisting only on morning dew. If attacked by a Spearow, it will violently shake its leaves. Knowing it's weak, it simply feeds until it evolves. Since they are very weak but friendly pokemon, they are often used in daycare centers to keep children company, and are often used to introduce children and babies to pokemon for the first time. They are very popular among housewives and very young children. This specimen is a male with the ability Chlorophyll, and its attacks are Grasswhistle, Grassy Terrain, Giga Drain, and Seed Bomb."_

"Are you gonna use him for your part in the recital?" Julia asked.

Chloe closed her eyes. "Yep, and my Wooper, too."

"Sun sunkern!" Sunkern chirruped, waving the leaves on his head.

All of a sudden, a strange silence fell in between them. Julia couldn't help but remember their conversation from a few days ago, about Perrine being very different than the person she is now. Julia just couldn't imagine Perrine being a bad friend when she had been nothing but nice to her since day one, with a couple quarrels here and there. But being a bad friend? Forgetting to fulfill promises? Intentionally putting her own desires above those of her friends? None of those described Perrine one bit. How could Perrine have been someone like that? Then again, Amara used to be nice and kind until she became bitter, cruel, and rebellious, so perhaps Perrine changing before their encounter was possible.

Even so, none of what she heard changed how Julia viewed or thought about Perrine one bit. "Um…" Julia began shyly. "I...I know you've known Perrine longer than I have, and...you probably know her a lot more than I do, but…" She had to get it out somehow. No hesitating. "I know you said Perrine was very different back when you knew her, but...ever since we first met in Azalea Town, she's been super duper nice to me."

"I don't doubt that," Chloe agreed. "She's always been nice to me and the others, so...my friends calling her a bad friend just seemed a little harsh, even if they did make good points about her behavior back then."

Unbeknownst to them, Perrine herself almost passed right by, stopping once she saw the two of them there. She found herself frozen in place, listening, even though she knew eavesdropping was wrong. Regardless, Julia continued on. "Growing up, I didn't have many friends. I had a few, but we drifted apart," Julia looked down at the Sunkern tucked warmly in Chloe's arms. "I'm autistic, and kids used to tease me because I wasn't normal like they were. I didn't like the same things they did, and I used to go home crying all the time wondering why nobody liked me even when my parents and teachers taught me ways to make friends. I would...get really lonely. It was sad."

Chloe silently listened to Julia's story. So did Perrine. "I know this may sound silly, but Perrine is one of the best things that ever happened to me. She's always been there for me, supported me when I needed her, comforted me when I was sad, rejoiced with me when something good happened, and stood up for me. There were even times when I helped her, and...it felt really good to finally meet someone who understood me and didn't automatically hate me because I was kinda weird," It was rare for Julia to put her thoughts into words, mostly because she felt she could never find the right words to use to convey her thoughts and feelings in a manner that anyone could understand. But here, it was easy as pie. "She never...made me feel like...I was some kind of ugly brain sucking alien from outer space like other kids and adults did."

The orange haired girl's blue eyes widened, shocked by the revelation. She had known Julia had trouble making friends in her younger days, and was often bullied by her peers. Perrine knew what it was like to feel lonely, like nothing she did mattered, even when she was being nice. But...she had no idea Julia really felt this way about her. Then again, she had some inkling, but she wasn't quite sure what it was until now. Her heart grew warm, and she found herself clutching a piece of fabric on her vest.

"I don't know if your other friends...still think she's a bad person or not, but…" Julia stammered, folding her hands together. "To me, Perrine's been nothing but a great friend to me and Caiseal. But sometimes I feel like all I do is drag them down or make them angry with my...stupidity."

' _What?!'_ Perrine's eyes slammed open. How could Julia think such a thing? _'You're wrong! You don't drag us down, and you're not stupid, nor do you make us mad!'_ She wanted to shout. It hit her that Julia didn't like the sound of people yelling, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Then again, confidence wasn't something that her friend was known to display. Considering what had happened to her all those years, it was understandable.

Finally, Chloe said, "I can see Perrine's changed a lot, and for all I know, maybe you and Caiseal and her pokemon were responsible for that," She put a hand on Julia's shoulder and told her, without mincing words, "She talks about you a lot. Don't say you're stupid or that you drag them down. Perrine really holds her friendships with you, Cash, and her pokemon in high regard. If she really thought that you dragged her down, I'm sure she wouldn't even be hanging out with you."

A tear trickled out from Perrine's eye, clinging to her chin. Perrine wiped it off with her sleeve, wondering why she was crying all of a sudden.

"Besides, Perrine's very lucky to have someone like you in her life," Chloe said.

"You sure?" Julia asked, folding her hands tighter. As much as she wanted to believe what Chloe said, her heart wasn't so sure if that could ever be true.

"Absolutely."

Perrine's chest tightened. _'She's right, Jule. I am lucky to have you as a friend. You, Caiseal, Chloe, and my pokemon alike…'_ She thought to herself, wondering why she had never come to this realization before. _'Don't ever think all you do is drag us down or make us angry just by being around…'_ Perrine wished her friend would have more faith in herself and actually believe what people like Chloe said to her. But more than anything, her cup of happiness was overflowing once more.

"Nine nine?"

"Chinchou!"

The sound of her friends calling for her attention pulled her out of her mind. Wiping another tear away, Perrine smiled at them. "We have a few more days until the recital, and there's a lot we need to do. You ready to practice?"

Kitsune held her head up high. "Niiiine."

Luminita jumped up once, the yellow tips of her antennae glowing in soft, yellow lights. "Chinchou chou!" ( _"Yep yep yep! Let's do it!"_ ) She chirruped.

A new surge of confidence blazed in her heart.

* * *

The Olivine Theater was a large theater that took up several acres of land, and it was only five blocks away from the Pokemon Center. Julia and Caiseal paid for their tickets, which turned out to be not too expensive. In return, they received strange sticks that resembled glow sticks, but had several buttons on them in different colors. Orange, light grey, light blue, purple, red, etc. There were to be twenty performances total, and the recital itself would only be an hour long. According to the pamphlet the kids received, Chloe would come sixth, then Perrine eighth.

The first few performances went right by, but immediately after starting, everyone was entranced by not just the beautiful performances by the people who played their chosen instruments, but the pokemon as well. One person playing a flute had a flareon spinning fire right in tune with the bouncy, cheerful melody its trainer was playing, along with using Swift to make stars fall from the sky. A girl who played the drums, which were already set up on the stage along with a grand piano, had a pikachu and a flaaffy creating a dazzling lightning display. One blonde haired man with a venomoth and a gengar particularly captivated the audience with an enthusiastic violin, along with his pokemon creating psychic spheres, shadow balls, and their bodies shining from using Safeguard, keeping the audience's eyes on him.

"Alright! Next up is Chloe Morris and her Sunkern and Wooper!" The announcer edicted. The audience clapped as Chloe, her Sunkern, and her Wooper trotted onto the stage. Caiseal couldn't help but notice the odd instrument in her hand: a very thin, violin-like instrument made out of bamboo, with only one string on it. Even the bow was made of bamboo. Yesterday, Chloe had explained that her father often played this erhu, and Chloe had become interested in playing it, having done so since she was ten.

Chloe sat down on a chair, placing the sound box of the erhu on her lap. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the music, dragging the bamboo bow across the string, creating a very high pitched sound, higher than any violin could produce. Sunkern began with a Grasswhistle attack, singing loftily while swaying back and forth, producing green musical notes that floated everywhere. Wooper did the same, only all it did was spit water all over the place, matching the beauty of the soft, elegant song that came out from the erhu. Chloe kept another hand on the pegs, tapping her left foot twice in the middle of the performance. As soon as Sunkern saw that, he glowed green, and the entire stage was covered in light before fresh shoots of grass sprung right up.

"What was that?" Julia asked. "I don't think I've seen that attack."

"It's Grassy Terrain," Caiseal replied in a low whisper.

Julia found herself captivated. "Ohhhh! So that's what Grassy Terrain looks like!" She exclaimed, keeping her voice low so as to not disturb the audience.

Once that was over, Perrine's turn was coming up. The minute a man finished playing a portable melodica, the announcer exclaimed, "Next up is Perrine Innocenti, with her elegant Ninetales, Kitsune, and cheerful Chinchou, Luminita!"

Like a princess, Perrine ambled toward the piano, sitting right down, pressing her fingers onto the keys. She didn't even look at the audience as she began. Immediately, Luminita bounced around the stage, shooting bubbles all around. Ninetales danced elegantly, her tiny paws barely making any sound, like they were made of velvet, as she spat flames all around, using Extrasensory at the same time to keep them from burning the stage. Then, Luminita shot several Electro Balls in a circle. Once Kitsune made her flames dissipate, she used Extrasensory on the Electro Balls, keeping them from hitting the curtains or the audience. Moving her head in a circle, Kitsune manipulated the electric spheres, making them move in a circular motion right around Perrine and the piano. Finally, Luminita leaped into the air, shooting a geyser of water in a circular motion that, under the fluorescent lights, sparkled like diamonds.

Everyone found themselves captivated, even Julia and Caiseal, who sat in their seats wide eyed and their mouths agape. "Wow. Perrine is really good," Julia noted, her eyes still sparkling in captivation.

"Yeah, really," Caiseal agreed.

After twelve more performances, the recital ended. All of the performers gathered on stage with their pokemon by their sides as the announcer stood in front.

"Now, I will announce the winners of this year's Pokemon Music Recital!" The black haired announcer opened an envelope. "Third place goes to...Junichi Sugimori, and his Xatu and Delibird!" The performer in question received a small bronze trophy. "Second place goes to...Chloe Morris, and her Sunkern and Wooper!"

"Woohoo!" Chloe whooped as she danced across the stage and received a silver trophy. Her Sunkern and Wooper jumped up and down in exaltation.

"Yay, she won!" Julia cheered. "I wonder if Perrine will get first place?"

"I don't know," Caiseal told her, donning a dubious expression. "Perrine hasn't played the piano in a long time according to Chloe. For all we know, the judges might say she's gotten rusty."

"And now, first place goes to…" Both Julia and Caiseal crossed their fingers. Then, a spotlight shined on...the man with the Venomoth and Gengar. "Gervasius Hughes, and his Venomoth and Gengar!"

"Yeeeeeah!" A man shouted from the audience. "You go, Little G! WOOHOO!" Julia's hands flew to her ears as she ducked, perturbed by the man's shouting.

Perrine held her head downward, staring at her shoes. "I didn't win…" She whimpered. "Well, of course I'd lose. I haven't played in a while, after all," She rationalized. Although she had accepted the loss, it didn't stop a tear from streaming down her cheek.

"Nine?"

"Choooou?" Even her pokemon could see that their trainer looked quite despondent from the loss.

Later, Julia, Caiseal, Perrine, and Chloe met up outside the theater. "I'm sorry you lost, Perrine," Julia told her friend, taking one of her hands into her own. "You practiced so hard, too."

"It's okay. It was kinda inevitable," Perrine answered. "I don't mind. Congrats on getting second place, Clo."

Chloe ran a hand through her ash brown hair. "Thanks. I didn't think I'd even get that high. So...what do you guys plan on doing after this?"

"We were just gonna plan our trip to Mahogany Town," Caiseal explained. "We're training to beat the gyms and enter the Pokemon League."

Julia looked down at Chloe's Wooper, who seemed content with rubbing itself against Chloe's leg. Despite having seen a Wooper before, Caiseal's Wooper before she evolved, she pulled out her PokeDex to examine it.

" _Wooper, the water fish pokemon,"_ Julia couldn't help but find that description to be rather redundant. _"Though they prefer to live in cold water, these appealing Pokémon forage for food on land. They are kept warm by a layer of insulating body fluid. When it walks around on the ground, it coats its body with a slimy, poisonous film. Touching it barehanded will cause a shooting pain. However, it is able to control the fluid and hold it back when around trainers or people it trusts. Although they are friendly and docile most of the time, they are dull-witted pokemon that are usually oblivious to their surroundings. When sleeping, it partially buries itself in the mud at the bottom. This specimen is a male, with the ability Water Absorb. Its attacks are Water Gun, Double Kick, Mud Shot, and Rain Dance."_

"Hey, Perrine! How about we exchange PokeGear numbers?" Chloe suggested, holding her index finger up. "We can keep in touch now!"

A warm smile touched the orange haired girl's face. "I'd like that a lot," With that, they held their PokeGears out and exchanged numbers.

"The next time we see each other again, I'd love to hear about all your adventures!"

"Me too. Hopefully...maybe we can be friends again, like before," She said wistfully.

Chloe kept smiling. "Aren't we already friends? I mean, I never lost faith in you, y'know."

All Caiseal and Julia did was watch, and even they couldn't help but smile at the sweet reunion. Some friendships can break, while others just drift apart. With these two, perhaps their old friendship would finally be rekindled. Even a friendship like this could be one that could change the world if possible.

* * *

 **Whoooooo! My computer's fixed! I can actually work on my fan fics now! Sorry for not being around much. Job hunting and my computer going on the fritz for a while, so I wasn't able to access any of my documents. But now that's fixed and I can work on these now! And yeah, I figured there wasn't much Perrine backstory here, so I decided to try writing one here. Sorry guys, but another filler chapter is after this, but don't worry! It'll be the last one before we get to the Red Gyarados arc, which I'm seriously looking forward to writing!**

 **Random Fact: Chloe is named after two voice actresses: Chloe Grace Moretz, who is currently known for playing Carrie White in the 2014 film remake of Stephen King's first novel, and Kaguya in The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Cassandra Lee Morris, who voices Suguha Kirigaya / Leafa in the Sword Art Online anime in English, Kyubey in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Ritsu Tainaka in K-On, and many other roles.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Acrobat**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Earthquake, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**


	35. Heralding The Heracross!

Chapter 29: Heralding the Heracross!

"How long have we been on this bus?" Julia groaned as she laid her head against the soft blue seat she sat on. She, Caiseal, and Perrine were on a particularly large bus heading for Cadmium Town. It had just been recently established, and trainers their age had been using them to get from Olivine to Cadmium since it took ten days to get from Olivine to Ecruteak on foot, and the bus helped to prevent kids from potentially dying at the hands of things such as starvation or exposure.

Perrine pulled out her PokeGear to check the time. "We left at exactly 9:00 AM, so...about three and a half hours."

All Julia did was look out the window. There was nothing but grass and trees racing right by. Not a single building in sight. Caiseal was out like a light, sleeping with his head against the chair and his bag resting on his lap. Some drool trickled out from his mouth, clinging to his chin. Julia kicked her legs up, but it didn't do anything to get rid of that limp feeling. Then again, after sitting in a bus for three and a half straight hours without moving was bound to make someone's legs feel limp. Hikaru and Lucretia sat on their own chair, right next to Caiseal, sleeping soundly as the bus's motor hummed a vibration-like lullaby.

The kids left Olivine City since they needed to get back on their journey. They wanted to win all the badges and participate in the Pokemon League, after all. It must be confessed that it pained Julia to leave Olivine City, as it had so much there that she liked, Jasmine being the number one person she didn't want to leave behind. But the woman did have her own life to live, and Julia didn't want to burden her friends or Jasmine, so she left, with intent to come back and visit after their journey was over. Even Julia had to admit that being in the same place all the time would be boring, especially if nothing happened.

However, at this point, Julia was bored out of her skull. She read some books and listened to her PokeGear radio all throughout the drive, but she had finished her books and the programs on the radio were changing. Now, there was nothing to do. It didn't necessarily help that all of the other seats were occupied, and she could hear people chattering and palavering all over. Nothing she did could tune them out. They weren't so loud that their voices would rip her eardrums or that she's have to put her hands over her ears, which was always a plus in her mind, but she wished they'd get to Cadmium Town already.

"Oh my gosh!" Perrine suddenly exclaimed as she looked through her PokeGear. The orange haired girl was suddenly kicking her legs up and down.

"What's up?" Julia asked, eyeing the sleeping Caiseal. She found herself surprised that Caiseal didn't wake up.

"The Jammin' Ninja is gonna get an animated TV series coming out next year!" Perrine cried, clutching her PokeGear like it was her lifeline. "I can't believe it!" She squealed like a fan girl, shaking her arms up and down. "It's finally happening!"

"Cool," Julia piped in. "I've never read the books. Are they good?"

Perrine fixated her gaze onto her friend. Immediately, Julia felt a chill run down and up her spine, like Perrine considered it a crime to not know of that series. But she knew Perrine was just exaggerating her emotions just to be funny. "They're great! I've collected every single book from the time they first came out! There's eight total, and they're all super duper good!" Perrine palavered on, her voice brimming with cheer and joy.

"What's it about?"

"Ohhhh! I can't resist!" Perrine began, clasping her hands together like she was losing herself in dreamland. "It's about a ninja named Redmond who, despite coming from a family of ninjas and going to the elite Four Leaves Academy, is a lousy ninja. He can't throw shuriken, camouflage himself, perform ninja techniques or anything. He's expelled from school after four months, and one day he finds a red guitar in a forest. Without anything to do, he just plays it and sings one of his favorite songs, not realizing that he has a wonderful singing voice. He finds a crowd of people and animals around him praising his singing and guitar skills. That's when he realizes he can try making his living through music. He becomes known as The Jammin' Ninja, whose purpose in life is to make people happy with the power of song. While journeying to a far off kingdom, one song he wrote catches the ears of the friendly Princess Misora of Tanvalun, and they become friends. But Princess Misora is being pursued by a ninja vigilante group called the Muromachi Five, who feel that Tanvalun's rule over the land is corrupt and they want to overthrow her family so they can make the world a better place. The Jammin' Ninja recognizes the flaws in their ideals and wants to help, so he decides to join Princess Misora and her family in the rebellion against the Muromachi Five and their master, Shogun Yasuhiro, who is actually a very nice man but feels Tanvalun could use a lot of improving."

Julia listened to Perrine palaver on and on about The Jammin' Ninja. Immediately, she was reminded of the time she told Caiseal about her favorite book and acted exactly the same way. She could relate. "Maybe I should read the books sometime."

"Ohhhh!" Perrine clasped her hands together once more. "After the journey's over, maybe you can come over to my house and we can read them together! You can tell me all about it if you want!" She suggested. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Cadmium Town has a library, and if they're not checked out, you can probably read them there! Or I can lend you my copies!"

"Cadmium Town is up ahead!" The bus driver called out, pointing to some buildings up ahead.

"I'll take you up on your offer," Julia answered. She hadn't read any new books in a while. Perhaps reading something new would be nice.

"Whahuh?" Finally, Caiseal found himself awake, with bleary eyes as he stared up at the ceiling like he was in a drunken stupor. The drool from his mouth had long since dried, but he barely noticed. "Are we there yet? What's all the racket?"

"Sorry!" Perrine bowed apologetically. "My fault! But we'll be at Cadmium soon," She pulled out a tissue and handed it to Caiseal, who stretched his arms out into the air. "Here. You kinda drooled a bit."

Instead of making a snarky remark like he usually did, Caiseal silently took the tissue and wiped his mouth. "Thanks. I do that a lot," He replied. Julia smiled. For once, Caiseal didn't scream in his sleep. Perhaps he didn't have nightmares this time around. The nightmares still continued, and waking up to his screaming had become a common occurrence whenever they would sleep together. But Julia figured it wasn't his fault. She didn't ask about them, as even now, he still refused to talk about them.

Finally, the bus pulled to a stop. She and the others finally got off, happy to finally be back on solid ground. A wave of people followed, with some almost being swallowed in the crowd. Unsurprising, considering a lot of these people had spent three and a half straight hours on the bus. Of course they'd be impatient to get the heck out of there. The kids could easily relate to them. Julia stood on her tiptoes, stretching her legs out. Finally, she could put them to use again. Sitting for three and a half hours could really drain the energy out of someone.

Since the kids only spent a night in Cadmium Town once before, only they were heading to Olivine City that time instead of leaving, they didn't get the chance to really see what it was like. Now, they had time to just walk around for a bit. All of the houses were made of red brick, and the town had a rustic air about it, like it wanted to cling to the past rather than adhere to today's modern technology and expectations. But Julia still noticed the occasional person walking with an I-pod, kids listening to the radio on their PokeGear, TVs on display in stores, etc.

"How come there's no Pokemon Center here?" Julia asked out loud. "Doesn't every town have one?" No matter where they looked, they saw no sign of a Pokemon Center anywhere. There were no buildings with red roofs on them, nor did any of them have the words Pokemon Center around.

"I don't see one," Caiseal said, crossing his arms. "Maybe they haven't built one?"

"Well, I'm sure there's gotta be an inn or a lodge somewhere. Maybe a B&B if we're lucky," Perrine told them reassuringly. "Besides, we already got our Pokemon healed back in Olivine, so they're fine for now."

As much as Julia wanted to believe her friend, she still found herself uncomfortable with the idea of there being no Pokemon Center nearby. If her Pokemon got hurt, who could she turn to for help? She made sure to stock up on plenty of potions, berries, and other assorted healing items, but she was sure those could only do so much, and they weren't exactly limitless.

"I hope so," Julia mused.

"I see a park over there," Caiseal pointed to an area full of lush green grass. There was a stone fountain standing in the middle that was overflowing with water. Some benches were scattered around as well. "I'll bet the Pokemon are gonna want to run around and play."

Julia immediately perked up. "Now that I agree with!" She wasted no time releasing her Pokemon from their pokeballs. Caiseal and Perrine did the same, watching as their animal friends frolicked around the park to play and stretch their limbs.

Once the pokemon were out, they wasted no time in basking in their freedom. Ravenclaw, Tokiko, and Fukuro were already circling the sky, flapping their wings, happy to stretch them out after keeping them folded for so long. Apollo rolled around in the grass, allowing the blades to scratch his fur and get rid of all those itchy spots. Rina and Rino immediately huddled underneath the fountain, nuzzling each other lovingly. Flippy simply laid down on the grass, letting the sunlight reflect off of her slimy skin. Florian ran around the park, with Mushi, Fuwari, and Luminita riding on his back, and Kitsune simply stretched her limbs out before sitting down. Stacey was playing pretend ballroom dancing with Viole, who allowed the big stag beetle to drag him around without protest.

Caiseal looked down, noticing that Mallow was still by his side, not anywhere near the other pokemon. "You don't want to play with them?" Caiseal asked. The bonekeeper pokemon shook his skull covered head.

"Maro marowak," He answered in a cool, collected voice.

"He says he wants to hang out with you first," Julia translated. Touched by his starter pokemon's devotion, Caiseal kneeled down and stroke his friend's brown fur with one had. Truly, he considered himself lucky to have a friend like him.

"That's nice," Caiseal said. "How about we do some running around over there?" He pointed to a small trail nearby. "We won't go too far, okay?"

Mallow seemed to like the idea, nodding in response. "Marowak!"

Immediately, Caiseal readied himself for running. "Race ya!"

"Maro!" Being the strong pokemon that he was, Mallow accepted the challenge.

All of a sudden, Apollo came running toward them before they could sprint away. "Quila quila!" ( _"Hey! I want to run, too!")_ Apollo begged.

The two didn't hesitate in letting the volcano pokemon join them. "Sure! The more the merrier!" Caiseal reasoned with a smile. Before long, the trio had already sprinted down the trail, kicking up dirt as their feet touched the soil beneath them.

"They sure are energetic," Julia noted as Lucretia nuzzled against her leg.

Perrine pushed some hair out of her face. "Of course. We have been stuck in a mega bus for almost four hours straight," She reasoned. "They can let off some steam."

"Yeah," Agreeing with the sentiment, Julia decided to join in on her pokemons' play. She found herself running after Hikaru, Lucretia, and Luminita. Even though her lungs burned from all the running, feeling them expand on her rib bones, she didn't stop. Her tired leg muscles needed to be woken up after all that time sitting on the bus. She was sure the pokemon felt the same way. The sunlight warming her skin and the gentle breeze that the air pushed in her direction did feel nice, and it eased a lot of the tension in their bodies.

However, sitting alone on a rock was Saoirse. Well, she was right next to Rina and Rino, so she wasn't alone, but she didn't make any effort to play with anyone. She seemed content to just sit on that rock and allow the sunshine to warm her soft pink fur. Julia smiled at the sight. If Saoirse was content where she was now, then that was fine.

All of a sudden, Lucretia ran past Saoirse, not noticing a small pothole in the grass. One of her paws got caught on it, and she let out a "Vee!" As she lost her balance. Quickly, Saoirse leaped off the rock and held her arms out, catching Lucretia within seconds. Hikaru, Fuwari, and Julia stopped. With a smile, Saoirse gently put Lucretia down.

"Snub snubbull?" ( _"You okay?")_

Being the sweet albeit bashful eevee that she was, Lucretia turned toward her savior and flashed a sweet smile. "Eevee veeeee!" ( _"I am, thanks to you!"_ )

"Good one, Saoirse," Julia complimented. The bulldog pokemon's face turned red as she (Saoirse) stroke one of her ears. The girl then kneeled down to Lucretia's level. "You're not hurt, are you, Lulu?"

The eevee shook her head. "Vuuuii." ( _"Nope."_ )

"Popo popo!" ( _"Wanna play hide and seek this time?"_ ) Fuwari suggested, waving her little stubby green arms up and down.

Before anyone could answer, Caiseal came storming out from the trail, with Apollo by his side. He ran toward the girls before stopping to catch his breath. "Girls! You...you…" He was so exhausted that he could barely put two words together. All that running made his lungs burn and his legs felt heavy. "You need to see this, now!"

"See what?" Perrine asked, cradling Fuwari in her arms.

"Come here!"

"Quila!" ( _"We'll show you!"_ ) Apollo gestured for everyone to follow them. Caiseal had already sprinted ahead.

The kids and their pokemon managed to reach a part of the trail where thick bushes and thickets covered most of the grassy area. Caiseal and Mallow looked over one, looking as though they were sneaking around spying on something. One the kids caught up, they got a look at what Caiseal wanted to show them. Perrine's eyes widened and her mouth fell agape as soon as she laid eyes on it.

"No way!" Perrine kept her voice to a low whisper. "For real?"

Standing before a big tree was a large, navy blue beetle pokemon with a large, pronged horn protruding from its head and where its nose would be if it had one. Above its small, round eyes were two thin antennae with small orbs at the ends. Both of its forearms had small spikes, and it looked as though it were kissing the tree. But upon closer inspection, a splotch of sticky yellow tree sap was in the middle of the tree, and the pokemon was using its mouth to suck on it.

"Wow. That's a Heracross, right?" Julia asked, pulling her PokeDex out.

"Heck yeah!" Caiseal replied, his voice adopting a cheerful sound to it.

" _Heracross, the single horn pokemon,"_ The PokeDex explained. _"Though gentle and docile, Heracross possesses great strength and power. Their favorite food is the fresh sap of leafy trees. This powerful Pokémon thrusts its prized horn under its enemies' bellies then lifts and throws them. If disturbed while sipping tree sap or any liquidized food it's consuming, it chases off the intruder with its horn. Heracross has sharp claws on its feet. These are planted firmly into the ground or the bark of a tree, giving the Pokémon a secure and solid footing to forcefully fling away foes with its proud horn. They gather in forests seeking the sweet sap of trees. It is completely clad in a steel-hard shell."_ A male sign appeared in the corner, indicating its gender.

Caiseal pulled a PokeBall out. "I am SO catching it!" He turned to face Apollo. "Hey, Apollo. Do you want to have a go at it?"

To be asked to help Caiseal with something was always a dream come true for Apollo. The fire badger's eyes glimmered with excitement as he trilled, "Quila!" Nodding his head vigorously.

"Now use Quick Attack!" Caiseal commanded.

Apollo darted out of the bushes, allowing a white light to consume his body. As he sprinted faster than he normally would, he charged right at the blue beetle, ramming himself so hard that the Heracross was sent rolling on the grass. It didn't go too far, though. The Heracross barely had time to comprehend just what was going on. But when it got back on its feet and saw Apollo in front of him, the Heracross positioned itself into a battle stance.

"Heracrossssss!" ( _"If you wanted to battle me, all you had to do was ask!"_ ) The Heracross hissed, its round eyes squinting. Before long, one of Heracross's hands glowed in an orange light, and the blue beetle charged at Apollo, slamming its glowing hand into Apollo's hide.

"That's Brick Break!" Julia exclaimed.

"Use Flame Wheel!"

On cue, Apollo curled his body into a ball as flames consumed him. The fiery sphere charged right at Heracross. However, since the blue beetle had wings, he used them to ascend into the air, dodging every attack Apollo could throw at it. But Apollo did find a rock pointing upward. He could use that as a ramp and knock Heracross down. Once again, Apollo attempted another Flame Wheel. This time, using the rocky ramp, he flew right in the air, finally managing to hit the Heracross. But it wasn't enough to knock it out.

"Heraaaa!" ( _"Yeowch! That hurt!"_ ) Heracross trilled as he stood back on his feet. All of a sudden, it's long horn glowed in a harsh green light. Once the flames on Apollo's hide dissipated, Heracross found an opening and charged right at the flaming badger. Apollo attempted to run, but Heracross caught up as it dug its horn underneath Apollo and threw him into the air.

"Apollo!" Caiseal cried. The flaming badger fell in a nearby shrub. Since Apollo's fur was reasonably thick, the leaves and twigs didn't make any cuts or bruises. Caiseal ran over to his friend. "You okay, buddy?"

"Quilava!" Apollo wiped some twigs off of his head and flashed a confident smile, reassuring his trainer that he was alright.

"That was a strong Megahorn attack. Do you want to try again?"

Apollo was already in another battle stance, and that was the best answer Caiseal could want. Heracross could sense Apollo's determination and readied itself for battle once more. "Heracrosssss…" ("I like opponents who don't give up!") Heracross warbled.

"Use SmokeScreen!" Caiseal exclaimed.

As ordered, Apollo spat out a noisome cloud of thick black smoke that almost covered the entire area. Since Heracross had wings, it was easy for it to fly out from the smoke cloud. All of a sudden, a flash of fire could be seen through the smoke cloud. Said flash emerged from the smoke, slamming Heracross right on its torso as the smoke gradually dissipated.

"Was that Flame Wheel?" Perrine asked.

"Apollo wasn't curled up in a ball," Julia pointed out.

She was right. Apollo didn't curl into a ball as he attacked. Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to check Apollo's attacks. One of them was one he didn't recognize. Flame Charge. Then he remembered: The more a pokemon uses Flame Charge, the greater its speed becomes.

Increased speed. That could be Apollo's trump card.

"Awesome, Apollo!" Caiseal complimented. "You learned a new move!"

"Quila!"

"Use it again!"

"Watch out!" Julia cried.

Heracross had ascended into the air, it's translucent wings glowing in a harsh white light, before descending with such speed that it managed to slam right into Apollo once more. Apollo was sent rolling on the grass for just a moment before he found his footing and stopped. "Don't give up, Apollo! Use Flame Charge again!" Caiseal told him.

Apollo had no intention of giving up. Once more, his body was consumed by flames as he charged at Heracross again. This time, he was the one sending Heracross rolling on the grass. When the blue beetle stopped in front of some shrubs, it attempted to stand back on its feet. A sharp pain shot through its torso, and Heracross's flat face contorted as it gripped its torso with one of its arms.

"Alright! You're mine!" Caiseal pulled out a PokeBall before throwing it right at the blue beetle. The PokeBall tapped Heracross on its torso before opening up. Heracross turned into red light as it was absorbed by the circular capsule. The PokeBall fell to the grass and wobbled back and forth. Left, right, left, right...pop!

A white light shot out from the ball, materializing into Heracross. The PokeBall was unable to keep it trapped inside. "Awwww, man!" Caiseal facepalmed. Even after all that, Heracross wasn't weak enough. "Better try this again, buddy."

"Quila!"

"Heraaaaaa!" ( _"You won't beat me that easily!"_ ) Heracross warbled as it flew right back into Apollo with another Megahorn attack. This time, Heracross managed to successfully pin the fire badger to the grass.

"Force it off with Ember!"

Without hesitation, Apollo shot tiny flames at Heracross's face. Once the flames made contact, Heracross let out a yelp as it tried to control the flames by hitting them with its claws. Apollo crawled out from underneath the blue beetle, happy to be free. But the fire badger couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had overdone it a little. Heracross was clearly in pain from the embers.

"PokeBall, go!" Once more, Caiseal threw another PokeBall at Heracross. Unfortunately, like before, Heracross managed to break back out. The blue beetle shook its body left and right to shake off the trapped feeling.

"Wow. That Heracross is tough," Julia mused out loud. "All that and it still won't stay in the ball? Jeez."

Perrine crossed her arms. "I hear they are pretty hard to catch, and they're strong, too."

Considering how Heracross broke out of Caiseal's PokeBall twice, that proved just how strong it was. Heracross are known to be strong pokemon in general despite their docile demeanors. Once Apollo got back in a battle stance, the flames on his back danced on his hide, and Heracross readied himself by holding his long horn upward, like a knight unsheathing its sword before heading into battle.

"Heracrosssssssss!" ( _"Why do you serve a human?"_ ) Heracross asked Apollo, noticing the choker around the badger's neck. _"They're weak creatures! I don't want anything to do with them!"_

Weak creatures. Apollo didn't like the sound of that. Caiseal was a lot of things. Impatient? Yes. Temperamental? Nobody could deny that, not even Mallow. Quick to judge? At first, but Apollo saw he was taking steps to work past that, and for the most part, Caiseal had become more understanding since he met Julia and Perrine. But weak? Caiseal was not weak. He heard the stories of how Caiseal survived on the streets, rejection from his family, and other trials. He saw Caiseal grow into a stronger person.

In Apollo's mind, there was no such thing as truly strong or truly weak.

" _Caiseal is not weak,"_ Apollo told the blue beetle in a dead serious tone of voice. _"He's my friend, and the reason I managed to become strong. Let me...no, let us show you!"_ The flames on his neck and rear blazed, just like the courage in his heart.

"Hera!" ( _"We'll see about that!"_ ) Heracross hissed as he readied his arm for another Brick Break attack.

"We're gonna win this, Apollo! Use Flame Charge again!" Caiseal cried valiantly, like a warrior in battle.

The desire to win this Heracross over blazed in both of them. They could feel as though their breathing was perfectly in sync. Apollo let out a roar as bright flames covered his entire body. Soon, both Apollo and Heracross charged right at each other. Heracross barely managed to land a hit this time, as Apollo managed to outrun it. The flaming badger rammed himself into Heracross's torso. This time, the blue beetle was thrown against a tree. To be more specific, the same one he was sucking tree sap out of.

"Hera…" ( _"Well...it looks like I lost…"_ ) Heracross mumbled to himself as Caiseal picked up the previous PokeBall from before. _"Maybe...I was wrong about humans…"_

"PokeBall, go, and catch it this time!" Throwing the red and white capsule with all his strength, the PokeBall bounced off of Heracross's horn, turning him into red light before sucking him inside. The PokeBall fell to the grass, wiggling back and forth with a red light blinking. The kids and all the other pokemon gathered around, crossing their fingers-at least, those who had fingers. Left, right, left, right…

Finally, the red light stopped blinking, and the PokeBall stopped moving.

Anticipation morphed right into joy that was unable to be contained. "YAHOO!" Caiseal leaped into the air with a great cheer. Apollo followed his lead and jumped up and down. "Yeah! We caught a Heracross! Ohhhh yeah!"

"Quilavaaaaaaa!" Pokemon and trainer were perfectly in sync.

"Wow. That was intense," Julia mused out loud, scooping Lucretia in her arms.

"It sure was. But hey, he made a new friend!" Perrine added.

"Eevee!"

"Pikachuuuu!" Both Lucretia and Hikaru couldn't help but put in their own two cents about the situation.

Caiseal kneeled over to pick up the PokeBall containing Heracross. All of his Pokemon gathered around him. Mallow, Apollo, Ravenclaw, Flippy, Stacey, and Viole. "Looks like we made a new friend, guys."

"Gloom gloooom?" ( _"What if he doesn't like us?"_ ) Viole asked, holding his stubby hands to his drooly mouth.

"Murkrow kroooow!" ( _"If he doesn't like us, then he doesn't. We can't force it."_ ) Ravenclaw told him reassuringly, stroking his back with her wing. _"If he wants to be friends, it's gotta be his decision,"_ The little blackbird reasoned. As much as she liked the idea of having a new friend, even Ravenclaw knew that just because Caiseal caught a new Pokemon, doesn't mean they'll automatically become friends with him. She heard him say that humans were weak creatures, that he wanted nothing to do with them.

"Come on out, Heracross!" Caiseal let the blue beetle out of the PokeBall. The white light materialized into Heracross. The blue beetle looked up at Caiseal, then down at Apollo. "Hey there! Sorry we ambushed you like that," Caiseal apologized.

Heracross raised an eyebrow. That was new. A trainer apologizing for sending one of their pokemon to attack a wild one? He had seen humans just catch or hurt pokemon without a word. Still, he kept a guarded stance. "You're an awesome battler, you know that?"

An awesome battler. Heracross liked the sound of that. "Heracross!" ( _"I can't deny that!"_ ) The blue beetle crossed his arms as he puffed his torso out.

"Would you...like to come with us?" Caiseal asked, holding his hand out. "If you don't want to, that's fine."

Heracross was lost in his thoughts, ruminating, watching Caiseal with a scrutinizing but curious expression. The human didn't look much like others he had seen, and he didn't sense any evil or malice in this boy. The other pokemon that surrounded him didn't look afraid or frightened of him. In fact, they all seemed to respect him, especially Apollo. Perhaps...there were some good humans out there. Maybe he could use this chance to get stronger.

"Heracrossssss," ( _"I don't see why not. Very well. You are worthy of receiving my strength."_ ) Heracross took Caiseal's hand and shook it firmly.

"Awesome!" Caiseal exclaimed. "I hope we can be great friends. Hey! Can I give you a name?"

"Hera?" Heracross tilted his head to one side.

"It'll make you feel more...individual, y'know? Like your own self, that way you won't get confused with another Heracross. Know what I mean?" Caiseal explained.

A name...Heracross did always want to stand out. Perhaps a new name would help him with that. Heracross nodded in agreement. "How about Heracles?"

"Heracles?" Julia asked. "Never heard that one before."

"Doesn't that sound like Hercules?" Perrine asked.

"Yeah, but I found the name Heracles in a book once," Caiseal explained. "It sounded cool," He turned to Heracross. "What do you think?"

Heracles...something about it really piqued the blue beetle's curiosity. It sounded strong and distinguished. It didn't sound like a name just anyone could have. Yes, it described this Heracross perfectly. This would be the name he would adopt. "Hera!" Heracross nodded, liking the name.

"Alrighty, then! Welcome to the team, Heracles!"

"Hera!"

* * *

Later on, the kids checked in at a small inn since there was no Pokemon Center. Since there were no transportation machines for PokeBalls either, Heracles stayed with Caiseal, at which he had seven pokemon now instead of six, the legal number. But Perrine figured that since Luminita's PokeBall went to her house the moment they were near a Pokemon Center, she assumed Heracles' PokeBall would do the same should they make it back to Ecruteak City. They had to get through Ecruteak City in order to get to Mahogany Town. The kids all had their own rooms, which, for the girls, Julia especially, was refreshing.

Julia especially liked having her own room for once. It wasn't that she hated being in the same room as Perrine. Far from it. But having her own private room, where she could spend all her time with her pokemon, all by herself, was something she truly cherished. It helped that she didn't have to change her clothes in front of Perrine despite having always hid from her when she did so in her presence. When night began to fall, Julia let Lucretia sit on her lap, taking the time to brush her tail. Rina and Rino also sat on the bed, watching, waiting for their turn.

"We'll be in Ecruteak first thing tomorrow," Julia reassured her friends.

"Eeveee…" Lucretia squeaked, basking in the touch of the brush combing through her thick, fluffy tail.

"That was where we first met, Lucretia. Do you remember that?"

"Vui!"

Hikaru, Tokiko, and Saoirse sat on the floor, enjoying chatting amongst themselves like the happy girls they were. Julia watched them with a smile. Then she remembered first meeting Lucretia. Her friend dragging her out of the bushes by her ear. Lucretia, injured and battered, probably because Amara attempted to capture them, and rather harshly, at that. Her friend suddenly darting away, leaving Lucretia with them.

"Lucretia? I'm sorry we couldn't find your friend," Julia apologized in a low whisper.

Since eevee's ears are long, Lucretia could hear her perfectly. "Eevee vuiiii." ( _"It's okay. I'm sure he's out there somewhere."_ )

Even so, the little fluffy pokemon still thought about her friend and the times they shared. Chasing each other around in a meadow full of flowers and fresh grass. Hiding under Bill's porch when they were being chased by a houndour. Hunting for berries and sharing them amongst themselves whenever they got hungry. Hiding under big trees and leaves when the rain would fall. Watching humans from a distance, wondering and thinking things about them. Lucretia was never lonely, as Julia and her Pokemon friends were great company. Still, she hoped her friend was alright.

"I think your friend left you with me...because he wanted you to be safe," Julia said.

Lucretia's ears pointed upward. "Vui?"

"The last thing he said to me was…please, take good care of her for me," Although it was so long ago, the memory of that sad little eevee begging a stranger to protect his friend was strong in her mind. How could she say no to such a request?

"Eevee vui." ( _"I know. I heard him say it."_ )

Rina put one of her arms around Rino's neck. "Nido nyuu nyuuuu!" ( _"We always protect each other!"_ ) Rina announced, her smile showing off her large tooth.

The purplish pink poison pin smiled, agreeing with his lover's viewpoint. "Nido nido nyuuuu!" ( _"Yep! That's what friends and lovers do!"_ )

"Pika! Choki! Snubbull!" Even Hikaru, Tokiko, and Saoirse added their own two cents to their conversation.

"Okay! All done!" Julia pulled the brush back, allowing Lucretia to join everyone on the floor. "Your turn, Rino!" Rino happily obliged, sitting on Julia's lap and closing his eyes, allowing his trainer to brush his hide.

Hikaru, Tokiko, and Saoirse welcomed Lucretia into their circle without hesitation. She was their friend, after all. Before they went into conversation, Lucretia noticed the Soothe Bell by Hikaru's foot. The brown fluffy pokemon sat next to it, gently tapping it with her paw. It made a soft, soothing sound, a sound that could make any person or pokemon happy.

"Pikapi?" ( _"You like it?"_ ) Hikaru asked Lucretia.

"Eevee," ( _"Yes, I do."_ ) Lucretia replied.

Saoirse pointed to the Soothe Belle before asking Tokiko, _"Didn't that used to be yours?"_

" _Yeah. But I don't need it anymore,"_ Tokiko answered with her usual mellow demeanor.

" _Me either,"_ Hikaru added. _"If you want, you can have it, Lulu."_

Lucretia have the Soothe Bell? The eevee's ears twitched, like she heard something rustling in the grass. Why would Tokiko just give her Soothe Bell to one of the other pokemon. She had heard from Saoirse that it was a gift from someone. Lucretia wondered if she really deserved to have something so precious to her.

" _I don't mind, Lulu,"_ Tokiko reassured her as she ate a small cookie. _"You can have it. I like it, but it might benefit you, like it did me and Hikaru."_

Hikaru's ears twiched. _"Does that mean...you gave this to me knowing I would evolve soon?"_

Everyone except the Nidoran and Julia turned to face Tokiko. The happiness pokemon's smile didn't falter, not even for a millisecond. She simply looked at Hikaru and said, _"I wanted to share a piece of my happiness with you. I want to do it with all my friends. We Togetic can feel the happiness within someone, and it makes us strong,"_ She explained in a sweet yet matter-of-fact manner, like it was the most normal thing in the world. _"Your happiness and love can make you strong, too. I just want to help out."_

The Pokemon found themselves lost in thought. Lucretia found herself ruminating deeply as she scooped the Soothe Bell in her hand. She had always dreamed of evolving, but didn't want to use any stones to evolve. She wanted to evolve, just like her friend wanted to. But no matter how hard she tried, she never could. Even so, she was still happy, being with her new friends and traveling all over the place. In fact, she had nothing but love and respect for everyone, both Julia and the Pokemon. In a way, she couldn't picture herself being anywhere else or with anyone else.

" _Thank you. I'll take good care of it,"_ Lucretia mused.

Saoirse gulped down a small bottle of water. Once she finished, she screwed the cap back on and put it in the trash. _"Does anyone want to play hide and seek?"_ Saoirse asked.

" _Oh! Me! Me!"_ Rina leaped off the bed.

"We can all play!" Julia announced as she stopped brushing Rino's hide. "Since you suggested it first, Saoirse, you can find us first!"

Saoirse flashed a thumb's up. She covered her eyes with her hands and began counting to ten.

* * *

The moment Harriet burst through her apartment door, she made a beeline for the bathroom. Her stomach was ready to explode at any moment. She yanked the toilet seat open, doubled right over, and let out a harsh, lurching sound as remnants of her breakfast and lunch spilled right inside. Her throat burned from the stomach acid that came spilling forth. In fact, she felt as though she were being suffocated. Trapped in a disgusting cage full of garbage, unable to escape no matter how hard she tried to break free.

Even after she finished, she still felt awful. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. In fact, she didn't feel as though she were human. She was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of being part of this ghastly organization called Team Rocket. Tired of them stealing, hurting, using, abusing, and even killing pokemon for their own gain. Tired of being trapped with these people who wanted to make her do all these horrible things. Having to steal a young child's pokemon and give it to Petrel hours before only added to her terrible nausea. None of this was what she wanted.

"Harriet?" Not even Margeaux's voice was enough to pull her heart out of the pit of her stomach. As soon as Margeaux entered the bathroom, her nostrils were assailed by the noisome stench of vomit. "Euugh!" Her hands flew to her face, forming a barrier around her nose and mouth in an attempt to hold off the smell. "Geez. This mission really did a number on you, didn't it?"

To Harriet, that was the understatement of the millennium. How could Margeaux or anyone else live with themselves and do this every single day? She didn't know, and she didn't dare ask. Margeaux could see the pain on her face and stepped back.

"Do you...want some water?" Margeaux asked in a low voice peppered with concern. "My dad used to say that vomiting a lot makes you dehydrated."

"Yes, please," Harriet croaked, her voice hoarse and dry from the stomach acid burning her throat. She pressed the lever on the toilet, allowing it to swallow all of her vomit. The stench was still there, but she took the time to spray some air freshener.

Harriet dragged herself to her room, lying down on her bed. Cookie came right out of his PokeBall, and already he could feel the uneasiness oozing from his trainer. "Kuukiiiii?"

"Sorry, Cookie," Harriet apologized, holding her hand over her face. "I'm tired."

"Kuukii kuukii."

"I'm pretty sure your Krabby can see that," Margeaux piped in, holding a small glass of water. She walked in to place it on the nightstand next to her bed. Seeing that Harriet didn't want to be disturbed, Margeaux left the room. Harriet was in no mood to say thanks, but did appreciate the gesture regardless.

She wasn't sure if she could continue on like this. All she wanted was a job. To be able to send money to her family and help get them out of debt. If she had known what she was getting into beforehand, she would never have joined Team Rocket. But now, escape seemed utterly impossible. All she could do now was sit up and gulp down the water. Immediately, her throat cooled down. Margeaux was right: too much vomiting would result in dehydration, and getting through the day without food or water would make a bad day even worse.

Once she felt somewhat better, she went out the back door, finding herself in the backyard. It was good she lived on the first floor. Usually, those who lived on the first floor were able to own the backyards that came with the apartments they bought. Harriet's backyard wasn't much to write home about. It was just a patch of grass trapped in a square by a wooden fence with a gate that led to the street behind them. But Harriet could easily see her neighbor's backyard since it wasn't fenced in. Often times, she would see children running about, playing ball or chasing each other around.

Coincidentally, a child was playing next door right now. A little boy of about eight with deep, chocolate brown hair cut into a bowl cut. The boy's light brown eyes fixated on the rocks he arranged in a perfect line. His black and white sneakers were already dirty from dredging them into the soil. Harriet smiled as she watched him play. Soon, the boy whipped his head up, catching sight of Harriet. With a smile, he picked his hand up and waved at the green haired woman.

"Hi, Harriet!" The boy greeted her warmly.

"Hi, Danny," Harriet replied with her own wave. "How are you?"

"I'm great! Can I come into the yard, please?"

Harriet smiled. "Sure. Go ahead."

Without hesitation, Danny reached over the gate and undid the lock. The fence was low so an eight year old boy could easily undo the lock. But Harriet didn't mind if it was Danny coming into her yard to play. He was her next door neighbor, after all. He was always a nice little boy, always coming by to say hi or play with Cookie. Speaking of Cookie, the krab pokemon trotted onto the backyard, greeting the boy by waving his pincers.

"Kuukiiii!" Cookie chirruped.

"Hey, Cookie! How's it goin'?" Danny crouched down to stroke Cookie's thorns.

That was when Harriet saw it. A reddish purple bruise the size of an egg just above Danny's left eye. It took her breath away, and not in a good way. Harriet's hand flew to her mouth, preventing her from screaming or gasping out loud. But it did nothing to dull the shock that swept over her. Just how did that happen? Did Danny hit his head on something? Or did someone punch him? She wanted to ask, but didn't dare. She didn't want to pry into something that wasn't her business. Even so, that bruise looked fairly recent, and the ugliness of it still kept lingering in her mind.

"You're so nice, Cookie!"

"Kuukii!" Cookie chirruped, enjoying Danny's company.

"So…how's school going?" Harriet asked, kneeling down to his level.

"It was great!" Danny announced. However, his smile immediately faded as he continued to stroke Cookie's horns. "But...Dad won't let me go to school anymore."

Immediately, alarm bells began ringing in her head. "Why not?" She asked, tilting her head to one side. As much as she wanted to do something, she steeled herself from jumping to conclusions. "Is he taking you to another school?"

Danny shook his head. "No. He says school is for wimps and goody-two-shoes, and pulled me out," He answered. "But I liked school," He whimpered, sadly this time. "I liked hanging out with all my friends."

The alarm bells began clanging this time. She was sure that preventing a child from going to school, especially at such an age, was against the law unless it was for dire health reasons or if they were being homeschooled. But to pull him out without any good reason? Harriet found herself blurting out, without thinking, "He shouldn't have done that. Kids have to go to school. It's the law."

"That's what I heard Mrs. Johansson say to him," Danny replied. "But he got really mad and called her a lot of mean names."

"Did your father say why he pulled you out?" She asked again. As much as she wanted to keep herself from prying, the alarm bells clanging in her head were forcing her concern to come right out. She couldn't keep the lid on. But at this point, she didn't want to. At first, Danny didn't respond. "You can tell me. I won't get mad," She told him in a soft, motherly voice, hoping to make him feel safe.

"My dad...he says he wants me to join Team Rocket," Danny finally answered.

To say Harriet was horrified would be an understatement. She was so surprised, she lost her balance and fell on the grass. But the pain didn't bother her one bit, not compared to what Danny just told her. She found herself unable to quite believe it at first. Danny's father wants him to join Team Rocket? Who in their right mind would recruit children into Team Rocket? What they do to Pokemon was bad enough already.

Then she remembered something Ariana said when she and Margeaux moved in. _"This whole neighborhood is full of Team Rocket members. Giovanni and Hunter J are very particular about making sure no one is secretly spying or going behind TR's back. Everything you say or do will be observed closely. You should be grateful that Giovanni put in a lot of effort to help you all blend into society at the moment. We cannot let people who are not associated with us know that we are amongst them. We cause enough of an uproar as it is."_

It hit her right then and there. The entire street was occupied by Team Rocket members masquerading as normal civilians, she and her next door neighbor, Danny's father to be more specific, being among them. Harriet was at a loss for words. Did Ariana know Harriet had reservations about Team Rocket's machinations? Did she put Harriet here deliberately? She wished she knew the answer. But she could feel her stomach tying itself into a very tight knot.

"Are you okay, Harriet?" Danny asked, gazing at her with a worried expression.

"I...I'm sorry, Danny. I'm not feeling very well," Harriet apologized, brushing some of her green hair back. "Anyway, does your father, um...really...want you to join?" Even saying Team Rocket's name made Harriet nauseous.

"Yeah, he does," Danny replied, his voice adopting a strangely bitter twinge to it. "He told me so yesterday," He suddenly stood up abruptly and cried, "But I don't wanna join Team Rocket! They're bad guys! My friends said so, and I hear about what they do on the news!"

Harriet could definitely agree with him. She had seen most of their crimes in person and, regretfully, even participated in some. She didn't dare tell Danny that she was part of TR. If she told him, she was afraid he would lose someone he could trust. She didn't want to break the trust between them, not after she worked so hard to build some kind of relationship with him, one that felt somewhat normal.

"Yes. They are bad people."

"I told him I didn't want to join," Danny continued on. "But he got really mad and…" He left the sentence drift away.

The green haired woman noted the bruise on his head. "...Does it hurt?"

Danny nodded grimly. "Dad whacked me and said I have to join no matter what," The pain in his voice was unmistakable. Hearing it made Harriet shiver with terror. "That it's why I was born."

Why he was born? The nausea came rushing right back, almost slamming Harriet at full force like a freight train. Good thing she didn't throw up again. She clutched her chest, feeling it tighten, like she was losing air. Not just the nausea, memories of gossip she heard among some TR members flashed through her mind.

" _Hey! Is it true that the commanders force TR members to marry and have kids?"_

" _I don't know for sure, but Roderick told me that Emma had to marry Percy last week. He heard that Petrel told her that because she's a woman and a member of Team Rocket, it's her duty to produce new generations of TR so the organization can thrive. I heard he also said something like,_ 'Your duty will be to please him and Team Rocket as a whole. Bear him many future Team Rocket members. Sublimate your own desires. Become the willing piss-pot and spittoon of your husband and remain loyal to the organization, and we will be proud of you.' _"_

" _What?! Petrel actually said that?!"_

" _I'm not surprised he would. He is very old-fashioned, and acts like he's living in a hundred years ago. I also heard that every time he comes back from a mission, he asks for one of the female members to go into his bed chamber with him."_

" _Like...a comfort woman? Like back in the wars?"_

" _Yep."_

" _Ewwww! How awful! I hope that doesn't happen to me, you, or anyone else we know!"_

Was this what Danny's father expected out of this boy? To become a future member of Team Rocket? All she could think was...how could anyone in their right mind even encourage such an awful practice? Or any of this? Were children actually being produced solely to keep the Team Rocket line going? Harriet felt sick to her stomach all over again. All of this was just too overwhelming for her to bear.

"He shouldn't be doing that to you…" Harriet finally sputtered. Her fists trembled as she looked him in the eye. "I'm glad you told me all this," Unable to control her shaking hands, she planted them firmly on his shoulders. "I...I don't know if there's much I can do, but...what Richard is doing to you is wrong. I'll tell someone about it and they can help you and get you out."

"Really? You will?" Danny asked, looking hopeful.

"Of course."

"Danny!" A deep, booming voice sent shivers down both of their spines. Both woman and child turned toward Danny's backyard to see a tall, burly man staring at them from the open gate. He was dressed in a black suit over a white dress shirt, and his black hair was showing subtle signs of greying.

"H-Hi Dad," Danny sheepishly returned back to his backyard, not even taking the time to say goodbye to Cookie.

"Don't be bothering the neighbors, boy!" The man exclaimed in a gruff voice.

"He wasn't bothering me, Richard," Harriet explained. "He's a joy to have around."

Richard shot an angry glare at the green haired woman. "I wasn't talking to you!" He grabbed Danny by the hand. "Come on! Your mother needs you!" With that, Richard dragged the unwilling Danny back into the house.

Once he was out of sight, a blaze of courage burst forth in Harriet's chest. Danny didn't deserve to live a life among Team Rocket. He deserved to be a normal kid. A good kid, not one who was forced into a life of crime. She could only wonder what Richard planned to do with him. This was not the time to sit around and do nothing. Not anymore. Harriet put Cookie back in his pokeball and grabbed a large hat from her closet. A particularly nice, yellow sun hat with some plastic pink and white flowers glued to it.

She hoped nobody would take much notice of a pretty woman simply walking through the neighborhood. As far as she knew, the police station was just a ten minute walk from her apartment. She could deal with that. Yes, a plan was hatching in her mind: go to the police, report Richard for pulling Danny out of school, and, in the event that the police suspect more, tell them everything, even her own unwilling participation in some thefts. Being in Team Rocket was proving to be too suffocating. Somehow, the thought of being in jail seemed heavenly compared to being amongst TR.

Before she could even turn the knob, Margeaux poked her head into the living room. "Harriet? Where's the dishwashing detergent?"

"It's under the sink, Margeaux," She replied.

"Are you going somewhere?" Margeaux asked again. "I thought I'd make some meatloaf for dinner tonight."

"I…I have some errands to run. I forgot to buy some things," Harriet replied sheepishly, hoping Margeaux wouldn't catch on to her lies. "I'll be back in an hour!"

"Okay!" Thankfully, Margeaux bought it and returned to the kitchen.

Harriet steeled herself from going into hysterics as she left the apartment, locking it tight. Act natural. Don't do anything that will draw attention. Just go to the police station and report Richard barring Danny from going to school, and maybe other things as well. One foot in front of the other. Do it. Harriet wasn't sure if she had any dignity or even humanity left. But one thing was for sure: no child like Danny should ever have to be raised among Team Rocket and subjected to their horrors.

She wasn't going to run away anymore.

* * *

 **Happy Autism Awareness Month! Yeah, I know people hate Autism Speaks and their practices, but I try not to give them the time of day. Besides, the only reason I wear blue during April 2nd is mostly because blue happens to be one of my favorite colors. That, and a lot of my wardrobe just happens to be blue.**

 **And yes, Team Rocket does some baaaaaad things here. Let's be honest, even in the games and the anime they were pretty bland and underdeveloped as an organization. They don't really do much except proclaim how evil they are, take over buildings, and try to take some rare PokeBall. I never found them very intimidating or even threatening. Pokemon as a whole can be interpreted in so many ways, and it's a shame that Team Rocket kinda got the shaft in terms of potential that never got used. I kind of want to make them genuinely threatening, which is why I'm making their goals darker and explore what they do with their other members when they're not on secret illegal missions. Because, really, would Team Rocket REALLY be the type of organization to just let someone quit without consequence or even a genuine threat? If cults have the audacity to resort to murdering their own members if they so much as question their beliefs, or forcing them into sexual situations against their will, then I don't see why Team Rocket doesn't.**

 **Also, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney anime is airing right now. Awesomeness.**

 **Random Fact: I thought about making this chapter about Julia and Saoirse participating in a royal ball for fun, but I realized it'd be kinda pointless and not add to the story.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Acrobat**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)**

 **Ability: Tinted Lens**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Earthquake, and Slam**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**


	36. A Quarrel Among Friends

Chapter 30: A Quarrel Among Friends

In the far north of Johto lies a large lake, so large that it could almost cover an entire city, with clear water that always reflected the sky above it. When the sun was high above the sky, shining her light down on everything, it was a pool of liquid amber. When the moon and stars came forth to take the sun's place, the water seemed to be a piece of space brought down to Earth for everyone to see. As of now, the morning sun's light pierced through the water's surface, awakening all who slept under the lake. Few people know of the wonders that lie under the sea, and those who do venture deep in the depths see a world unlike any other.

A school of fish Pokemon were already awake and alert, using their weak, white pectoral fins to swim within the lake. Magikarp were never known to be strong swimmers, as their bodies and pectoral fins grew weak over the millions of millennia they lived. But the lake environment proved to be ideal for them since Magikarp and Gyarados were the only inhabitants of said lake. One Magikarp in particular was all too happy to be swimming around in the morning. Her tail fin wagged back and forth, pushing the water behind her, allowing her to swim forward. The barbels protruding from the sides of her mouth were a pure snow white. Magikarp with yellow barbels were male. True to form, she saw one male Magikarp just ahead, one with a slight nick in his tail.

"Magikarp magikarp…" ( _"Today's the day I tell him how I feel!"_ ) The Magikarp mumbled to herself, lost in sweet, lofty thoughts. Already, the Gyarados were awake, swimming underneath them to make sure everything was okay. She began to dream about meeting with a mate, evolving into Gyarados with him, and bearing him a dozen children. Such a life would be wonderful, as she thought. Soon, a bright purple light caught her attention. Curious, the Magikarp descended to the source. Upon closer inspection, some strange flowers were emitting the purple light.

"Karp karp!" ( _"These are perfect!"_ ) Using her pink mouth, the Magikarp turned sideways and attempted to pluck the flowers out from the sand. Since Magikarp are physically weak, this one had trouble pulling it out right away. Unbeknownst to her, two more Magikarp gathered around, putting their mouths on her tail and pulling on her. Finally, with a good yank, the glowing purple flowers were pulled right out.

The Magikarp turned around to find two of her friends, one with white barbels and another with yellow ones, smiling behind her. "Hey there! Did you help me just now?"

The two Magikarp nodded. "Thanks!" The smaller Magikarp replied.

"Are you going to try and court him?" The Magikarp with the yellow barbels asked.

Keeping the purple flowers in her mouth, the small Magikarp blushed as she joined her friends. "I'll try. I'm the only one who hasn't sought out a mate yet."

"There's no rush," Her larger friend, who had white barbels like she did. "Nobody's expecting you to find a mate right away. It's not all there is to living."

Even so, Magikarp promised herself that she would court him today, or else some other female Magikarp-one probably much bigger than she-would court him. With the flowers tight in her mouth, the small orange fish made a beeline for the school of fish up ahead. She was a girl on a mission, and this time, she was going to complete it. Nothing would stop her.

The water's luminous glow sent green light washing over everyone's forms, even the small Magikarp. The glowing purple flowers caught the green light, turning a strange yellowish color with a slight pale pink hue. All of a sudden, a subtle thud made the water above ripple all over. Blinking her confused eyes, the small Magikarp flapped her pectoral fins, ascending to the surface. A black shadow crossed the water's surface, but she couldn't quite make out its form. Just what was that? Curiosity overtook her, pushing away her intent to confess her feelings to her beloved. Dropping the flowers she worked so hard to pull out, the small Magikarp ascended to the surface.

Closer, closer, closer...finally, with a "Karp!" She pushed through the water, splashing as she squeezed her eyes shut. The sun was high in the sky, shining her light onto the whole lake. Blinded, Magikarp kept her eyes closed for a short moment. Finally, she peeled them open, forcing herself to adjust to the excessive amount of light. She looked around to observe her surroundings. So far, there was nothing but water, though she could see the forest from where she was. But where was that shadow? She didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Karp? Karp?" ( _"Was I imagining it, then?"_ ) The diminutive Magikarp asked herself. Tricks of the light were known to happen. But she couldn't shake the feeling that what she saw was real. Something didn't seem right.

"Hey!" Her two friends popped up from underwater, with her male friend carrying the purple flowers she dropped. "What are you doing up here?"

"Hello!" The small Magikarp swam over to them. "Sorry. I thought I saw something flying over the lake," She explained.

"We better get back down. Mom and Dad say we can't stay on the surface for very long," The male Magikarp explained, even with the purple flowers in his mouth.

That was when it happened. A strange, piercing sound caught their ears. It was so piercing that all three Magikarp grimaced upon hearing it. Since they had no hands, they couldn't block it out, and their pectoral fins were too weak to block out any sound, nor could they manipulate them further than their bodies were capable of. All they could feel was pain. The small Magikarp found herself splashing and writhing on the lake's surface, unable to do much of anything other than splash and scream, "KAAAAAAARP!" Nothing about this sound seemed real.

White light overtook the small Magikarp's vision, outshining the sun's radiant light. Her whole body felt as though it was being pulled and yanked to its very limits, almost to the point of coming off. Her tail exploded into something large. Her head and body suddenly grew and expanded in size. She could feel her two friends grabbing her and pushing her down under the ocean, underneath the surface. The pain consumed her entire being. She couldn't even open her eyes at this point. This white light...was it evolution? She had seen her friends evolve into Gyarados before. She had watched them evolve, and she heard them say it felt great.

None of them said anything about evolution being painful, much less to the extent she was feeling right now.

Finally, the pain was gone. She found herself opening her eyes. "Gyaaaaa…" ( _"What in the world was that…?"_ ) That was when she noticed. Her voice had suddenly grown deeper. Much deeper, almost to her mother's tone of voice. She didn't sound youthful like before. Upon opening her eyes further, she saw a large, red tail underneath her.

Wait, a large red tail?

"What happened to you?!" One of her friends suddenly screamed out loud.

The pokemon looked down. A whole crowd of Magikarp and Gyarados surrounded her, all with horrified expressions on their faces. Even the Magikarp with the nick on his tail, the one she wanted to give the flowers to, was aghast...and then he swam away with his tail flapping side to side, like he couldn't escape fast enough. She could hear her heart breaking. She didn't even attempt to court him, and he ran away like she was some kind of monster. Other Magikarp and Gyarados swam away in fear.

She was frozen. What happened? All she could ask was, "...What's wrong?"

"You evolved! But...you're different!" Her male friend shouted.

Evolved? She had evolved? The Pokemon looked all around herself. Her tail had grown. Just like a Gyarados. Something told her to go up to the surface to see better. Once the water stopped rippling, she looked down.

She saw a Gyarados stare right back at her.

A red Gyarados.

Wait, why was she red? She had evolved, like she had wanted, but...why were her scales red? Was this why her crush and some of the others swam away? Was this why everyone looked at her with those horrified expressions? The piercing sound from before sent pain throughout her entire body. No longer did she see a Gyarados. No longer did she see a red Gyarados.

She saw a monster. Was that why they swam away? Because she looked different? She didn't know. But...the idea that they might be right sent her heart and soul asunder.

"Why...why do I...look like this?" She asked herself in a low, trembling voice. The other Magikarp and Gyarados simply exchanged confused glances, helpless to do anything to console her. What could they do? They had no answer for this strange phenomenon, as this had never happened before.

The already shattered pieces of her heart broke even more. Her small eyes increased in size. Despair and fear suddenly morphed into anger. All she could do now was scream, in the highest voice she could muster. "WHY DO I LOOK LIKE THIS?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MEEEEEEEEE?!"

All she could feel was pain.

* * *

The morning after the kids arrived in Cadmium Town, they got back on the mega bus and headed for Ecruteak City. After two and a half hours on the road, they finally arrived. Before they even got to the Pokemon Center, Heracles' PokeBall turned white and disappeared into thin air. Caiseal expected this, as he was carrying one more pokemon than the expected amount trainers were supposed to carry. The kids stopped at the Pokemon Center to get their friends healed up for the trip to Mahogany Town. But Caiseal made his way to the video phone.

He punched in some numbers and held the phone up to his ear. The tiny screen flashed some static which, at first didn't generate any imagines. The phone continued to ring. Four times it rang before someone answered. At the same time, the static finally pulled itself together, producing an image of a woman staring right at him. The dark skinned woman's black hair was arranged in a neat, proper bob cut and a light blue headband pulled her bangs back. The moment she saw Caiseal, her brown eyes glimmered with joy.

" _Cash! Hey there!"_ The woman exclaimed, her voice bubbling with happiness. _"It's been so long since I heard your sweet voice!"_

Caiseal flashed a soft smile. "Hi, Yvette...Mom," He answered in a low, wistful whisper. "How are you?"

" _Everything's been great, Cash!"_ Yvette waved her free hand around as she talked, a habit she had never been able to break, not that anyone minded. _"Geoffrey got a promotion! He's managing the auto shop now!"_

"Wow, that's awesome!" Caiseal's eyes widened.

" _So enough about me. How's your journey going?"_ Yvette asked. She was one of those women who had a voice that would make anyone turn around and listen. Caiseal was no exception.

"Me and my friends just got back to Ecruteak City," Caiseal began. "We're on our way to Mahogany Town so we can battle Pryce," He explained further.

" _Sounds wonderful!"_ Yvette crooned. _"By the way, I see you caught a Heracross! He just popped onto the transporter. He's quite the little charmer. He's been in the backyard picking flowers and handing them to me!"_

The blonde boy found himself speechless. Heracles giving flowers to his adopted mother? Since when was Heracles a womanizer? Then again, he had only just caught him, so he didn't have time to really get to know him yet. "I named him Heracles," Caiseal said.

" _Heracles! Isn't that a fine name!"_ Yvette exclaimed. _"By the way, while we're on the subject of pokemon, do you want me to send him over?"_

Caiseal didn't waste any time answering. "Sure. Can you send Geo over, too? I'll bet he's really missing me."

" _No problem!"_ Yvette closed her eyes lovingly, wagging her finger as she pointed to her end of the screen. _"Who are you going to send over?"_

"I think I'll send Flippy and Ravenclaw to you. But I'll ask them first," Caiseal pulled out two PokeBalls and opened them, allowing Flippy and Ravenclaw to pop right out. Flippy didn't even notice Yvette, as all she did was yawn, opening her mouth so wide, three starter pokemon could fit right inside. As usual, Ravenclaw perched onto Caiseal's shoulder. "Hey guys. Do you want to hang out at my house?"

"Quaaaaaaag," ( _"Suuuuure. Why nooooooot?"_ ) Flippy let out a soft, carefree groan, like all she wanted to do was lay around.

Ravenclaw fluttered her wings to stretch them out a bit. "Murkrow murkrow!" ( _"That's fine with me. I kinda miss hanging out with your mom."_ ) She replied in her usual harsh squawk.

Satisfied with their answers, Caiseal put them back in their PokeBalls. First, he sent Flippy. The Transporter turned the ball into light before it disappeared. A new PokeBall appeared in its place. Heracles' PokeBall. Then, Caiseal exchanged Ravenclaw for Geo. The exchange was complete. The blonde boy took both PokeBalls and put them in his pocket.

"Thanks, Mom," Caiseal told her gratefully.

" _No problem, Cash. They arrived safe and sound,"_ Yvette's strong yet sweet voice put the blonde boy at ease. Very few people had the power to make Caiseal feel as though he mattered, that his existence mattered. Yvette was one of those people. _"Geoffrey and I will take good care of them for you."_

"I know you will."

" _I take it you're coming back here after you're done with your stuff in Mahogany Town, right?"_ Yvette asked. Caiseal answered with a nod and a simple yes. _"The minute you get here, there'll be a nice big dinner waiting for you! Or breakfast, if you get here in the morning. Oh! You should bring your friends over! Geoffrey and I would love to meet them!"_ She exclaimed, her brown eyes gleaming at the thought of meeting Perrine and Julia. _"You've told us so much about them."_

"Yeah. I'll do that," Caiseal replied in a low voice.

It was here that Yvette's smile turned upside down, right into a frown. Caiseal didn't have to look at the monitor to know that her expression changed. _"...Are you still having nightmares?"_ She asked, her voice peppered with concern.

There was no way he could deny that. "Yes. I am. The girls had to wake me up a few times," Guilt weighed down on him like someone placed a pile of bricks on top of his soul. Now, even he was frowning. "I feel really bad about it. I know you say I can't help it, but...they deserve better than to deal with my baggage."

" _From what you've told me about them, they seem like nice girls,"_ Yvette said. For just a moment, her smile returned, but smaller this time. _"The fact that they're willing to help you with that tells me a lot about their character, and if you ask me, I'm pretty good at reading people,"_ She continued. Caiseal's hand gripped the phone tight, his fingers locking onto it like it was the only thing keeping him alive. _"Don't bottle everything up, Cash. I know you tend to do that and then you explode and take it out on others. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, honest,"_ He knew she meant well, and didn't protest. _"Oh! Sorry! I have to go. I have to get back to my ironing. But I'll let Geoffrey know you called, okay?"_

Caiseal nodded. "Thanks, Mom," There was no doubt about it. He would take Yvette over the person who gave birth to him any day. At least Yvette cared about him.

" _You take care of yourself, now!"_ Yvette exclaimed, pointing to the monitor like she was a defense attorney finding a contradiction in a witness testimony. _"Remember, brush your teeth, take good care of your pokemon, eat healthy foods, don't push yourself too hard, and be nice to your friends! Bye, honey!"_ She waved her hand with a big smile before hanging up.

"Bye, Mom," With that, Caiseal hung the phone up.

"Took you long enough!" Perrine's irritated voice pulled the boy out of his reverie. Just hearing it made him stand up in alarm, like he heard someone sneak up on him.

"Jeez! You scared me!" A hand flew to his chest.

"Sorry. I want to ask Mom and Dad if they can send Chirin and Baloo to me," Perrine told him. "You were on the phone for almost half an hour."

He didn't know why, but a pang of irritation shot through him as he stood up from the chair and walked to where Julia was. Perrine sat down and used the video phone this time. Julia sat on a small chair brushing Lucretia's fur once more, this time her big fluffy neck was being brushed to perfection. Next to her, Hikaru and Rina were tapping their hands together, playing a game of patty cake. Caiseal rubbed a hand through his curly mass of hair that had grown even longer since he started his journey. Some of those messy curls had gone down to his chin. In a way, they were a good barrier from watching Perrine talk with her parents. As much as he hated to admit it, he did take up too much time on the video phone when he could have easily talked to Yvette on his PokeGear.

But he had missed seeing her face and hearing her sweet voice. He'd much rather see Yvette than his real mother any day.

"Do you like getting brushed, Lucretia?" Julia crooned.

"Vuiiiiii," The happy Eevee squeaked lovingly, basking in the brush bristles combing through the thick fur around her neck. That told Julia all she needed to know. Dangling alongside the fake jewel was the Soothe Bell, tied on the ribbon that held up her favorite accessory.

Julia looked up to see Caiseal sitting on the chairs next to her, looking irritated. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah. Just happy to be back in someplace familiar," Caiseal replied tersely.

"Vui vui?" Lucretia's ears twitched.

"Yeah, me too," Julia agreed. "Hopefully nothing bad happens here this time around," The memories of what happened the previous time she was here were strong in her mind. The same with Lucretia.

Caiseal could barely hold back a chuckle. "You got that right."

"Hey guys!" Perrine came running back to her friends, holding two PokeBalls in hand. Obviously Chirin and Baloo, since she told Caiseal about it. Her orange waves of hair bounced with every step she took, and her blue eyes were glimmering with enthusiasm. "Sorry I made you wait! We ready to head to Mahogany Town or what?"

"Hold on there, Perrine," Caiseal stood up, holding one hand out, gesturing for her to calm down a little. "We need to plan this out," He pulled his PokeGear out, pulling up the map card so the Johto map could be displayed. Julia and Perrine followed suit, displaying the maps on their PokeGear as well.

"Vuii?" Lucretia leaned closer to get a look at Julia's PokeGear.

"There's two ways we can get to Mahogany Town from here," Caiseal explained, pointing to two areas on the PokeGear. "The first way is through Mt. Mortar."

"You mean that big mountain that's supposedly really hard to navigate?" Julia asked. She had read about Mt. Mortar in some books about Johto before starting her journey.

"That's the one," Caiseal answered, satiating Julia's curiosity. "Anyway, while it is hard to navigate, there's a cave that goes straight from Ecruteak to Mahogany. So long as we don't stray off that path or go deeper than we need to, we'll be fine," He explained further. "But we also have the option of going on Route 42. We do have to cross some bodies of water, though."

Perrine gave the blonde boy a scrutinizing look. "None of our Pokemon can cross the water, and the water Pokemon we do have are too small to carry us three," She pointed out. Both Julia and Caiseal looked down at their feet. She was right. Luminita wouldn't be able to handle their combined weight, and Caiseal had switched Flippy for Heracles. Then again, even if Caiseal did have Flippy on him, carrying three kids would be too much for her to handle, as she was about the same size as the kids. So that left Mt. Mortar as the only option.

"Wait a minute," Julia suddenly piped in. "Don't fishermen hang out there a lot of the time? Don't they usually have boats that can carry a bunch of stuff, people included? Maybe we can ask-"

Before Julia could finish, Caiseal held a hand up, cutting her right off. "We can't do that," He interrupted. Julia fell silent, despondent from the instant rejection. "There's no way we can just ask a fisherman to take us to Mahogany Town on their boat," He continued further. "They might think we'll try to rob them. Plus, it'd be kinda inconsiderate to force them to take time out of their schedules to help kids who can handle things themselves."

Good point. Julia looked down at Lucretia, who rubbed herself against her leg to try and cheer her up. Hikaru hopped on her shoulder, but neither was enough to pull their trainer out of her funk. As much as she hated to admit it, Caiseal was right. It'd be rude and inconsiderate to just ask someone to help them with something they could try and do themselves. Plus, getting through Mt. Mortar was just about the only option at this point.

"Hold on!" Perrine suddenly exclaimed as they left the Pokemon Center. "Mt. Mortar isn't the only option we can use! There are actually boats that we can use ourselves!"

Caiseal gave her a scrutinizing look. "How do you know?" He asked, adopting a slightly bitter tone.

"See here?" She pulled up her PokeGear and brought up the map function again. Near the water's edge were three wooden boats, all of which were big enough to accommodate three people and a few small Pokemon. "We can use these!"

"Come on!" Caiseal argued. "Those look like they'll sink if we so much as step on them!"

"It's better than going through a dank, dark cave!"

"You think your idea is so great? Why don't you swim across Route 42?! Julia and I can go through Mt. Mortar all by ourselves!"

Julia shivered. Already, her two friends were arguing. But she couldn't help but wonder if something like this was really worth arguing about. All she knew was that it needed to stop. "Well, let's just go and see for now!" Julia exclaimed, silencing them both. "If there are boats we can use, then we can use them!" She suggested. "If not, then we can go through Mt. Mortar. How's that?"

Although the kids stopped their arguing, Julia could tell her suggestion didn't alleviate Perrine and Caiseal's flaring moods. With disgruntled sighs, the kids conceded defeat. For how long, Julia wasn't sure. She hoped it would be the end of this silly little squabble. They needed to get to Mahogany Town, and arguing wasn't going to get them there.

Too bad the squabbles didn't end there.

Once everything was settled, the kids marched away from Ecruteak City, going through some woods with thick trees. Since the sun was still out, they could see where they were going. Dead leaves crunched underneath their sneakers upon contact, and yellowish white sunbeams danced across the soil they left their footprints on. Finally, they came within the vicinity of an opening. They managed to pass through, being welcomed by a blue sky and clear waters framing a large mountain towering right over them. They could see a tiny island just up ahead, one they could easily traverse to by boat.

There was just one thing missing.

"Awwww man!" Perrine's confidence morphed into shock as she ran her hands through her mass of orange hair. "There aren't any boats!" She groaned.

Not a single empty boat was in sight. Julia looked across the water, seeing some fishermen on their boats floating about, fishing rods and all. Even though the island seemed close, it was still too far for the kids to swim, if they even knew how to swim. Julia was sure she'd drown the moment she went into the water. Disappointment swept right through them.

Except for Caiseal. "Ha! Looks like we'll have to go through Mt. Mortar!" He exclaimed in a strange, uncharacteristically mocking tone. Julia turned to look in his direction, raising an eyebrow. That wasn't like him.

An angry pang shot through Perrine, and before she could stop herself, she shouted, "Don't you dare make fun of me about this! Why are you so obsessed with going through this durn mountain anyway?!"

There it was, the squabbling. Julia put Lucretia down on the ground and covered her ears. Yelling always made her feel as though everything was exploding around her. Caiseal and Perrine suddenly began shouting back and forth, hurling words at each other for seemingly no reason.

"I knew this wouldn't work out from the start! But did you listen to me?! Nooooo!"

"You think going through a cave full of Zubat and rocks and holes is safer than riding a boat?!"

"Why aren't you listening to me?!"

"Why are you being such a stubborn brat?!"

"I know how the wilderness works, unlike you! I've been in more dangerous places!"

"Oh, really?"

Perrine and Caiseal were throwing words at each other like they were in a cafeteria engaging in a childish food fight. In fact, this whole thing was childish. As much as she wanted to keep her distance, the urge to intervene finally seized her. She threw herself in between them, holding both arms out to keep them away.

"Stop it! Both of you, knock it off!" She yelled, her voice almost bordering on angry. Thankfully, she was able to keep herself calm. Getting mad would only make the situation worse. "This isn't going to get us anywhere. Look, I don't know why you're both so mad, but are we gonna sit here yelling all day," Julia's voice adopted a strangely authoritative tone. "Or are we gonna go through this cave and get to Mahogany Town already?"

Julia was sure they would continue to fight. Whenever she would try to break up her parents arguing, or her sister arguing with them, she was always either ignored or told to shut up and stay out of it. Oddly enough, that didn't happen. Instead, both Perrine and Caiseal fell silent. They let out some grunts before crossing their arms and turning away from each other, but they stopped arguing. For now, anyway. She could tell from their body language that they didn't seem to want to reconcile just yet. Immediately, her face turned dark. Her gut was telling her that somewhere along the line, they were going to argue again.

Even so, the three kids found the entrance to the cave and took a look inside. They didn't see beyond two feet to realize that it was pitch black. Perrine pulled out a PokeBall. "Come on out, Nita!" A white light shot out from the PokeBall, materializing into the blue angler Pokemon.

"Chinchou!" ( _"Hello!"_ ) She greeted with a smile, her antennae bouncing.

"Would you mind lighting up your antennae so we can see inside this cave?" Perrine asked politely.

"Chooou!" ( _"Sure! Leave it to me!"_ ) The Chinchou happily obliged, doing a faux sailor salute with one of her fins before her antennae glowed in a soft yellow light.

The inside of Mt. Mortar was very different from Union Cave. Tall rocks resembling spears shot up from the ground-stalagmites, as Julia had seen pictures of them online. There were none protruding from the ceiling. For the most part, the cave floor they walked on was fairly flat, with no hidden holes or rocks in the way or anything of the like. With Luminita walking in front of all three of them, happily leading the way, they were able to stay on the path and go straight, along with seeing paths they advised themselves not to take.

However, even with all of these things, Julia still didn't feel safe. Sure, Hikaru and Lucretia were both walking alongside her, which was great in her mind. But she couldn't shake this strange sense of unease that seemed to completely consume her inside and out. What if a Zubat were to pop out and attempt to bite them and poison them? Or what if a whole horde of them were to surround them and attack them, leaving them for dead? What if rocks came tumbling down and trapping them inside, rendering them unable to move or get help? What if the path caved in from beneath them, taking them down into depths they couldn't escape? Already, she found herself wishing she was back home.

All of those fears were compounded by Perrine and Caiseal's quarreling. Even after they got into the cave, walking a considerable distance, Julia could tell the tension between them was thick. Both of them were stomping on the ground they walked, stamping their shoes and making loud stepping sounds. Julia knew that sound like the back of her hand. She had certainly done a lot of stamping when she was in a bad mood. Amara was also a frequent offender. But hearing it from her two friends exacerbated the anxieties that were plaguing her mind.

"Will you stop that?" Caiseal hissed. "It's driving me crazy."

"I'll stop if you stop. You're just as guilty," Perrine hissed right back.

Growing more annoyed, Caiseal continued to stamp as he walked. "Why don't you stop first?"

"Why don't you stop being a stubborn Ponyta?"

' _Great. Just great. After all this time, they're STILL fighting!'_ Julia wished they'd just stop already. Just what were they even arguing about anyway? She wanted to ask, but she learned from experience that if she asked someone a question while they were in a bad mood, it usually resulted in them shouting at her. If there was one thing she hated above everything else in the world, it was getting yelled at, especially when she did nothing wrong. But she had to do something to break the tension.

"So...exactly who's the gym leader at Mahogany?" She asked, keeping her voice low but audible.

"Pryce Snow," Caiseal answered. "He's an old geezer who uses ice types."

Julia found herself looking up. That was when she saw it. A blue bat Pokemon suddenly flew into her face. "YEEEEEK!" Immediately she shrieked and threw her hands up to try and push it away.

Then the sound of fluttering wings caught their attention. Lots of wings echoing in the cave walls. Before they knew it, a whole horde of blue bat Pokemon surrounded them, baring their tiny but sharp fangs. Julia was quick to curl into a ball and cover herself with her arms. Caiseal was throwing his bag about in an attempt to make them go away. One blue bat bit onto a clump of Perrine's hair.

"Ow! Ow! My hair!" Perrine yelped as the blue bat pulled and pulled. Had it pulled any harder, it might have pulled the whole chunk out, roots and all. "Nita, use Electro Ball!"

"Chiiiiiiinchou!" Luminita readied her two antennae. A sphere of crackling yellow electricity materialized before she smacked it with her antennae. The ball struck the Zubat point blank, throwing it against the wall. Perrine's hair was free, but she could feel that part of her head throbbing.

"Thanks, Nita."

"Chinchou!"

"Go away, you pests!" Caiseal screeched as he smacked two more Zubat with his backpack.

"Hikaru! Use Thunderbolt, and Lucretia, use Shadow Ball! Make them go away, please!" Julia begged, her voice bordering on hysterical, as she could feel one Zubat attempting to dig its fangs into the back of her shirt. Lucretia was quick to launch a Shadow Ball right at that moment, forcing the lone Zubat to retreat.

Finally, with a great howl, Hikaru shot thunder bolts in every possible direction. Two of them almost hit Perrine and Caiseal, had they not managed to evade them by ducking. The streaks of lightning managed to hit almost every Zubat, electrocuting their tiny bodies from the inside out. Their shrieks and screeches made everyone's hands fly to their ears. Julia squeezed her eyes shut, as the flashing lightning bolts were blinding, making her eyes hurt. When the attack ceased, the Zubat regrouped and flew deep into another part of the cave, the echoing of their flapping wings becoming faint until it disappeared altogether.

Julia found the energy to stand back up. "Phew! Thank goodness they're gone!" She could still feel her heart racing, even as she put her hands over her chest. "I thought for sure we were done for!" One of her fears had come true. Even so, she managed to compose herself enough to pull her PokeDex out.

" _Zubat, the bat Pokemon. They don't have any eyes or a nose, so they are blind and cannot smell anything. However, their large ears make them sensitive to sound, and they can emit ultrasonic waves from their mouths in order to check for obstacles and intruders, using them as a sonar. It's said that they did have eyes, but living in dark spaces all the time deprived them of their vision as their eyes closed permanently. During the daytime, they usually stay in caves or under the eaves of houses, as their bodies are susceptible to severe sunburn should they be exposed to excess amounts of sunlight. They always use their ultrasonic waves during flight, and they normally travel in groups."_

When she closed her PokeDex and calmed down after hearing that, her anxiety immediately returned when Caiseal suddenly marched over to her, hazel eyes flaming. "What's the matter with you?!" He yelled. Julia's hands immediately covered her ears, but it wasn't enough to block out the noise. "You almost got us killed!" He shouted, his face contorting with anger.

"I didn't mean it, nor did Hikaru!" Julia protested in her defense and Hikaru's. There were few options she could have used in the heat of the moment. Plus, Zubat were weak against electric attacks. She felt it had to be done. "We were just trying to help! Honest!"

"You put us all in danger with your screaming!" Caiseal yelled further. "Zubat don't like sudden noises! You should have known better!"

Before Julia could protest, Perrine interrupted her, but not in a way either of them expected. "You're no stranger to putting us at risk, Cash!" Perrine barked, her voice adopting the same anger that she displayed when she yelled at Kitsune back in Cianwood City. Julia found herself backing against a cave wall, feeling trapped. Trapped by the walls. Trapped by their fighting and arguing. Perrine pointed her index finger at Caiseal, glaring at him before continuing. "In fact, this is what I hate about you! You're reckless, always get mad at the drop of a hat, and you always want everything to go your way! That's pretty pathetic, don't you think?"

Pathetic. Reckless. Always getting mad. Caiseal had never seen this side of Perrine before. But her words definitely shot through him like an arrow. Even Julia found herself wide eyed and aghast. Unable to control it anymore, Caiseal marched over to the girl and yanked on her vest, pulling her so close their noses could almost touch.

"You don't know anything about me!" Caiseal roared.

"Yeah! I don't! You never tell us anything even though we're your friends!" Perrine snapped back, with no intention of shutting up. "We always do stuff for you but all you do is drag us down!"

Drag them down? Perrine would never say that. This couldn't go on. "Stop it, you two!" Julia yelled. "Stop it!"

Her pleas went unheard. The kids continued to argue. "You're the one dragging me down!"

"Oh, I'M the one dragging you down?!" Perrine finally pried his hands off of her vest. "Kinda ironic you'd say that, because you told me once that you wanted to ditch Julia back when we first met, and you said that she'd drag us down!"

"Don't bring her or that into this!"

"Why don't you ever be honest with us?!"

"Stop fighting, please!" Once again, nobody paid any heed.

Perrine and Caiseal continued to hurl insults and false accusations at each other. None of them were aware of the pain shooting through Julia's body as she helplessly watched them argue. This whole fight was just plain stupid. Pointless. Childish. Immature. Nothing Julia tried would make them reconcile. Even being civil and diplomatic didn't do any good despite having been told it was the best option. The fact that she didn't know what this fight was even about made it hurt all the more.

Why couldn't they just listen?

Finally, what little anger she had reached a boiling point. With a scream, she ran over to them and bonked them on their heads with her little weak fists. They didn't leave any marks or bruises, but she made sure that they hurt.

"Owwwwww!" Both Perrine and Caiseal covered their heads, groaning from the pain. But when they watched Julia and the three Pokemon march ahead of them, they stopped. Where was she going with them? Perrine and Caiseal exchanged confused glances before running to catch up to her. "Julia, wait!"

Julia stopped before turning on her heel, facing them with a red face drowning in tears. That was enough to make them freeze completely. Even Hikaru, Lucretia, and Luminita stopped in their tracks, wondering what was going on. "Pikapi…" That was all Hikaru had to say on the matter.

"I was SO happy when you guys decided to be my friends!" Julia screamed in the loudest voice she could muster. She was so sick and tired of it. Tired of always having to listen to yelling and fighting, and be helpless to say or do anything about it. It was time to let it all out. "You two are some of the few friends I ever had in my entire life! I was so happy when you said you wanted to come on this journey with me! It's because of you that I managed to get this far! Everything's been great! But all day you've been nothing but mad, mad, mad!" She found herself stamping her feet on the ground. She had to get this anger out somehow. She didn't care if she came off as bratty, childish, or immature, or even if they might have thought she was behaving that way right now. They needed to know how she felt about this whole thing. They needed someone to realize how stupid they were being.

"Julia…" Perrine found herself speechless, other than that.

"What the heck are you two even fighting about, anyway?!" Julia howled, waving her arms up and down in an attempt to shake the anger out of herself. "You two are acting like a bunch of babies fighting over toys! This isn't like you! I'm sorry if I made things worse, okay?! I didn't mean to, and I was just trying to help! But I don't get it! You've been fighting all freakin' day and I can't stand it! You're both being stupid right now!"

The last of Julia's voice echoed in the cave, rendering everyone silent. Julia sniffed and stared at the ground, allowing more tears to drop off of her chin and melt into the ground. Perrine and Caiseal exchanged shocked glances. What she said finally sunk in. Caiseal finally asked, "...What ARE we fighting about?"

"I...I guess I've been mad all this time because you took too much time on the video phone earlier," Perrine finally confessed. Guilt weighed down on the both of them. The anger that lingered in their hearts morphed right into remorse.

"...I wanted more time to talk to my adopted mom. I probably should have been a little more considerate," Caiseal mused, the anger in his voice having dissipated.

As soon as they said that, Julia's mouth fell agape. "WHAT?!" She screamed. "You've been mad all day because you wanted time on that dumb video phone?!" She had heard of silly reasons to be angry for a long time, but nothing like this. "YOU TWO ARE SO STUPID!" Julia screamed once more before marching away. Now she was angry.

This time, the fighting finally ended. The trio walked along the cave path in total silence. Before long, the light at the end of the tunnel presented itself. Luminita's antennae stopped glowing, and once the kids found themselves outside, the sun was still shining, warming their bodies. The fresh air wafted through their nostrils. Just one whiff of it made them feel energized again. Finally, Perrine and Caiseal turned to look at each other with masks of remorse on their faces.

"Sorry, Perrine," Caiseal apologized first. "I should have been a bit more considerate...and I shouldn't have let myself get so mad over this."

Perrine clutched one arm. "Me too. I should have waited until you were done, or at the very least talked to my parents on my PokeGear first...and sorry for saying all those mean things to you."

"Likewise. So...we're cool now?"

"We're cool."

Julia turned around, watching them reconcile. The anger in her heart was slowly beginning to dissipate. Good, they were apologizing to each other. Still, she couldn't believe the whole thing started because they wanted time on that video phone. Then again, Amara was guilty of making mountains out of molehills a lot of the time, even before she was put on the blacklist. Even Julia was no stranger of doing such things. Once they sorted things out with each other, the kids approached Julia.

"We're sorry, Jule," Caiseal apologized first. "You're right. We were being completely stupid over nothing."

"Yeah. You were," Julia didn't mince any words.

"We never should have dragged you into it," Perrine said. "Again, sorry."

She could tell they seemed sincere. As long as they weren't fighting anymore, that was fine. A smile touched her face. "Okay then! You're good! We're out now, so we can relax a little!"

"By the way, how long were we in the cave anyway?" Perrine asked.

Julia pulled out her PokeGear. The time read 11:36 AM. "We went inside at about 10:50, so...a little over half an hour?" The brown haired girl scratched her head in bewilderment. "Wow. I thought we were in there a lot longer."

"Pikapi!"

"Eevee!"

"I'm getting hungry. How about some lunch?" Caiseal asked as he let his Pokemon out of their PokeBalls. Perrine was quick to pull some food out of her bag, having bought some necessities before they left.

"Graveler! Graveler!" Geo wasted no time wrapping his large, rocky hands around Caiseal's body, pulling him close. Caiseal could feel his friend's bumpy hide rubbing against his clothes.

"Hey! Good to see you too, Geo!" Caiseal exclaimed. The anger in his heart had disappeared completely.

Once Geo let go, however, no one expected to see the giant rock glow in a harsh white light. Geo's second set of limbs vanished, and his body turned round. The kids watched in awe as Geo changed shape. When the light dissipated, out came a brand new Geo. He had a brown, turtle like head sitting in the middle of a round mass of plated green rocks, with red eyes staring right at them. A set of clawed arms and legs protruded out from his body, with three fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot.

"Whoa! Geo...you evolved! Awesome!" Caiseal couldn't resist hugging his friend. The two of them laughed and rejoiced in the evolution.

"Golem!" Geo let out a soft, sheepish growl.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex once more. _"Golem, the megaton Pokemon and the final evolved form of Geodude. Golem is known for rolling down from mountains. To prevent them from rolling into the homes of people downhill, grooves have been dug into the sides of mountains to serve as guideways for diverting this Pokémon's course. It is enclosed in a hard shell that is as rugged as slabs of rock. It sheds skin once a year to grow larger. Once it sheds its skin, its body turns tender and whitish, and their discarded shell hardens and crumbles away. Its hide hardens when it's exposed to air. Its boulder-like body is so tough, even dynamite can't harm it. It is capable of blowing itself up. It uses this explosive force to jump from mountain to mountain."_

"You rock, buddy!" Caiseal cheered, jumping up and down with a big smile on his face.

"Golem goleeeeeem!" Geo began rolling at a slow speed, circling all around the group of kids. Even the other Pokemon began to chase him around, happy to finally be out of those PokeBalls after so long.

"We are SO gonna beat the Mahogany gym leader!" Caiseal announced. It was here that a rumbling sound made everyone turn in his direction. The blonde, curly-headed boy's cheeks turned red when he realized his stomach was roaring, begging for food. The kids and the Pokemon found themselves laughing. The tension and anger was completely gone.

With that out of the way, they were back to being friends. Once lunch was made, the kids and their Pokemon happily gobbled on whatever food they either made or brought with them. Lucretia was the first to finish her food, and once Julia finished, the little Eevee ambled up to her trainer and gently tapped on her leg with one paw. It was soft, but enough to get Julia's attention, as the girl looked down at her furry friend.

"You wanna play?" Julia asked.

Lucretia squeaking "Eevee!" was the only answer she needed.

The two got up and began running around the meadow. It was wide and vast, perfect for a trainer and Pokemon to just run around and frolic happily. Frolic they did, as Lucretia and her trainer began running around. With her arms stretched out, taking in the warm sun and the fresh air, Julia immediately felt invigorated. Caves were no fun, as they were dark, dank, and closed spaces. Lucretia hopped around happily, almost as though she were dancing. The two of them were in a state of unadulterated bliss, lost in both their minds and surroundings.

...That is, until Julia found herself bumping into some strange, soft mass. It was enough to pull her out of her reverie, and she backed up the moment she hit whatever it was she bumped into. Her eyes slammed open as she looked up at the source of the mass. It was another person, far older and taller than she. A handsome albeit surprised man with light skin, soft brown eyes, and ridiculously spiky carmine red hair that could easily be mistaken for a reddish pink color. His wild hair stood up as if was a flame blazing in a fireplace, with the strands defying gravity at every turn. The man was wearing a black shirt underneath a bright red jean jacket, navy blue jeans, ash grey boots with two orange stripes on each one, and a black cape with a wine red under layer.

Her joy immediately turned into instant guilt. Just when she was happily enjoying herself, she ran into someone, almost getting them hurt. She could barely hold back a fearful, pathetic squeal as she bowed in a 90 degree angle before the flummoxed red haired man. "Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you!" She cried, bracing herself for whatever punishment the man wanted to dispel on her. A harsh scolding? Yelling? Perhaps even a slap across the face? She wasn't sure, but she figured he was blazing with anger.

But...there was nothing. She looked up for just a moment. Instead of seeing a contorted, angry face, the spiky haired man in the cape composed himself with a calm, cool smile. Julia stood back upright, rigid with fear. "It's quite alright," The man assured in a suave, rich voice. He didn't look angry in the least. No furrowed eyebrows, no clenching his teeth, no raised voice, nothing of the sort. "Just try to be more aware of your surroundings, miss."

"R-R-Right," Julia sputtered sheepishly, the guilt weighing down on her like a rock slide attack.

The man found himself glancing at Lucretia, who kept herself close to Julia by nuzzling against her leg. His smile stretched farther this time. "Is that Pokemon yours?"

"Uh..." Julia looked down at Lucretia, then at the caped man, then back at Lucretia. "Yes. She's my friend. One of them, anyway."

"I see," The man crossed his arms. "She seems to like you a lot. Take good care of your Pokemon."

"Yes sir!"

A soft vibrating sound pulled the man's gaze away from Julia. He pulled out a black cell phone and held it up to his ear as he turned away from the girl. "Yes?" He nodded twice before his eyes widened, like he saw a ghost. "Is that what happened? I see. I'll be there as soon as I can," He slammed his cell phone shut before suddenly sprinting away, his long cape fluttering in the wind. With his disappearance, Julia's guilt morphed into confusion.

"Who the heck was he?"

"Eevee vuiii."

"Hey, Julia!" Caiseal called out from about twenty feet away. "I brought some cookies with us!"

"Ooooh!" Unable to resist the allure of cookies, Julia and Lucretia ran right back their duo of friends, becoming a trio once more.

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaand the Red Gyarados arc has started...well, this is just a prologue for it, anyway. I thought I had all the filler chapters done, but then I looked at my outline in my notebook and completely forgot about this one. Well, fillers are done and the Red Gyarados arc begins in the next chapter! Promise! Good thing, too, because I've been DYING to get to these chapters for months now! Be on the lookout, as I'm gonna try banging them out this month!**

 **Random Fact: Perrine is actually a corruption of the French male name Pierre, which means stone. So you could say Perrine is strong like stone despite not really owning any rock type Pokemon...though her name actually comes from a French novel called Sans Famille, whose main character is named Perrine.**

 **Update: Added an extra scene I forgot to put in originally.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Charge, Power Gem, and Signal Beam**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	37. Rampage of the Red Gyarados

Chapter 31: Rampage of the Red Gyarados

"Are we there yet?" Julia groaned, her legs feeling heavy from having walked for what seemed to be an eternity. The kids walked through a particularly thick forest, with big trees that seemed to block all sunlight, preventing all but only a few little sunbeams from coming through. Hikaru sat on her shoulder, clutching her soft brown hair with her tiny hands. Lucretia walked alongside them, her ears perked up in case any danger befell them.

"Hang on. Let me check," Perrine pulled out her PokeGear. "We should have arrived by now," When she turned it on, the two screens showed nothing but flickering static not unlike what she would see on TV sometimes. Nothing else was displayed on it. "Huh. This is strange," She touched the screens with her finger a few times. Nothing happened. She turned it off and on again. Nothing changed. "My PokeGear's not working."

"Mine too!" Caiseal had pulled his out. Like with Perrine's, his deep blue PokeGear showed nothing but static. "Maybe we're not getting reception out here?" She wondered aloud.

Julia pulled out her own PokeGear as well. Just like with her friends, even hers wasn't working. Little to no reception couldn't have been the cause. She had seen her PokeGear with no reception, and even if she could barely call someone, the screen would still work, and even display a little message that said _'No Service.'_ Never before had the screens show nothing but static.

"This IS weird," Julia said, raising both eyebrows, looking just as flummoxed as everyone else is. But more than that, she found herself glaring at her PokeGear in annoyance. Without the map function, they wouldn't be able to figure out their location or find out if they were heading towards Mahogany Town or not. Whatever was making their PokeGears go haywire was making it very hard for the kids to find their way around.

That wasn't the only strange thing, however.

"Eevuiiiii!" All of a sudden, a shooting pain shot right through Lucretia's entire body. Unable to continue standing up, she lurched over, collapsing to the ground. Her pained cry made everyone turn their heads in her direction. The sight of her furry friend collapsed on the ground made Julia aghast.

"Lucretia!" Julia ran to her fallen friend, who was using her front paws to cover her long ears. Seeing that made alarm bells ring in her head. Why was Lucretia covering her ears? She didn't hear anything strange or loud. Not long after that, Hikaru fell to the ground, also covering her ears and yelping in pain.

"Pichaaaaaa!"

"Hikaru! Not you, too!" She cradled both of her friends with both arms, feeling completely helpless. Just what was going on? Her two friends were covering their ears screeching in pain.

"What's wrong with them?" Perrine asked.

"I don't know!" Julia wished she had an answer. Not having one was making her fear and anguish increase exponentially. The cries her two friends let out were that of Pokemon that were in excruciating pain. That sound was too familiar, yet too frightening, to mistake for anything else. She yanked out her PokeBalls and recalled them, wondering if that would help.

"We seriously need to find a Pokemon Center. Like, now!" Caiseal exclaimed. Julia could feel the worry radiating from him, especially from the way he raised his voice.

As soon as Julia stood back up, all three of them froze. A harsh, growling sound echoed on the wind rustling the trees. It wasn't so loud that it would hurt their ears, but it was loud enough to not only be close by, but enough to make them want to cower. It sounded like a large Pokemon letting out a roar.

"What the heck was that?" Perrine shivered, clutching her backpack.

Caiseal pointed his index finger further down the road. "It sounded like it came from this direction!" The kids sprinted in the direction of the noise. Their tired legs felt heavy, like cinder blocks, and their running only exacerbated the burning pain. But they weren't going to let that stop them from figuring out what's going on. Julia was especially lost in thought, as even though the loud roar sent fearful shivers down her spine, it wasn't the actual roar that made her scared. It was her translation of the roar that made her skin crawl.

" _Someone help meeeeee!"_ That was what she heard. Someone was in trouble, probably a Pokemon.

Finally, the kids made it to the end of the woods, with a lake stretching farther than their eyes could see welcoming them. The sun shined down on the lake, turning it into a pool of liquid amber. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, before the kids could even comprehend where they were at, something large and red popped out from underneath the lake water. A large sea serpent with crimson red scales and a mouth so large, even a child could easily fit and be swallowed whole. With a mighty roar, the red sea serpent writhed in the lake, splashing water all over.

"Look out!" Caiseal grabbed both girls by their arms and pulled them back, away from the water that rained down on most of the area. Julia used her free arm to cover one of her ears, as the red sea serpent's pained cries were too much for her hypersensitive ears to bear, and not just because they were loud.

"Is that...a Gyarados?!" Perrine yelped.

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to check it out. The red Gyarados continued to growl and writhe, like it was trapped in a cage. _"Gyarados, the atrocious Pokemon and the evolved form of Magikarp. Their fangs can crush stones and their scales are hard like steel. Large and vicious in temperament, they are capable of destroying entire cities in a rage, and were feared in ancient times. They were often used in wars because of their powers and ability to leave blazing ruins in their wake. When Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, its brain cells undergo a structural transformation. It is said that this transformation is to blame for this Pokémon's wildly violent nature. When they go on a rampage, they remain enraged until it demolishes everything around it, unable to be calmed until then. Even so, there do exist kind, calm, and gentle Gyarados that have never gone on rampages even once, so they are no different from other Pokemon."_

The kids blinked in surprise. Something was really odd. The Gyarados shown in the PokeDex was blue, like the lake water. They looked up at the Gyarados thrashing in the lake. That Gyarados had red scales that blazed like fire. Its coloring was completely different than the one displayed in the PokeDex. Unless…

"...Is that a shiny Gyarados?!" Julia yelped as she and the kids hid behind a tree. That was the only explanation she could come up with. Gyarados were normally blue, and if this one was red, it just had to be a shiny one.

"You might be right, Jule," Perrine remarked. "But it's dangerous. We should probably-"

A harsh roar bereaved Perrine of the opportunity to finish that sentence. The roar was so loud, all three kids fell to their knees, their hands flying to their ears in futile attempts to block it out. Julia was able to open one of her eyes to see what was going on. A black airship with a red R emblazoned on it hovered over the thrashing red Gyarados. A cannon appeared from the bottom, shooting out what appeared to be an electric net. It flew right toward the red Gyarados.

" _Please don't take me! Don't take me away!"_ The red Gyarados's pained roars sent shivers down everyone's spines, Julia especially.

All of a sudden, two strong beams of light shot out from underneath the lakewater, shooting right through the electric net, ripping it to smithereens. Two blue Gyarados ascended to the surface. One of them, one with white barbels, coiled itself around the red Gyarados, almost protectively, whereas the one with blue barbels adopted a battle stance, glaring at the airship. If looks could kill, whoever was driving the airship would be dead by now.

Julia found herself able to translate their growls. _"Why are they doing this to me, Mom? What did I do?"_ The red Gyarados's pained growls and whimpers wounded Julia's heart. So Team Rocket was here, and they wanted to capture this red Gyarados.

" _You did nothing wrong, my child! We'll protect you from these ruffians!"_ The Gyarados with white barbels kept its growls low and soft, keeping herself coiled around her daughter.

The father Gyarados launched another beam from its mouth. Unfortunately for the Gyarados, it didn't hit the airship. After a few more attacks, it finally managed to hit the airship. But when the beam made contact, a spherical force field appeared, as if shielding it from the beam of light. The father Gyarados stopped attacking, tilting his head to one side in confusion.

"Team Rocket…" Caiseal clenched his teeth and balled his fist simultaneously. It was no surprise that Team Rocket would want to catch this red Gyarados. After all, shiny Pokemon were rare. "I can't believe they're still around!" He slammed his fist into a tree trunk, not caring that some of the bumpy bark was digging into the skin on his hand.

"That red Gyarados is hurting…" Julia mused, wearing a strangely dark expression on her sympathetic face. "Her parents are trying to protect her," She balled one of her fists. "I can't stand here and watch this go on!" Her conviction to help that red Gyarados and her parents grew exponentially with every second that passed. The father Gyarados continued to fire beams at the airship to no avail. "We have to help them!"

"Hey!" A voice made the kids turn around to find four Team Rocket grunts in full uniform staring at them. Three of them were wearing black uniforms, and another in white. "What are you kids doing on our turf?!" A grunt with a black eye patch covering his left eye barked.

Their turf? Julia glared at them so intensely, she wished just staring at them would stop their hearts, if they had any. This lake didn't belong to them. What gave them the right to decide what was theirs? No Pokemon abuser deserved that, especially with the red Gyarados writhing and roaring in pain. Perrine seemed to share her sentiments, as she pulled out one of her PokeBalls.

"I'll take care of these punks! Kitsune, go!" Perrine threw one of her PokeBalls, and Kitsune materialized quickly.

"Now that they've seen us, we better eliminate them!" A TR grunt with a thick accent exclaimed.

"I'll deal with them myself! Go, Stantler!" A muscular looking TR grunt threw a PokeBall, and a beige, deer-like Pokemon materialized in front of Kitsune. The deer had a large, brown nose that took up most of its face, and resting on its head were two cream colored antlers shaped like the letter U, which had black orbs right in the center of them. Its large, round tail was about the size of a big beach ball. "Use Shadow Ball!"

"Flamethrower, Kitsune!"

"Niiine!" A stream of fire escaped from Kitsune's mouth, right as a sphere of black energy shot out from the Stantler's mouth. As the two made contact, the flames managed to make the Shadow Ball dissipate. But it wasn't enough to make the attack make contact with Stantler.

Caiseal used this time to pull out his PokeDex and examine the caribou Pokemon before them. _"Stantler, the big horn Pokemon,"_ Julia grimaced upon hearing that. Sure it had big horns, but calling it the big horn Pokemon seemed redundant, plus it looked like a deer or a caribou. _"The eye-like orbs at the base of its horns produce a pleasant odor and has a bewildering effect on anyone who smells it. It can also create startlingly realistic illusions by shaking its horns. Those who stare at its antlers will gradually lose control of their senses and be unable to stand. Stantler's magnificent antlers were traded at high prices as works of art. As a result, this Pokémon was hunted close to extinction by those who were after the priceless antlers. Stantler form herds, and live in mountainous terrain. The curved antlers subtly change the flow of air to create a strange space where reality is distorted. When a Stantler's antlers fall when it reaches old age, the orbs can be grounded into a kind of powder that helps people with sleeping problems or insomnia."_

"Use Psychic, Stantler!" The muscular TR grunt commanded in a loud, booming voice.

"Odooooo!" The black orbs in Stantler's horns began glowing in an eerie purple light. Soon, energy gathered into the horns before morphing into a beam of light that struck Kitsune right on her side. She attempted to dodge, but it came too fast for the elegant fox to evade.

"Kitsune!" Perrine clutched the top of her vest with both hands. The yellow fox fell onto the ground, with a subtle burn mark on her side. Even so, Kitsune managed to struggle back to her feet, growling at the caribou Pokemon, baring her white fangs. The Stantler was completely unfazed, and its expression didn't change one bit. There was no fear.

"You're in way over your heads, you little brats!" The muscular grunt bellowed. "Stantler, use Psychic again, and crush their minds!"

"Odooo!" Once again, the orbs on Stantler's horns glowed.

Unable to stand back and watch, Caiseal leaped into the fray, having already pulled a PokeBall out. "Heracles, get out there and use Brick Break!" With all the strength in his arm, Caiseal threw the PokeBall. As the white light materialized into Heracles, his arm was already glowing in an orange light. The lone Stantler barely had any time to comprehend his appearance before the blue beetle's glowing hand struck a blow on its side. The blow was so strong, Stantler found itself skidding across the grass, its hooves leaving small grooves as it attempted to stop itself from sliding any further.

As that happened, the trio of Gyarados finally fled back underwater. As much as they wanted to do it quietly, away from Team Rocket's sight, they obviously couldn't. Their large size and the big splashes they made as they descended underwater caught everyone's attention, and nothing the Gyarados could do would be able to prevent any noise they made. The TR grunts turned their attention toward the lake, seeing the Gyarados' tails as they retreated underwater.

"Don't let them get away!" He roared.

Caiseal pointed at the grunts before shouting at the top of his voice, "Use Megahorn!"

"Heracrosssss!" Like a brave warrior, Heracles held his horn upward, which glowed in a harsh, pale green light. Letting out a mighty roar, Heracles charged right at the grunts, his sword ready for knocking them off the face of the planet.

"Stantler! Use Psychic again!" The muscular grunt bellowed.

"Odo!" Before Heracles' horn could make contact with them, the blue beetle found himself frozen in place. Every single muscle in his body tensed up, and no matter how much he struggled, nothing he did would allow any movement. Stantler stood proud, the orbs in its antlers glowing in a harsh purple light. All it did was lift its head up, and before long, Heracles was thrown right in front of the kids. They just barely managed to evade the blue beetle falling on top of them.

"Heracles!" Caiseal ran over to his fallen friend before cradling him in his arms. "You okay, buddy?"

"Crosssss…" Heracles barely managed a croak before he fell unconscious. This told Caiseal that he was in no condition to battle anymore.

"Good job. Take a good rest," Caiseal recalled the blue beetle, taking him out of harm's way.

"Kitsune! Flamethrower again, and make it a good one!" Perrine commanded, taking charge this time.

"Niiiiiiiine!" Once again, Kitsune spilled forth a stream of fire.

That was when another grunt, one dressed in a white uniform, pulled out a PokeBall. "Sudowoodo, block it!" As the white light materialized into a Sudowoodo, the rock tree Pokemon held its arms up in a shield-like position. The red hot flames didn't even manage to leave burns on its rock hard skin. With Sudowoodo being a rock type, it was inevitable. "Use Rock Throw!"

"Sudowoodooooooo!" The imitation Pokemon held its arms in the air, allowing white portals to appear in mid-air. Said portals dropped a pile of rocks that almost fell right on top of Kitsune.

"Extrasensory!" Perrine managed to call out.

"Nine!" Hearing Perrine's command, Kitsune managed to find time to look right up at the rocks that almost piled on top of her. As soon as her eyes glowed, a psychic aura surrounded the rocks, freezing them in mid-air. With a swing of her head, she threw the rocks right back at Sudowoodo.

"Rock Smash!" The grunt demanded. On cue, both of Sudowoodo's branch like arms glowed in harsh orange lights. Letting out a valiant battle cry, Sudowoodo began smashing the rocks it produced like they were nothing but hard candy, breaking them into smithereens.

As much as she hated it, all Julia could do was watch as her friends battled the Team Rocket grunts. Even so, doing nothing but stand around drove her crazy inside, even if she knew she stood no chance against them. Her Pokemon wouldn't be able to fight them, as she didn't want to risk them getting hurt by whatever was making them suffer before. The cries of other small Pokemon took her away from the ensuing battle. Some Rattata, Oddish, Mareep, Hoothoot, and Pidgeotto had fallen to the ground, with the armless Pokemon screaming and writhing in pain, unable to cover their ears, rendered helpless. The others covered their ears with everything they had, arms or wings, and it did nothing.

Whatever they were doing, Team Rocket were utterly destroying these Pokemon, wild or captured. Every single shrill cry from the Pokemon ravaged her hypersensitive eardrums, going right down to her heart and ripping it into two, morphing right into a pained sadness. It broke all the shock and horror she felt from this whole situation. The paralysis finally broke when she kneeled down onto the grass, lurching forward to cradle a crying Oddish and Hoothoot into her skinny arms. She knew it wouldn't do anything to ease their pain or make whatever was hurting them go away, but...someone had to be there for them. Someone had to make some attempt to console them.

"It'll be...okay…" She choked out, her words cracking with every sad emotion that consumed her. She knew it wouldn't be okay, for them at least, but she had to believe in something. "It'll be okay...we'll help you...we promise…" She found herself close to breaking into tears.

Pained screams pulled her out of her mind. Julia could only watch as Perrine, Caiseal, and Kitsune were both thrown against two nearby trees. They fell to the grass, helpless and wide open for an attack. Some writhing Pineco dropped to the ground, also screaming from whatever was making them suffer.

"Perrine! Caiseal!" Julia could only scream. She wished there was something she could do.

"What do we do about this one, sir?"

As soon as she saw the muscular grunt and his Stantler and Sudowoodo standing before her, Julia froze. Was this how her journey was going to end? The muscular grunt towered over her, both in height and body size. He could easily break her in half if he wanted to. He looked down at her, his large smile showing off his pearly white teeth, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a _"I'm going to kill you"_ kind of expression.

"Don't think you're going to get away, little girl!" He intoned.

But then…

"Mercury, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Dragooooooo!" Out from the skies came a rainbow colored, dragon shaped blast of energy that blew the Team Rocket grunts out from the forest. Julia curled into a fetal position, clutching the Oddish and Hoothoot in her arms with all the strength she had. When she opened her eyes and stood back up, she saw the TR grunts cowering in fear.

Flying before her was a large, chubby, cuddly-looking dragon with pale orange scales, two beige antennae shooting up from its head with one of them being shorter than the other, a small horn right in between them, and innocent olive green eyes. Its thick arms and legs had three claws on each hand and foot, and it's strangely small wings had teal membranes. Its striated, cream colored belly stretched from its chin all the way to the very tip of its tail.

However, that wasn't the only thing she noticed about the cute, chubby dragon Pokemon. Someone was riding on its back. Someone with spiky carmine red hair and a big black cape. As the dragon Pokemon settled onto the ground, the caped man hopped off of his friend, giving the Team Rocket grunts a cold, stern glare that could easily stop their hearts of looks could kill.

"I'll only say this once!" The spiky haired man bellowed. Even his Pokemon glared at them despite its cute, cuddly appearance. "Leave the Lake of Rage right this instant! The next time I see you running around, my Dragonite and I won't show any mercy!"

In order to empathize their point, the Dragonite let out a mighty roar. "Dragoooooo!"

"Bwaaaaah!" The Team Rocket grunts scurried away with their tails between their legs, with no wish to endure the wrath of his Dragonite. Even the airship finally ascended back into the skies, flying off to who knows where.

"Jule!" Much to Julia's surprise, Perrine and Caiseal were awake and back on their feet. As soon as they saw Julia, they ran right up to her. "Are you okay?" Perrine asked.

"I'm fine. But are you okay?" Julia answered before asking them the same question. The worry in her voice was unmistakable. "I saw you two get thrown against that tree."

Caiseal crossed his arms. "I've been through worse," He retorted. Perrine was quick to recall Kitsune, seeing that her fox friend was in no condition to battle.

That was when Julia noticed it. The Oddish and Hoothoot she carried in her arms were no longer screaming their heads off. Even the other Pokemon nearby were back to normal. The Pokemon gathered around and rejoiced before marching back into the forest. The Oddish and Hoothoot leaped out of her arms to join their friends, happy that whatever was causing them so much pain finally stopped. Julia was unable to stop herself from smiling as she watched them trot into the thickets. But she didn't want to stop smiling. Finally, they were okay.

"It looks like the Pokemon are back to normal," Julia mused out loud.

"Sure seems like it," Caiseal agreed.

"Oh!" Julia turned around to face the man who rescued them. Just one look at him made her mind flash back to earlier before. "Hey! I know you! You're the man I bumped into earlier!"

The spiky haired man could only smile. "I apologize for not coming by sooner," He told them. "But I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks for saving us, sir!" Julia bowed before him gratefully. "You really-"

"OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH YOU'RE LANCE CIPRIIIIIIIS!" Everyone's poor ears were assailed by Perrine squealing in a high pitched voice unlike anything they've ever heard from her. Perrine's blue eyes were gleaming like stars, and she was jumping up and down, clasping her hands into a tight ball, squealing like she was a kid in a candy store. Both the caped man, Julia, Caiseal, and even the man's Dragonite, Mercury, found themselves taken back by the orange haired girl's fangirlish squealing.

All of a sudden, Perrine sprinted in front of the man and shook his hand up and down in rapid succession. "I'm sooooooo happy to finally meet you! I'm Perrine Innocenti, and I'm one of your biggest fans ever!"

"Alright alright!" Julia wrapped her arms around Perrine and pulled her off of the confused man. "Calm down, girl! What's with you? We almost got killed by Team Rocket goons!"

"HELLO?!" Perrine yelled. "Do you have any idea who's standing right in front of us right now?!" She pointed her index finger right at the spiky haired man. "That's Lance Siegfried Cipris, the current champion of both Kanto AND Johto! Basically the strongest Pokemon trainer in not just one region but two!"

All Lance had to say was, "...You actually know my middle name?"

"Drago?" Even Mercury wouldn't help but tilt its head to one side.

"Whoa! No way!" Now Caiseal found himself swept up in Perrine's joy. "THE Lance?!"

Perrine turned around, looking right up at the confused Lance, her starry eyes twinkling with uncontained joy. "I've collected every single book and magazine that features you, I bookmarked every single internet article on you, and I want to battle you and become champion someday!"

"Well…" Lance found himself both flattered and surprised at just how devoted this girl was. "...Thank you!"

"Perrine!" Once again, Julia pulled her friend back. "This is NOT the time to be getting all googly-squealy over a pink haired guy with a cape! Team Rocket's still on the move, and for all we know they might capture that red Gyarados and hurt her really bad!" She scolded her friend rather harshly, raising her voice enough to make Perrine turn her attention right toward her.

The champion in question-Lance-could barely hold back a chuckle. But as much as he appreciated Perrine's flattery, Julia made a good point. But he wasn't quite sure what to make of Julia calling him a pink haired guy with a cape. "She's right," Lance began. "The situation here is very dire, so let's save the how do you dos for another time," He told her, his suave voice adopting a more solemn sound to it.

"Oh! I'm...Julia, by the way," Julia introduced herself shyly, keeping her eyes on Mercury. "Julia Parisa."

"Caiseal's the name."

"Good to meet you all," Lance replied. "I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."

"What exactly is going on here, anyway?" Julia asked. "All the Pokemon, ours included, were screaming and covering their ears like they were hearing really loud noise."

Lance crossed his arms, his expression growing darker the more he heard. "I've been hearing rumors about Team Rocket making trouble here, so I came here to investigate," He explained. "It seems the rumors are true," He put a hand on his chin, briefly ruminating. "But at this point, I haven't found out what's causing the Pokemon around here so much pain. Some policemen I work with heard something about a radio signal coming from Mahogany Town..." He faced the kids once more. "Dare I ask what you kids were doing at the Lake of Rage in the first place?"

All three kids shrunk away from him, sensing the stern tone in his voice. "This place is very dangerous and full of wild Gyarados."

"We got lost," Julia took the liberty of explaining. "We were just trying to get to Mahogany Town. Our PokeGears aren't working, so we couldn't figure out where we were going."

"I see," Lance uncrossed his arms. "In that case," He pointed to a small dirt path that led away from the Lake of Rage. "Follow this path straight through, and you should reach Mahogany Town in no time."

As happy as she was about Lance helping them, Julia was unable to get that red Gyarados out of her mind. Hearing her cries for help, her pained roars...how could she be asked to just leave Lake of Rage and not do anything to help? Someone had to help that red Gyarados somehow. Sure, Lance was the champion and probably had very strong Pokemon, Mercury the Dragonite being one of them, but what if they proved to be too strong? The urge to speak up finally seized her.

"Mr. Cipris?" Julia choked out. "Let us help you!" She finally declared. "We can help you stop Team Rocket!"

The champion wasted no time shooting her down. "Absolutely not!" He cut her off immediately. "I will not allow you to put yourselves in grave danger. Should you be severely hurt or killed…" He looked down at the grass beneath his boots. Julia could see his eyebrows furrowing and his teeth chewing on a part of his lip. "...I would never be able to forgive myself."

"He's right, Jule," Caiseal agreed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You've seen how strong they are. They almost wiped the floor with us, and they'll be sure to use that radio signal thing or whatever against our Pokemon," In his heart, Caiseal actually wanted to side with Julia. He knew Lance was looking out for them, and respected that, but he too felt that sitting around and doing nothing would just drive him crazy. He wanted to help that red Gyarados as well. That Gyarados did nothing to deserve being targeted by Team Rocket. But he had to admit, Lance made good points. Should he and the girls get hurt or killed, their blood would be on Lance's hands forevermore.

"I'll handle things here," Lance assured them kindly. "Go to Mahogany Town. I'll make sure Team Rocket pays for what they've done."

Julia wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him so badly. Still, the worry gnawed at her heart like a rattata wanting to steal food from someone's bag. Even after she and the others ambled on the dirt path, all she did was silently worry for the red Gyarados. Her growls continued to echo in her ears, with no intention of releasing her from their grasp.

* * *

Just below the water's surface, the Gyarados family flocked to the bottom of the lake as fast as they could. Joining them were a school of concerned Magikarp, who completely surrounded the red Gyarados as she rested down on a pile of rocks that she considered to be her bed. Seeing the pain on her large face told everyone all they needed to know about what those dreadful humans-Team Rocket as that one particular group called themselves-did to her.

The red Gyarados had always wanted to evolve. She wanted to evolve like her friends, find a mate, have children, and live the rest of her days in peace. Now, that dream had come true, but in the worst way possible. Not only that, she wasn't even blue, like her parents or other Gyarados she knew. Instead, she was red, just like when she was a Magikarp. The pain she felt from her evolution still lingered, and nothing she did could shake it off no matter what. It hurt so much. Her whole body felt as though it had been pulled into two. Not even the comforting darkness of the deepest depths of the lake nor the cool yet frigid taste of the lakewater could calm her down.

Magikarp of all shapes and sizes fixated their gazes upon her, both with concern, sympathy, and confusion, wondering what happened. Others simply stared at her shiny red scales out of a strange, morbid curiosity that they couldn't control. The two other Gyarados found themselves locked in conversation. "It's those humans! They forced our child to evolve, and now look what they did!" The father Gyarados barked. Despite being a water Pokemon, bubbles floated out from his wide open mouth with every growl, gurgling away toward the surface.

"What can we do?" The mother Gyarados implored, guarding her child like any good mother would. "Who knows what strange machines they could use."

"We can overpower them easy!" The father Gyarados continued, waving his tail up and down, causing small currents to ripple through the lake. Some Magikarp were accidentally blown away, not that the father knew that. "Our attacks are powerful! We can kill them all with one Hyper Beam! They'll think twice before messing with us!"

"But won't that make things worse?" The red Gyarados finally let out a low, concerned growl. As much as she appreciated her parents' willingness to protect her, she had already seen what Team Rocket could do to her. If they could hurt her, the others could also be easy targets, and even her parents wouldn't be spared.

The father Gyarados floated down to his fearful daughter, his anger morphing into fatherly worry. "I'm sorry I couldn't prevent this, my child," He apologized, his deep voice consumed with rue and woe. "But no matter what happens, I won't let them take you away from me," He coiled his long tail around his daughter's neck, pulling her close.

The red Gyarados closed her eyes, losing herself in the warmth of her father's lovely blue and beige scales. Oh, how lovely it felt to be in his embrace. Then the realization hit her like a Hyper Beam attack. If he and her mother were to confront Team Rocket, they could kill them...and it would be her fault.

"Surely, those humans will come after her again," The mother Gyarados told her husband. "They may be gone now, but I can sense they have no intention of giving up without a fight."

"Same with us!" The father bellowed. His roar was so loud, some of the Magikarp wound up flying right into the red Gyarados's hide, their weak bodies being easily blown away by the roars of larger Pokemon. The red Gyarados's father barely noticed. "I'll never hand her over to them! Come Heaven, Hell, or high waters, they'll deal with us first!"

' _Oh, father…'_ The red Gyarados could barely hold back tears. Even in the midst of danger, her parents still wanted to protect her at any cost. Even so, the guilt that weighed down on her heart was as heavy as the shiny red scales that covered her hide. If Team Rocket ever hurt her parents, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Already, the water's surface rippled once more.

Finally, she made her decision. "...if you're going to fight, let me fight alongside you!" She declared. "I won't let you get hurt because of me!"

The Magikarps' mouths all fell agape. "Think this through!" One of them implored, waving his pectoral fins back and forth vigorously. "For all you know they might be too strong!"

"And even if you and your parents do defeat them, who's to say there won't be more of them?!" A female Magikarp reasoned.

The mother Gyarados turned to the school of Magikarp with motherly concern on her somewhat vicious-looking face. "We appreciate your concern, my friends. However, at this point, there are no other options we can utilize. Go back home and tell your parents everything. We will handle things here," She told them reassuringly.

"Mother...Father…" Although the pain from her evolution still lingered, it managed to subside enough for her to actually move around. "I'm sorry I brought them here. Let me at least do this for you."

Without a word, her father coiled his body right around her, trapping her in a tight but loving embrace. "You did nothing wrong. Don't ever say such poppycock, and I would be more than happy to have you fight alongside me. Lake of Rage is our home."

He was right. Lake of Rage was their home. It may not seem like much to those Team Rocket people, nor other humans in the grand scheme of things, but this large, colossal lake was their home. Their fortress, their sanctuary. It was only natural that these Gyarados would want to protect their home from intruders...and protect it they would!

* * *

No one but Team Rocket knew where their base was. Deep beneath the Earth's soil was a base with walls of solid steel, lined with bronze, cat shaped statues with red eyes that could see all and forget nothing. Standing before a large screen was Archer and a shrewd looking old man with plum purple hair and a matching goatee. His black eyes fixated on the big screen before him, and his black uniform had yellow stripes going down the torso all the way down to the silver belt around his waist. Other TR grunts scurried around the room, performing their assigned duties.

"The evolution inducement wave we created is a big success," The purple haired man rejoiced in a raspy, husky voice that made him sound like he was nearing his fifties. "That red Gyarados will be the key to improving it even further and making sure Project R reaches fruition!"

"Yes, Petrel," Archer answered in a solemn, stoic manner. The teal haired Rocket executive kept his arms crossed the entire time. "But in order to make the proper adjustments, we must first capture the red Gyarados and examine it."

"I'm afraid it won't be so easy," Petrel reminded him in a shrewd manner. "You've seen how ferocious they are. They can easily blast our machines into smithereens if we so much as come anywhere near the lake," He waggled his eyebrows. "Surely you have a plan to address this?"

"Obviously we can't go to the bottom of the lake," Once again, Archer was quick to answer his older senior. "Our technology is too weak against them. Hmmm…" Archer put a hand on his chin, losing himself in rumination. Finally, an answer popped right into his head. "Since the evolution inducement wave is still in its infancy, is it possible to adjust it so it can simply lure Pokemon out from the depths of Lake of Rage?"

Petrel rubbed his glove covered hands together. "I don't know if we can...adjust it, per say. But one of our technicians has his own radio signal that might be able to do just that," Petrel replied, waggling his eyebrows once more. "Rest assured, dear Archer! Project R will be the greatest undertaking in Team Rocket history! I will see to it that it reaches fruition at any cost!"

Archer flashed a devious smile at his senior. "I have no doubts about that. See to it at once, Petrel."

Before Petrel could leave, some titanium doors opened all by themselves. Proton, dressed in full uniform, came running right up to the two Rocket Executives. "Commander Archer!" He held a flat hand to his forehead in a mock sailor salute. "Commander Samson has just informed us that three children and the champion of Johto have seen Team Rocket attempt to capture the red Gyarados."

Both Archer and Petrel's ears perked right up. Three children? "Explain further, Proton," Petrel commanded.

"Unfortunately, they're the same children who thwarted our attempts to capture Raikou twice back in Olivine City," Proton elaborated. At that point, the screen displayed an image of three children. Two girls and one boy. "Lance Cipris knows about us as well. The children are coming here to Mahogany as we speak."

The two Team Rocket executives fixated their gazes on the big screen once more. They had heard of these kids being a thorn in their side back in Olivine City, but they hadn't quite believed it. A bunch of ten-year-old kids ruining an evil organization's plans to capture a legendary Pokemon? Such a grandiose thought was ludicrous in the eyes of these executives. On the other hand...Lance Cipris was not a man to underestimate. They knew this well. But they had heard J mention the kids a few times before. If they were to find their base and report their plans to the police...they needed to nip this in the bud, and fast.

"Proton," Archer began. "If what you say about these children is true, then do whatever you can to make sure they don't report us to the police," He explained, his suave voice adopting a cold, hard edge to it. "Deal with them however you please."

Once again, Proton did a sailor's salute. "Yes, commander!" It must be confessed that Proton had been anxious about wanting to deal with these children. They had ruined his feats back in Olivine City. Now seemed to be a great time to give them their just desserts. Nobody messed with Team Rocket and would have the liberty of getting away with it. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Archer turned to Petrel. "Tell the technician to adjust the radio signal," He told him. "And tell everyone to be on the lookout for Lance Cirpis."

"As you wish, Archer, my boy!"

* * *

Walking along the long rows of trees, a yellow, giraffe-like Pokemon with a long neck realized something was wrong when unevolved Pokemon-Mareep, Hoothoot, Oddish, Pidgeotto, anything of the like-suddenly all fell to the ground, screaming like they were in pain. Being merely a quadrupled long neck Pokemon, all it could do was stand there, puzzled. Just what was happening? Why were they screaming? Whatever was happening, this was nothing the giraffe-shaped Pokemon had ever seen before.

But before long, the small Pokemon stopped screaming and went back to their normal lives, like nothing had ever happened. That was quick. An Oddish happened to be passing right by, trotting along and singing a little tune to itself without a care in the world. Curious, the long neck Pokemon approached the Oddish, yearning for answers.

"Oddish? Is that you?" The giraffe Pokemon asked.

"Oh!" The small Oddish turned around and smiled, happy to see a familiar face. "Hi, Girafarig!"

"I saw you screaming like you were being tortured," Girafarig trilled, leaning closer to lower himself at eye level with the tiny plant. "What happened to you?"

"You won't believe it!" The Oddish squeaked. "It was so weird! I was just going on a walk when all of a sudden this...weird feeling came over me," He explained further. "I felt like I was being ripped apart and set on fire at the same time! It really hurt, too! I heard this really loud sound that almost made me go deaf!"

A loud sound? Feeling like being ripped apart and set on fire at the same time? Girafarig could only squint as he tried to comprehend what his friend was telling him. There had been no such events before. Perhaps the most curious of all, he himself hadn't heard that strange sound or felt the same sensation other Pokemon did. At the same time, he was happy that the sound seemed to have disappeared for now. No longer did any other Pokemon around him scream in pain.

"I'm glad you're okay, though."

"Did you feel it, too?"

Girafarig shook his head no. "No, I didn't."

"That's strange. Everyone else I knew heard and felt it," The Oddish elaborated. "But then again, that might be a good thing, since I wouldn't wish that pain on even my worst enemy!"

"You'd best be careful."

"You too, Girafarig!" With that, the little Oddish trotted back home, carrying its stubby, root-like legs one at a time as he went into a nearby thicket.

Girafarig's curiosity outweighed the potential danger he could find himself in. Just what was this frightening sound that could cause the Pokemon so much pain? He walked along the trees once more, then halting to a stop. Three humans, two girls and one boy, were within his vicinity, walking along another dirt path. Girafarig stood silent, watching them as they trekked along the path. It didn't take long for Girafarig to figure out that they were humans. Relatively small humans, just a foot shorter than he, and they didn't look like they could cause any trouble. But his peers always told him to steer clear of humans. Humans were a relatively common sight around these parts, and all they usually did was pass through or stop by to catch Pokemon. Almost every Pokemon, from the gossipy Mareep to the shy Oddish would either go out to see them or steer clear. Girafarig had seen a few a couple times, so seeing these kids didn't set off any instincts to run away.

"Lance was right! I can see some buildings from here!" The orange haired girl exclaimed, holding her hand over her eyes to see further into the distance.

The blonde haired boy stretched his arms out, taking in the sunlight. "Finally, we can get the heck out of here!"

The long neck Pokemon noticed that one of the humans looked rather despondent. The brown haired girl was silent the whole way, always looking down at the grass beneath her feet. Girafarig kept his gaze fixated on the humans, his ears up and alert. "I...I can't stop worrying."

"About the red Gyarados?" The orange haired girl asked.

Red Gyarados? That was a new one. Girafarig's curiosity began to override his instincts. Since when was there a red Gyarados? Surely, they were just making up stories. At the same time, however, Girafarig knew the Lake of Rage well. It wasn't an ideal place to go, but it was overrun with Magikarp and Gyarados. Wait a minute...Girafarig had seen a strange machine fly over the forest, heading to Lake of Rage. Was that the cause of the sound he and the Pokemon heard earlier?

Girafarig received his answer when the sounds of combat echoed through the forest. Two humans dressed in black uniforms suddenly appeared before the three kids. Accompanying them were Pokemon the Girafarig had never seen before-one was a big purple cobra, and the other a big blue bat with an equally large mouth that looked as though it could swallow even a big apple whole. Suddenly, the boy and the orange haired girl sent out two more Pokemon he had never seen before-a green dinosaur with a flower around its neck and a large rock Pokemon with a head, arms, and legs.

' _New Pokemon?'_ Girafarig thought, keeping himself hidden in a nearby thicket. 'I've only seen Oddish, Mareep, Pidgeotto, and the occasional Hoothoot and Venonat. Actually, scratch that, I've seen Noctowl and Exeggcute too. But I've never seen those before.' Girafarig had lived his whole life in Route 43 and never ventured outside his home even once, so it was only natural that he wouldn't know much about Pokemon outside his home.

He had also never seen a Pokemon battle between both Pokemon and humans before, and boy, was he astounded. He had never seen such a sight, and with how intense the events playing out before him were, he had to wonder how humans and Pokemon could work together like that. Soon, he was shaken from his wonder by the sounds of combat and screaming. The blue bat sunk glowing green teeth into the rock turtle, sucking away all of its energy and knocking it completely unconscious. The purple cobra suddenly fired a harsh beam of black and purple energy that ripped through everything. The kids and their Pokemon were helpless to do anything and were rendered completely unconscious.

Awe morphed into fear and shock, and both seized the long neck Pokemon. _'What are those people planning to do with them?!'_ He thought, immediately growing worried for the children. A green haired man and another TR grunt approached the unconscious children with smug smirks on their faces.

"What do we do with these kids, Commander Proton?" The grunt asked.

"They know too much. We'll take them to the hideout for now," The green haired man, Proton, replied. "Then see what J wants to do with them."

Whatever he planned to do with them, Girafarig could sense that nothing they planned was good. _'Something's gotta be done,'_ The Girafarig thought, his fear suddenly morphing into a strange kind of courage. _'...I think it's time I do something for once!'_ He leaped out from the thicket.

* * *

"Ugh…" The first thing Julia noticed upon waking up was that the room was extremely dark. Only one dim light was on, and it was barely enough to light up the entire room. The second thing she noticed were steel bars and a padlock keeping them inside. "We're trapped!" Julia yelped. She looked down to see Caiseal and Perrine lying on the cold, steel floor, along with a Pokemon she was sure didn't belong to any of them.

"Guys! Wake up! Wake up!" Julia pleaded.

"What?" Caiseal was the first to wake. He sat right up like a jack-in-a-box, followed by Perrine regaining consciousness. "Where are we?" He asked.

"I have no idea…" Perrine was just as flummoxed as everyone else was.

At that moment, titanium doors pulled right open. Proton marched right into the room with his Arbok crawling right behind him. Trembling just from the sight of the cobra, Julia hid behind Perrine. "Let us out of here!" Perrine yelled.

"You know too much," Proton told them in a cold, callous tone of voice. "Do you really think Team Rocket would let you kids just leave and dilly-dally away without proper punishment?" His trusty Arbok stuck its tongue out, wiggling it left and right as it hissed at them.

"What did you do with the red Gyarados?!" Julia yelled. "What do you even want with her anyway?!"

Proton squinted at the younger girl. "That red Gyarados is the stepping stone for Project R."

"Project R?" That wasn't something the kids heard before. Then again, anything by Team Rocket obviously meant trouble. "What's Project R, anyway?" Caiseal barked, glaring at Proton like he wanted to break out of that cage and beat him bloody.

All Proton did was shrug. "Since you'll be permanent residents of Team Rocket, I don't see why I can't fill you in. Project R stands for Project Revolution," Proton began, crossing his arms as he explained everything in detail.

Team Rocket recently began construction of a radio signal called an evolution inducement wave. It was programmed to force Pokemon to evolve to their final stages without the need for training experience, evolution stones, etc. So far, the only Pokemon to evolve was the red Gyarados, and she retained her red coloring from her Magikarp stage, which told the TR executives that the radio signal still needs additional improvements in order to be perfect. But the fact that it worked at all on the red Gyarados was proof that the evolution inducement wave was a great success in and of itself. When the evolution inducement wave was perfected enough, Team Rocket plans to evolve every Pokemon they possibly can and create their own army so the world can be theirs.

Caiseal rolled his eyes. "Snoooooresville. Dude, taking over the world is so cliche. I'm pretty sure not even Team Rocket can do that!" He snapped with a twinge of sarcasm. "Besides, don't you have any more original evil plans? Like, I don't know, using Pokemon to make people like you more than they do now?"

"Caiseal!" Julia scolded. As much as she liked Caiseal for actually saying something, did he really have to resort to humor in this dire situation? "This is not the time for silly jokes!"

"How much lower do you guys plan to stoop?" Perrine hissed. "You're not gonna get away with this!"

Proton put a hand on his side. "And what do you kids plan to do about it, hmmm?" He asked. The kids could only exchange pained glances. "If you even so much as try anything, we won't be merciful in the slightest, even if you are mere children."

Right then, a lower ranked Team Rocket grunt approached Proton with a clipboard in his hand. "Commander Proton. Operation Seize the Red Gyarados is ready to commence."

"Good," Proton replied. "Ta-ta, children. Once this mission is complete, I'll be the first to deal with you," With that, Proton and the grunt left the room.

The kids were all alone, trapped and caged like animals about to be sold to the slaughter. Even so, they hadn't lost hope. No, they didn't even think about giving up. Julia eyed the padlock. _'We'll save you, Miss Red Gyarados. I swear on my life!'_ She promised herself. She'd rather die a thousand deaths than let Team Rocket hurt any more Pokemon.

* * *

 **Uuuuuugh. Why does job hunting have to be soooooo hard?! Then again, my dad did say that your first job is always the hardest one to find. Can't give up now. Anyway, the red Gyarados arc has started! I've been DYING to write this arc for months, and now I'll be able to do so! This one's gonna be a doozy! Look forward to more chapters to come out soon!**

 **Random Fact: The last name I gave Lance, Cipris, is a Czech name that means "dweller by the river's edge." Since Lance's Japanese name, Wataru, means crossing, like crossing a river, I thought it was fitting. Syyyyyyymbolism! *waves hands and arms in wavy fashion* Also, his middle name, Siegfried, is his German dub name.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Charge, Power Gem, and Signal Beam**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	38. How To Catch a Gyarados Without Trying

Chapter 32: How To Catch a Gyarados Without Really Trying

Lance Cipris and a small blue bird Pokemon with fluffy, cloud shaped wings hid in a corner of the steel hallways, watching, waiting, anticipating. At this point, all they could do was wait for the right moment to come. Finally, a set of titanium doors opened, and an unassuming Team Rocket grunt walked right down the hall, with his eyes completely glued to a clipboard. The Team Rocket grunt was completely alone, and he wasn't watching where he was going.

"Okay, Venus," Lance whispered to the cloud-like bird sitting on his shoulder. "Use Sing."

"Swablu!" The bird Pokemon chirruped. Lance pulled out some ear plugs and shoved them in his ears as the Swablu sang a beautiful, soothing melody. It came like a wave, and before long, the unassuming Team Rocket grunt found himself growing drowsy.

His eyesight began to blur, and the soft, dulcet melody entering both ears seemed to drain all the energy out of his body. At one point, he fell right to his knees, not noticing the pain his knees felt when they crashed against the hard, steel flooring. He didn't even have time to say anything, let alone comprehend the situation around him. His eyes refused to stay open, and everything around him turned dark. Finally, he fell to the floor, his eyes finally closing. All the TR grunt could do was snore.

This was his chance. Once Venus stopped singing her lofty lullaby, Lance dragged the sleeping TR grunt into the corridor by his foot before swiping his clothes. Then he made time to change out of his outfit and throw the Team Rocket uniform on himself. Good thing the outfit came with a reasonably large hat and sunglasses. He could easily use them to hide his hair and eyes this way. The champion of Johto and Kanto could easily be recognized by anyone, as his name was known all over both regions, and at this point in time, he couldn't risk getting caught.

"Good job, Venus. Return for now," Lance called his Swablu back into its assigned PokeBall. Now that he was in disguise, he could use this chance to figure out just what Team Rocket was doing.

But masquerading through the labyrinths of metallic hallways wasn't going to be easy. Passages upon passages were everywhere, lined with bronze cat statues that always had those eerie looks on their faces. Just finding an exit was proving to be rather difficult. As much as he wanted to use some of his Pokemon to help him out, he didn't want to risk setting off any alarms or causing a scene. Plus, most of Lance's Pokemon were large, and his trusty Swablu, Venus, was not exactly the kind of Pokemon that Team Rocket would necessarily use.

Right as he turned yet another corner, two Team Rocket grunts came out from one set of blue doors. Both of them were female, with one having blonde hair done in a curly ponytail, and the other having wavy black hair that went down to her chin.

"Good afternoon, sir!" The girls both bowed before him, holding themselves down to ninety-degree angles.

"Uhhh…" Lance found himself flummoxed. Why were they acting as though they had met some prince from another country? On the bright side, they didn't see through his disguise. Already, Lance was seeing an opportunity present itself. "Good afternoon, ladies."

"Oh!" The blonde woman exclaimed as she held herself back up. "Are you one of the newer grunts?"

"Yes, I am!" Lance spat out on impulse. It was too late to take it back. A shiver ran right down his spine despite trying to keep his expression and posture cool and calm.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Emmylou," The blonde woman shook his hand with a jovial expression on her face. "And this is my partner Kelsey!"

"Hi there," Kelsey waved her hand slowly.

"You look kind of lost," Emmylou noticed. Lance thanked his lucky stars that the Team Rocket uniform he stole from that one grunt came with sunglasses. He was in no mood for allowing these women to see through his disguise. "If you want, we can help you get to the command center."

"Sure," Lance replied, grateful for their kindness. "I'd very much appreciate that."

Whether this was fate or just a really good stroke of luck, Lance wasn't sure. But at this point, he didn't dare question it. Opportunities to figure out Team Rocket's plans were opening up by the dozens, and if Lance didn't seize them right now, Team Rocket would succeed in whatever it was they were planning. He silently followed the girls through the labyrinth of metallic hallways, keeping his cool the whole time.

"Hey, Emmylou," Kelsey was the first to strike up a conversation. "What exactly does Petrel and the other executives want to do with the evolution inducement wave?"

' _Evolution inducement wave?'_ Just hearing those words put together was enough to make his curiosity override his need to keep his guard up. He had to wonder...one of the policemen he worked with said something about Team Rocket creating some kind of radio signal. Was this what they were talking about?

"I heard Archer say that once they perfect it," Emmylou explained, using one of her hands to push a good chunk of her hair out of her face. Her bright red lipstick moved right in sync with her mouth as she talked. "They're going to use it to evolve every Pokemon they catch by force and create a Pokemon army strong enough to take over all of Johto," After she finished her explanation, she shrugged. "But I doubt it'll really work, though."

Evolve Pokemon by force? Take over Johto? Lance knew that Team Rocket was a very organized crime group that would do anything to achieve whatever goals they wanted to achieve, no matter how unethical or illegal their methods would be. But this? This was not only completely insane, but downright immoral in every sense of the word. In fact, immoral was the understatement of the century, an insult to the word immoral. Immoral could barely even begin to describe this situation. But now he knew what Team Rocket was doing.

In a way, the red Gyarados' appearance began to make sense. Team Rocket probably used the evolution inducement wave on a Magikarp, causing it to evolve into that red Gyarados. That was the only plausible explanation he could think of. But now that begged the question...what did they want the red Gyarados for anyway?

"It sounds like it's a very important mission," Lance finally spoke up. "What do they want the red Gyarados for?"

"I don't know for sure," Kelsey replied. "But I hear they're going to study it and see if it's different from regular Pokemon as a result of having evolved."

He was sure that by studying she meant performing some kind of unethical experiments on it. Already, he could feel his blood boiling from within his veins. It was just like them to attempt something like this. By this time, he and the girls had arrived in the command center. Keeping silent, he examined the room closely, standing as still as a mannequin. In front of the screen stood Archer and Petrel. They spoke in such loud voices, even Lance could easily hear them.

"The capture machines are ready, sir!" Emmylou and Kelsey approached Archer and held their hands up in sailor salutes.

"Good," Archer complimented them with his usual smug expression. The two girls hastily returned to their posts, with Lance in tow. "Now we can finally seize that red Gyarados."

Lance's blood ran cold this time. There was no way he could do anything in this position without causing some kind of ruckus and blowing his cover. As much as he wanted to act, he couldn't see any real options. At least he managed to gather the information he needed. Still, there was more he wanted to confirm. See with his own eyes. Just where was the evolution inducement ray, and how could he possibly turn it off for good?

Even worse, those two girls who accompanied him earlier didn't look older than their late teens. Already, he could feel his heart breaking for them. Just what did Team Rocket do to convince them to join? Teenaged girls like them should be at home with their families, going to school, preparing for the school prom, and getting ready to live their lives and fulfill their dreams, not serving Team Rocket or working for them. Then again, he had heard reports that Team Rocket was known for taking in runaways or people who were desperate to escape from poverty no matter what. Lance could only imagine what could convince those girls to serve Team Rocket, or perhaps coerced them into serving TR.

 _Vzzzzzt._ A silver cell phone vibrated in his pocket, giving off a low but harsh buzzing sound. Lance pulled out the phone, opened it, and pressed a button without breaking a sweat.

"Hello?"

" _Lance. I have good news for you,"_ A female voice echoed on the other line.

Good news? Lance's curiosity was immediately piqued. "What is it, Officer Jenny?" He whispered, hoping that Team Rocket wouldn't hear him. Then again, a crowd had gathered in the command center, and all of their voices drowned out his whispers.

" _I found out where the evolution inducement ray is,"_ Officer Jenny replied. _"It's in the basement, at the deepest part of the hideout. But…"_ At first, Officer Jenny let the sentence drift away. For a moment, Lance thought she might have gotten caught, but he didn't hear anything else on the line. Finally, Officer Jenny continued on. _"...It's being powered by Electrode."_

The despair in her voice was imminent, and even Lance found himself speechless. Even so, he wasn't surprised. It was just like Team Rocket to use Pokemon for their own ends. _"They're making them use Discharge to power the machine, and they won't let them do anything else,"_ She explained further.

"Got it. Thank you for the intel," Lance told her. "I'll be down as soon as I can."

" _Please be careful,"_ Officer Jenny advised. _"It's very heavily guarded. The Persian statues will go off if you do anything reckless, and there are lots of Team Rocket grunts here,"_ She elaborated. Lance gripped his silver cell phone tighter this time. _"I'm hiding in a bathroom stall right now, because if I called you in the basement, the grunts would see me for sure."_

"Are you recording everything with your glasses camera?" Lance asked.

" _Sure am!"_

"Good," Lance smiled.

" _Oh! One more thing!"_

"What is it?"

" _I heard one of the grunts say three kids were captured just now,"_ Officer Jenny explained. _"Two girls, one boy, and a wild Girafarig."_

Three kids? One boy and two girls? Lance's blood ran cold. It couldn't have been those kids he saved earlier, could it? If anything were to happen to those children...Lance's resolve grew stronger. _'Team Rocket...I'll make sure you pay for everything you've done!'_ He told himself, promising to thwart TR's plans once and for all.

* * *

None of the kids knew how much time had passed. The room was so dark, it was almost pitch black, and would have been if it weren't for a solitary light bulb that dimly lit the room. But even with that dim light barely illuminating the room, it didn't do anything to alleviate the hopelessness and anger the kids endured as they sat in that cage like trapped animals. Caiseal gripped the iron bars with his hands and pulled, pulled, pulled with all his strength. They didn't budge one bit.

"Dangit!" He snarled, his impatient face contorting the more his frustration grew. His knuckles white from pulling so hard, with a growl, he swung his foot right at one of the iron bars. Once they made contact, his sneaker vibrated as the pain rebounded onto his foot. But he didn't care. Just being in this cage was utterly humiliating.

"Alright. Back up, Cash," Unable to watch him continue what was a hopeless task, Perrine grabbed Caiseal by the shoulders and pulled him back. "Let me try something," Without another word, she pulled a PokeBall out, releasing the eager Florian from his confinement.

"Mega mega!" Florian warbled, happy to be free from being stuck in that PokeBall for a while. The green sauropod stretched his short legs out, getting rid of the kinks that made them so stiff.

"Hey there, Florian," Perrine stroke the pink foliage circling his neck gently. "Can you use Razor Leaf on those iron bars?" She pointed to the bars with her index finger. "We're stuck and we need to get out."

"Megannn!" Florian nodded without hesitation. The green sauropod positioned himself to face the barrier before him. Then, the pink flower around his neck glowed in a harsh white light. With just a swing of his head, razor sharp leaves came flying right out. The swirling leaves rammed against the bars with all the strength Florian could give them. Unfortunately, they didn't leave so much as a scratch. The leaves fell to the ground and disappeared.

"Mega…" Perrine could see Florian's yellow antennae droop, and the big sigh he heaved told her everything she needed to know.

"Alright. Try Vine Whip," She suggested.

"Ganyuu!" This time, thin, sleek vines came shooting out of Florian's neck flower. With all his strength, Florian slammed the vines onto the bars left and right. Just like with the Razor Leaf attack, not even Vine Whip could leave any dents or break those bars or the lock. "Megannn…"

"Man," Perrine put one hand on a single bar. The cold iron almost bit through her palm, and a frigid shiver went down her spine. "These things are tough."

Caiseal cracked his knuckles before pulling two PokeBalls out from his pockets. "I see what you're trying to do. But maybe we need something stronger. Heracles! Stacey! Come on out!" He threw the PokeBalls in the air. Right as they opened, white lights shot right out, materializing into Stacey and Heracles.

"Pinsiiiir!"

"Heracross!"

"We need your help," Caiseal told them. "See if you can break us out of here."

The two bug Pokemon nodded without hesitation before turning toward the bars. Stacey rammed into a few of them using her barbed horns. As soon as they made contact, she was able to bend two of them. Not at an angle where she could easily break them, but just enough to show that they weren't invulnerable. Heracles slammed a glowing hand on the bars, engaging in multiple Brick Break attacks. Again, all they did was dent the bars. Despite their strength, none of them could actually break out of the cage.

"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" Caiseal growled, pushing his hands through his mass of curly blonde hair. "Not even Heracles and Stacey can break them!"

"Team Rocket must have planned to capture us from the start," Julia piped in. She had seen plenty of cop shows where criminals would take innocents or witnesses and either hurt them, take them hostage, or kill them because they knew too much. Sometimes, they would spend hours upon hours preparing for eliminating them in whatever ways possible. Julia knew in her heart that she, Perrine, and Caiseal were those very innocents who knew too much. This wasn't a fake TV show. This was real.

"What do we do now?" Perrine asked. Just sitting in this cage made her entire body itch. Sitting around and doing nothing was getting them absolutely nowhere. Julia wanted to help and use her own Pokemon to break out of the cage, but her anxiety took hold of her, freezing her right up.

What if the evolution inducement wave was still activated? What if her Pokemon were wracked with excruciating pain and unable to do anything? What if they got seriously hurt or even killed? Julia couldn't risk putting her friends in danger like that, especially since she deduced that some of Caiseal's and Perrine's Pokemon had already completed their evolution and weren't affected. None of her Pokemon finished evolving, and they would be rendered completely helpless. No, they were completely helpless, and that was what Julia absolutely hated the most about being trapped in here. She didn't want to be some weak damsel in distress. But what could she do? Forcing her Pokemon to endure that pain was absolutely out of the option.

"Fariiiiiig!"

A harsh neighing sound rang through the room, making the kids almost jump a foot in the air in shock, not helped by house close it was. When they turned around, they saw a Pokemon standing right behind them. It was a giraffe-like Pokemon with a white blaze on its muzzle, a large, pink nose, black eyes, and two horns protruding from its head, with the ends shaped like small orbs. The front half of its body was a deep yellow with deep brown spots going down to its stomach shaped like hexagons, and its back half was deep brown but with yellow spots. A line of pink, triangular spikes ran down its back, and its tail had yellow eyes and a set of pearly white teeth.

"Whoa! Who the heck are you?!" Caiseal yelped, wondering why he had never known this Pokemon was even here until now.

"Maybe it got caught along with us by accident," Perrine assumed.

"Giraaaaf!" The Pokemon neighed, holding its head up.

"Hi there!" Julia greeted the giraffe Pokemon with a smile and a wave. "Did you get trapped here, too?"

The Pokemon nodded in agreement. Stacey, Florian, and Heracles stopped their banging on the bars, turning around to take notice of the new Pokemon.

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine it. The glow of the screen illuminated the barely lit room just enough to brighten it up somewhat. _"Girafarig, the long neck Pokemon,"_ Julia couldn't help but think that Girafarig's neck didn't look that long. _"Girafarig's rear head also has a brain, but it is small. The rear head attacks in response to smells and sounds. Approaching this Pokémon from behind can cause the rear head to suddenly lash out and bite. Said brain is too small for thinking. However, the rear head doesn't need to sleep, so it can keep watch over its surroundings 24 hours a day. Girafarig is an herbivore—it eats grass and tree shoots. While it is eating, its tail makes chewing and swallowing motions as if it were also eating. When it is in danger, its tail uses some sort of mysterious powers to drive away the enemy. Their hooves are hard like rock and can easily break stones into smithereens if it uses enough strength, even though Girafarig mostly live near rivers or in forests."_ A male sign appeared in the bottom left corner.

"So that's a Girafarig," Caiseal mused out loud.

"Mega megaaaa."

"Hera!"

"Piiiiin."

"Farig fariiiiig!" Girafarig trilled, stomping one hoof on the steel floor.

Julia turned to her friends. "He says he wants to help get us out of here," She translated.

"But how?" Perrine asked.

Without a word, Girafarig walked straight up to the bars. He turned around with a neigh, holding his head up twice. Julia took it as him asking them to step back, which they did. Soon, Girafarig's large, black eyes began to glow in an eerie purple light that seemed to light up the whole room. All of a sudden, the bars began bending in odd angles, complete with clanging sounds. Then, with a loud, shrill cry, Girafarig's eyes flared right up, and most of the iron bars suddenly flew to the other side of the room, clanging as they clattered to the floor. Girafarig had made a large opening in the cage, big enough for everyone to go through.

"Wow! Awesome!" Caiseal whooped, throwing a fist in the air. "We can get outta here!" He took the chance to dash out of that blasted cage, happy to be free. Perrine hopped on Florian's back as the two of them left the cage, followed by Julia and the bug Pokemon.

Girafarig couldn't help but smile. The kids were free, and he managed to help them out. Thank goodness. Perrine turned around and stroke the long neck's muzzle. Oddly enough, Girafarig didn't recoil at the human's touch, nor did he try to back away. Perrine's hands were warm and soft, and something inside the long neck told him that these humans weren't bad or malicious in any way.

"Thanks for helping us, Girafarig," Perrine thanked the long neck earnestly. Her small voice was full of genuine gratitude. "We'll get you back home. Okay?"

"Giraaaa!"

Getting out of the cage proved to be the hard part. Everything after that was strangely easy. When the Team Rocket grunts saw the kids escaping, Florian managed to hold off a lot of them with Petal Blizzard, blowing them right into the walls. Heracles used his horn or fists to break through any titanium doors that blocked their way. Stacey managed to use her horns to defeat a few other Pokemon that attempted to attack them. Even Girafarig helped out by blasting some grunts away with psychic attacks.

A set of stairs came within their vicinity. "That's gotta be the exit for sure!" Julia exclaimed, hoping she was right. They raced right up the stairs, barely giving themselves time to see where they were. Soon, they burst through a door, and the first thing they saw was sunlight shining down on them with such intensity that it almost blinded them. They all fell onto each other in a big pile of limbs.

"Free at last!" Perrine cheered.

"Meganyuuuuu!" Florian trilled, the foliage around his neck basking in the warm sun.

Julia pulled herself out of the pile, realizing that they were surrounded by old buildings. She could make out the red roof of a Pokemon Center just a few blocks up, even though it was marred by other buildings. This wasn't the area they were in before. Caiseal helped Perrine up, and Stacey helped Heracles get back on his feet before they also realized they were in a town.

It dawned on Caiseal the moment he stood up. "We're in Mahogany Town!"

Both girls turned to face him with their eyebrows raised. "How do you know?" Julia asked.

"I've been here before!" Caiseal answered. "We must have escaped from Team Rocket's hideout!"

Before he could elaborate, a tremor rocked the ground, significant enough to almost make the kids wobble and lose their balance. Thankfully, Perrine was able to cling to Florian to keep herself balanced. Caiseal and Julia followed suit by hugging both Stacey and Heracles. Girafarig managed to keep his balance just fine, planting his rocky hooves down on the dirt beneath him.

"The evolution inducement machine!" A voice cried out from inside the building they exited.

"Someone's destroyed it!" The kids could hear the thundering of shoes against the steel floors, even though they were outside.

"Get that capture claw ready! We're getting that red Gyarados!"

The red Gyarados. "Oh no! We've gotta go back to Lake of Rage!" Julia yelled.

For once, the kids didn't hesitate. A Team Rocket grunt stormed out from the building, running right behind it as he tore his clothes off. Lance pulled off his disguise before throwing a PokeBall in the air. "Mercury, let's go to Lake of Rage!" The Dragonite didn't waste time allowing Lance to hop on his back. With that, they ascended into the air, flying straight toward where the lake was.

All of a sudden, a large truck swerved out from another part of town. It was so large, it could easily fit a Gyarados inside. The kids had only one thought: they were after the red Gyarados, no doubt. They had to act fast. The kids all hopped on Florian's back, commanding him to run like the wind. Since Heracles could fly, Caiseal let him stay out of his PokeBall and recalled Stacey instead. Oddly enough, the Girafarig followed from behind.

Inside the truck, Proton sat behind the wheel, his hands curled right around the steering wheel as he drove past the speed limit. Another grunt sat in the passenger side. "That stupid Lance Cipris!" Proton hissed, his face contorting in a way that cowed the passenger next to him. "I'll make him pay!"

"We're going to catch the red Gyarados, right?" The grunt sputtered.

"Of course!" Proton barked. "He may have destroyed the evolution inducement wave, but we still have a chance if we can get that blasted Gyarados! Good thing we managed to get the capture claw ready in time!" He pressed his foot on the pedal, not caring that the truck's tires were making high pitched squeaking sounds.

* * *

Before Lance and Mercury even descended before the Lake of Rage, a whole group of Gyarados had reached the surface, watching the sky with eager faces as if preparing for an all-out war. The red Gyarados was among them, straight in the middle of the lake, a red spot in a sea of blue. It didn't take much for Lance to figure it out: the Gyarados were going to fight Team Rocket and protect one of their own. He pulled out one of his PokeBalls as soon as Mercury descended right next to the lake. All of the Gyarados turned to their left to face Lance. Some of them let out harsh growls, telling him to leave. Others simply ignored him. Lance didn't pay them any heed.

"Go, Neptune!" Lance threw the PokeBall high in the air. The red and white capsule opened as light shot out from inside it, materializing into another blue Gyarados. Neptune let out a roar, telling the other Gyarados that he intended to help them in their fight against Team Rocket. The other Gyarados listened intently, with some gathering around Neptune to get a better look at him.

"Gyarados of Lake of Rage!" Lance exclaimed, hoping his voice was loud enough for them to hear. "Team Rocket intends to catch your red friend at any cost!"

The red Gyarados shuddered with fear. She knew they were after her, but that didn't make the whole situation any less frightening. She wished this whole thing would just end, or that Team Rocket would just leave them alone.

"Let us help you!" Lance continued, putting a hand on his chest. "We are on your side!"

The Gyarados family didn't even get a chance to reply before the large truck from before suddenly swerved onto the lake. Proton turned to his fellow grunt. "Ready the capture claw!" He commanded.

The Team Rocket grunt pulled out a small, rectangular remote control with four buttons on it, each of them in different colors. "Activating capture claw!" He pressed the red button.

The large container that encompassed almost the entire truck opened up, and a large, metal fixture with a claw-like structure at the top came right out. It was large enough that it could easily carry a Gyarados and take it inside the container. Lance got back on Mercury's back right before the Dragonite ascended into the air. No way was Lance going to let Team Rocket have their way.

"Everyone! Use Hyper Beam!"

On cue, Mercury, Neptune, and all the other Gyarados, including the red one, fired blazing hot beams of light at the metal claw. However, as soon as the Hyper Beams made contact, a red spherical force field appeared around the claw, protecting it from every single attack that the Gyarados and Mercury could throw at it. Two Gyarados tried to bite on the claw and keep it in place. That didn't work, as the grunt maneuvered the claw to escape from their mouths. Other Gyarados either headbutted it or smacked it with their heavy tails, hoping the force would be enough to destroy it. Once again, neither method worked, and their attacks didn't even so much as leave a dent.

The claw came closer and closer. The red Gyarados ducked underwater, hoping the claw wouldn't reach her, or at the very least get shorted out by the water. Unfortunately, despite everyone's efforts, her prayers were not answered. A cold, metallic sensation wrapped around her body. Soon, she found herself being pulled out of the water. Letting out a harsh, pained growl, she wriggled and writhed, slamming her tail left and right, struggling to break free. She was sure she could feel the tips of the claws digging into her thick red hide. Growling and screaming for her life, she begged for freedom. Nothing came.

As soon as the red Gyarados was pulled out of the water, her family wasted no time reacting. Three Gyarados bit onto her tail, making sure their teeth were deep into her red hide. There was no turning back now. They had to save their friend or die trying. But they all knew one thing for sure: there was no way in all of the world that they were going to just let Team Rocket take their friend away and have their way with her, whatever they planned to do with her. Even Neptune got in on it by shooting strong blasts of raging water at the metal claw. However, they didn't even make it rust, let alone knock it out of commission. With Lance on his back, Mercury wrapped his chubby arms around the claw, just above the red Gyarados.

Proton watched the scene, balling his fist. "Curse that Cipris!" He turned to the Team Rocket grunt next to him. "Activate electric shock!" He barked loud enough to make his junior shiver.

"Shocking!" Cowed by his commander's anger, the helpless grunt pressed the yellow button on the remote.

All of a sudden, everyone attached to the metal claw, including Lance and Mercury, could feel the burning sensation of electricity coursing through their bodies. Their muscles became numb as the electricity fried them all from the inside out. No longer could their arms cling to the metal claw. Not even the Gyarados were spared. Soon, the weakened Gyarados family were unable to hold onto their friend. Their mouths fell open, all against their will, as they fell back into the water. Even Mercury was unable to continue holding on as his stubby arms released the mechanical claw. With that, the helpless red Gyarados was pulled into the container as it closed right up.

She saw no light, and with it, no hope. Team Rocket had successfully taken her! She could feel herself moving, but where were they taking her? All she could see was darkness, both inside and out. Her family tried so hard, but they still couldn't save her. She was in turmoil, her heart a whirlpool of emotions she found herself unable to put into growls. Fear, confusion, bewilderment, hopelessness...she wondered what would await her in the future. Nothing good, she was sure.

"Where are we going?" The Team Rocket grunt asked.

"I just got word from Archer," Proton answered brusquely, making the grunt shrink in his seat. "The police have found our base in Mahogany Town, so we can't go back there," He turned left at a corner. "But we have a satellite location that they haven't discovered yet. We're heading there."

Proton was confident that no one would find their satellite location. But unbeknownst to him and the other grunt, Venus, Lance's Swablu, sat right on top of the container, her white talons clinging tightly to a bar, keeping her from being blown away by the wind and the swerving truck whenever it would turn. Not only that, a small, black machine was wrapped around one of her antennae, and a red light blinked on and off.

At the Lake of Rage, Lance managed to get back on his feet. His body was still tense from the shock, and his arms and legs burned every time he even so much as moved. But this was no time for sitting around in pain. He whirled around to get a better look at Mercury. The Dragonite stood back up, shaking its body like a Growlithe after it had a bath.

"Are you alright, Mercury?" Lance stroke his large friend's scales gently.

"Draooooh!" Mercury warbled with a big smile, not looking one bit fazed from being electrocuted by a Team Rocket machine.

Lance wasted no time pulling his cell phone out, punching in some numbers, and holding it to his ear. After a few rings, he got an answer. "Officer? This is Lance Cipris. Yes. Yes. We appreciate your cooperation. Officer Jenny said they have a satellite location somewhere, and I'm sure they're taking the red Gyarados there," He explained. "I sent one of my Pokemon after them with a tracking device. As soon as I find their location, I'll let you know right away! Did you free the Electrode?" Silence. "Good. It's sad that they were used for something so foul. What's that? You saved the kids?"

When the officer on the other line mentioned some kids, Lance was sure he was referring to the three that Officer Jenny said were captured by TR before. His barely veiled turmoil was replaced with a healthy dose of relief. "Good. They're safe. Make sure they don't go anywhere. I don't want to put them in danger."

* * *

Julia, Perrine, and Caiseal had been escorted into the nearest police station, sitting on some plain metal chairs in the lobby. They could only watch as police officers ran to and fro, either talking on their portable radios, taking papers to other rooms, taking handcuffed criminals into custody, or conversing amongst themselves. At one point, some policemen dragged in some particularly uncooperative Team Rocket grunts, one of which did nothing but scream like a hungry Arcanine and kick his legs in the air.

"You can't arrest me!" The grunt roared, his voice growing more hoarse every time he raised his voice. The police officers were barely able to keep a hold on him, but managed to keep their hands on him at all times. "I'm the best grunt there is!" His yelling echoed in the lobby, so loud it resembled a bomb going off. Julia's hands covered her ears in an attempt to block the noise. It barely worked, but it muffled the sound somewhat. Still, the yelling made her shrink in her chair. She wished she was someplace quiet, like a private room in a Pokemon Center.

"I can't believe they're making us stay here," Caiseal grumbled, arms crossed and legs kicking up and down. "They won't even let us go to the Pokemon Center!"

Perrine stroke Julia's shoulder with one hand, hoping to give her some reassurance. "We don't have a choice, Cash," She told him. "They don't want us anywhere near Lake of Rage, and since Team Rocket knows about us, they want to make sure we don't get caught again."

"She's right," Julia added. "I don't like it anymore than you do. Believe me, I want to help them out!" By them, she meant both Lance, the police, and the red Gyarados. She could only hope that the Mahogany Town police were making some progress in saving the red Gyarados.

But just sitting here was making her uneasy. A swirl of emotions surged throughout her chest. Impatience, fear, confusion, anticipation...she wished she could just let them all out. Let them out so they wouldn't irritate her and boil up inside her so much. Here she was, sitting helplessly in a police station, unable to do anything, not even allowed to leave. Even kicking her legs and rocking back and forth wasn't enough to force all these feelings out. She wanted to go out there and help that Gyarados. However, the rational side of her brain kept pestering her to stand down.

' _How can you possibly help them?'_ Her rational side questioned. _'Team Rocket are a big criminal organization with armies of people and Pokemon, and have lots of big machines that could easily destroy a whole town,'_ Julia kept staring down at her dirty sneakers. _'You can't stand up to them. They're too strong, and for all you know, that radio signal may still hurt your Pokemon.'_

She was right. She wouldn't be able to even stand up to Team Rocket, not with everything they have. They were a criminal syndicate. Julia was just a helpless eleven-year-old girl, too easily frightened by things others can handle just fine to even do anything on her own. She hated feeling so weak, feeling as though she can't do anything to help. All she wanted to do was get the heck out of here and do something. Not being allowed to do so just made her really irritated, and the awful irritation gnawing at her heart was only making her even more irritated than she already was. She wished she could do something! Anything! As much as she appreciated the police for wanting to protect them from Team Rocket, their concern and kindness couldn't suppress the impatience festering with every minute that passed.

Right then, three of her PokeBalls suddenly opened all by themselves. White lights shot out from her pockets, materializing into Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse. All of them had smiles on their faces. Unlike before, none of them were screaming or falling into pained fetal positions. The sight of them made her hands come off of her ears.

"Pikachu!"

"Ee-vui!"

"Snub snubbull!"

"Hey, girls!" With a smile, Julia opened her arms right up, allowing the trio of cute Pokemon to leap right into them. "You're not in pain anymore?"

"Eevee eevee!" ( _"Nope! That awful sound is gone!"_ ) Lucretia chirruped, nuzzling her furry head against Julia's chin. Immediately, the impatience that kept gnawing at her was pushed aside. Julia could always rely on her favorite Pokemon friends to make her happy.

"I wonder if that radio signal was shut off?" Perrine wondered aloud, scratching her head of orange hair.

"Or maybe Lance destroyed it," Caiseal suggested.

Julia looked up to find two police officers standing in the middle of the lobby, speaking amongst themselves. Despite the noise, Julia found herself able to make out everything they were saying. Perhaps hypersensitive hearing did prove to do some good after all.

"I just got a call from Lance," A dark skinned officer told his coworker. "He said he found Team Rocket's satellite location."

"Really? Where?"

"Right on Route 44. They have a secret base underground, right next to the lake. Not Lake of Rage, I mean. A smaller one."

Route 44. Julia pulled out her PokeGear in a frenzy. As soon as she got it out, she turned it on and pulled up the map function. Upon closer inspection, Route 44 was right next to Mahogany Town, just about twenty blocks from the Pokemon Center. It helped that the PokeGear was able to provide pictures and showed what Route 44 looked like. Julia could make out a small lake, much smaller than Lake of Rage, and a few grasslands. Hikaru and Saoirse couldn't help but lean closer to sneak some peeks, wondering why their trainer was suddenly looking up Route 44 all of a sudden.

She could be patient no longer. The urge to go there and find their satellite location seized her with an iron grip. Against the police's orders, Julia stood up from the chair and ran right out of the lobby, with Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse running after her from behind. Perrine's mouth fell agape, and Caiseal stood up and lurched a hand out in an attempt to grab her.

"Julia! Wait! We can't leave!" Caiseal cried. But the impatient girl had already left the police station in a hurry. Some police officers already ran out of the lobby in hot pursuit.

"Hey! Stop right there, kid!"

"You're not supposed to leave!"

An old man wearing a heavy navy blue coat and a light blue scarf watched as the girl disappeared down the road, scowling like the girl was trespassing on his property. Not even the police officers noticed him watching them with that scowl.

* * *

The first thing the red Gyarados saw when she woke up was that she was no longer underwater. She knew this, since she watched herself get pulled out with that machine. But now, she looked around, finding herself trapped in a titanium room with shiny silver walls. There was only one large, rectangular window, and Archer, along with Ariana and two other grunts wearing white lab coats, looked down on her from above. Consumed with fear, the red Gyarados began banging her head against the walls.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ She kept banging her head over and over again, letting out hoarse growls as she did so. She wanted out, and she wanted to get out NOW. Alas, the red Gyarados's pleas went completely unheard. Team Rocket was never a group that took pity on the Pokemon they stole. It didn't help that she was the only Pokemon in the entire room, so she was completely and utterly alone.

"That Gyarados sure is persistent," Ariana mused aloud, putting a hand on her hip. She turned to face Archer, waggling one of her eyebrows. "I take it you have great plans for this overgrown worm, don't you?" If a voice could turn into venom, Ariana's would stench of venom so bad that it could kill someone just from hearing it.

"Hmph," Archer closed his eyes. "Do you secretly have psychic powers or something? You seem to know exactly what I'm thinking all the time."

"It's not like you're hard to read, you know."

"Anyway…" Archer opened his eyes back up, looking down at the pitiful red Gyarados, who proceeded to slap the titanium walls with her tail. As usual, not even that did anything to set her free. "I hear that shiny Pokemon are able to withstand attacks better than normal Pokemon can. I want to see if it's true," He explained.

"I see."

Archer whirled around to face one of the technicians. "Release the shock blasters."

"Activating shock blasters."

Right underneath the window, metal cannons suddenly popped out from the wall, pointed right at the red Gyarados. Upon seeing them, the helpless red serpent shrunk into a corner of the wall. There was no escape, no matter what she did. Blue electricity began crackling from the holes before they were consumed by light. Then, once they were charged, blasts of cackling blue thunder struck the red Gyarados, sending electricity surging all throughout her large body. The pain was too much. It seemed as though the red Gyarados was being set on fire a million times over. All she could do was roar helplessly, squirming and writhing at the mercy of the shock blasters.

" _STOP IT! PLEASE, STOP!"_ She roared at the highest level she could raise her voice to. But Team Rocket promptly ignored her pleas as they watched from the big window. To the normal person, subjecting a Pokemon to this kind of treatment would be utterly immoral. Actually, immoral was an understatement, an insult to the world immoral. It was horrific. But to Archer, Ariana, and other Team Rocket members, it wasn't a sight worth batting an eye at. It didn't help that the humans couldn't understand anything she said.

No one cared to help her. She was at Team Rocket's mercy.

"Well? Get any data?' Archer asked one of the technicians.

A man in a lab coat pulled out a white paper scroll with colorful wavy lines going across it horizontally. "It seems the Gyarados's strength is no different from regular Gyarados," He explained.

Archer kept his arms crossed. "Alright. Cease."

After what seemed to be an eternity, the thunder finally disappeared, and the cannons retreated back into the wall. The red Gyarados's body turned limp, as she found herself unable to hold herself up. With a great thud, the red Gyarados fell to the floor, her scales rising and falling in tune with her weak breath intakes. Already, she found herself wishing she was dead. To escape the pain and the humiliation of being trapped by these heartless people, helpless, pitiful, with no means of escape.

"Alright. Release the gas clouds. See if it can withstand being poisoned."

"Releasing gas clouds."

The cannons returned. This time, they didn't shoot thunder. Instead, thick clouds of noisome, purple dust came billowing into the room. One whiff of the stuff, and the red Gyarados's body burned like a raging fire. Too weak to blow it away or even to swish her tail, all she could do was lie there, her body refusing to do what she asked it to. The clouds continued to grow in size, soon covering almost the entire room. They became so thick, the Team Rocket commanders couldn't even see the red Gyarados inside.

"Get rid of the gas clouds," Archer commanded in a low but stern voice.

Without a word, the technician pressed a button. The cannons went into reverse, and the gas clouds found themselves being pulled back inside. The cannons sucked those purple clouds inside with the force of a vacuum, refusing to let even the tiniest spec of poisonous dust remain in that confined space. Soon, the Team Rocket commanders could see the red Gyarados again. The crimson serpent didn't move from her spot. Her face was pale and purple, and her breathing became hoarse and heavy. Her body still burned, and every time she moved, the pain would get worse, and she would find herself frozen by the poison numbing her from the tail up.

" _Let me go...please let me go...please…"_ The red Gyarados pleaded with all the strength she could use to just growl. The faces of her mother and father, her friends, and even her crush flashed through her mind. Where were they? Why weren't they here? Did Team Rocket hurt them, too? She hoped they didn't, since they were after her all along. She wished they could come and help them. But the rational side of her brain told her that Gyarados can't fly. There was no way they'd be able to leap out of the lake and find her.

Once again, her pained prayers and heartfelt pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Inject the serum," Ariana suggested.

"Activating serum injection."

' _Oh great. What are they going to do to me this time?_ ' The red Gyarados mused to herself abjectly. Already, the light at the tunnel was far out of reach, and she was helpless to do anything.

Instead of cannons, large machines with booster needles at the end floated right up to the weak serpent, pushing themselves into the cracks in her hide. Yet another pained roar escaped from the red Gyarados's large, gaping mouth. Her large tail wagged up and down, banging on the floor, sending tremors throughout the room. Archer, Ariana, and the technicians didn't feel a thing, and they didn't move an inch away from their spots.

" _MAKE IT STOOOOOOP!"_ The red Gyarados roared and growled once more. Again, the Team Rockets ignored her screams. Already, the red Gyarados found herself wishing she was dead. _'Mom...Dad...someone...anyone...please…'_ Not even she could hold back tears as they sprung forth, trickling right down into her mouth. _'HELP MEEEEEE!'_

Help me. That was the last thing she thought before she saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

 **Yeah, I'm gonna make another 0.5 chapter so as to spread it out a bit and not make it seem rushed. Wow, it's been a while since I made an 0.5 chapter, hasn't it? Oh! But I should let you guys know, I might not have internet access next week because my parents and I are going on vacation, and we won't have much access to computers for a while. I might convince my dad to let me bring his laptop with us, but I can't guarantee anything for sure. I just thought I'd tell you guys so you don't think I disappeared off the face of the planet or got kidnapped or decided to abandon the story. In fact, with this chapter, I'm halfway done with this arc! Look forward to the rest!**

 **Random fact: I wasn't sure which design I should use to describe Lance: the original version, his FireRed/LeafGreen look, or his Heart Gold/Soul Silver design, so I simply took a fourth option and used an amalgamation of his original (note the red jean jacket) and HGSS design. I mean, I like how mature he looks in his HGSS design and how he actually looks like a grown man, but...did the character designers REALLY have to make those orange straps wrap around his crotch? It looks stupid! Plus, I kinda like his red jean jacket from the original Red/Blue/Yellow games.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidoran, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidoran, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Charge, Power Gem, and Signal Beam**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: Scratch, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	39. Infiltration of the Underground Base

Chapter 32.5: Infiltration of the Underground Base

By the time Julia, Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse finally reached the first dirt tracks of Route 44, the sky was beginning to smear streaks of orange and pink across its normally pristine blue coat. The sun still hung in the sky, but with it almost going down to another part of the world, it gradually changed from a blinding yellow to a blazing vermillion orange, almost like the red Gyarados's hide. The small lake near Mahogany Town, gloriously pained by the setting sun, turned into a glimmering canvas of orange and gold. However, this was no time to admire the beauty surrounding them. That red Gyarados was in danger, through no fault of her own, and Julia felt obliged to save her.

They found a thick bush nearby, and ran right inside, taking care not to get pricked by the thistles, thorns, and pine leaves. Already, the quartet saw Team Rocket grunts, dressed in their usual black and red attire, scattering about, running toward a dirt road that led further into the area. One grunt pulled out what appeared to be a remote control and pressed a button. A slight tremor shook Route 44 before the ground in front of the grunts opened like a set of doors, revealing a hole that could very easily lead into another world. Just like the one back in Olivine City.

' _How many of these secret underground bases does Team Rocket have?'_ Julia wondered, stupefied. How Team Rocket were able to build these things, let alone find the time to do so and manage it without being spotted, was far beyond her comprehension.

As the entrance down under opened fully, the two grunts leaped right down. Julia could hear their thundering footsteps as they ran across what seemed to be metallic floors. So far, the entrance didn't close. Thinking the coast was clear, Julia stealthily ran out from the bush like a ninja, or so she hoped, approaching the entrance. Like the one in Olivine City, the entrance went at least eleven feet deep. If she tried to jump from the edge, she could easily be killed. For a moment, reality overtook her. How could she possibly get down there? If only she could float down there like a psychic type, or teleport down there.

Psychic type...psychic moves? That's it! She pulled out Tokiko's PokeBall. "Tokiko, help us out, please!" She clung to the PokeBall as the happiness Pokemon came spiraling out from the circular capsule.

"Chokikko!"

"We need to get down there," Julia pointed to the hideout entrance. Being part flying type, Tokiko simply floated in the air, looking down at the deep hole below, and didn't need to worry about falling down. "Can you maybe use Extrasensory on us and maybe take us down there?"

"Chokiiiii," ( _"I've never done that before."_ ) Tokiko told her.

Julia looked down. She figured as much. Still, Extrasensory didn't seem much different from other psychic-type moves. She had to try. "Sorry. I know this seems hard, but...can you at least try?" As much as she hated to make her Pokemon do things they weren't capable of, her resolve to save the red Gyarados was too strong to consider giving up. No, to give up on the red Gyarados would mean the serpent's blood would be on her hands.

No Pokemon deserved to suffer at Team Rocket's hand.

The indecision on Tokiko's face was unmistakable. She never levitated anything or anyone with her powers before. How could she be sure she wouldn't accidentally hurt her trainer or the other Pokemon with it? Or worse, possibly kill them? True, Tokiko had worked long and hard to temper her abilities, so she was sure she managed to control them by now, not that she had much problems with them before. But to attempt to use them on a human, and not as an attack, was something new to her.

Even so, as reluctant as she was, she could feel the worry and resolve in her trainer's heart. If they didn't do something to save this red Gyarados, who would? Sure, Lance was around, and was very strong. He didn't become the champion by being a slacker, but they were sure he could only do so much. Team Rocket were no slouches either. Tokiko let out a sigh. It doesn't hurt to try, right?

"Choki!" Tokiko raised her arms high in the air as if she wanted to reach the heavens. Her small eyes glowed in a purple light. Soon, purple auras surrounded Julia and the three other Pokemon. There was no pain, and the psychic energy wasn't drawing any screams, yelps, cries, or howls out of them. Their bodies were like normal, not afire with pain like Tokiko feared.

"It worked!" Julia cheered.

"Pikapi!"

"Eevui!"

"Snubbull!"

As much as Tokiko wanted to rejoice in her feat, this was not the time for cheering. Slowly and gently, she levitated her friends down to the very bottom of the hole. Once their feet touched the ground, the fairy's eyes stopped glowing, and the psychic energy surrounding Julia and the three other Pokemon dissipated. Success! Tokiko fluttered down to her trainer's level and hopped on her shoulder. With a grateful smile, Julia stroke her fairy friend's white fur gently with one hand.

"Good job, girl. Thanks."

"Chokki!" Tokiko squeaked, basking in her trainer's praise, unable to stop smiling. Her white cheeks developed soft pink spots, probably from smiling so much. But she didn't care. She was just happy her Extrasensory attack didn't hurt or kill her friends.

Once that was over, the girl and her Pokemon began scurrying through the hideout. So far, there were no other Team Rocket grunts nearby, patrolling or standing guard. Julia couldn't help but find it strange. She was sure a high profile crime syndicate like Team Rocket would have extremely tight security. Guards and grunts everywhere, standing in front of every door, looking for intruders who would dare infiltrate their hideout. Why weren't there any guards or grunts here? Or maybe they had some other form of security? At this point, Julia didn't know what she'd find, but she knew she wasn't going to let that red Gyarados suffer. She'd save her or die trying.

However, as she walked through the titanium halls, her conscious began to nag at her. _'What the heck were you thinking?!'_ Her conscious shouted from the depths of her mind. _'You dashed out of the police station and now you're putting both yourself, the Gyarados, and the entirety of Mahogany Town at risk! On the off chance you make it out of here alive, the police could arrest you! You're being so irresponsible right now it's not even funny!'_

She stopped in the middle of a hall, squeezing her eyes shut and balling a hand into a fist. She knew that. She knew she was being irresponsible and reckless. Already, she could picture awful scenarios of what would happen should Team Rocket do anything like destroy the town. Immediately, she found herself plagued with second thoughts. Why didn't she just stay? Lance was perfectly capable of dealing with Team Rocket, and so were the police. Why didn't she be patient? Regret seized her, and she found herself frozen, paralyzed by her rue.

No. She shook her head vigorously. She couldn't afford to hesitate now. She was here now, so she figured she might as well do what she came to do. The consequences would be unavoidable whether she succeeded or not. Right now, the red Gyarados was her main priority. The girl found herself in titanium hallways, with the walls cold from lack of exposure to basic sunlight. The cold walls made shivers run through her small hands.

"Tokiko," Julia whispered to her friend. "We'll split up from here. See if you can find the room where the red Gyarados is."

"Choki!" Tokiko did a faux sailor salute and flittered down another corridor. Julia did the same, with the other Pokemon following close by. Immediately, flashbacks from when she infiltrated J's airship ran through her mind. For a moment, she was sure the burning sensation from J's cigarette ran through her arm, just like it did that day.

What Julia didn't know was that large orbs dotted the ceiling above her. One would think they were just gaudy decor used to make the hideout more grandiose. Lucretia's ears twitched, and she stopped in her tracks, as did Hikaru and Saoirse.

"Eevui!" Lucretia yelped, which prompted Julia to stop as well.

"What's wrong?"

One of the orbs fell off the ceiling, falling right toward them with great speed. "Pikapi!" Hikaru leaped out of the way, evading the large ball.

"Hikaru!" Julia scooped the electric mouse in her arms, partly relieved that her friend was safe, and partly shocked by how that large ball came out of nowhere. "Are you okay?"

"Pikapi…" Hikaru nodded reassuringly, giving her worried trainer a thumb's up.

"Snubbull!" Saoirse yelled. The orb that almost crushed Hikaru was only a foot taller and somewhat wider than the other Pokemon. And it moved all on its own. Upon closer inspection, the orb was a sentient being. The top half of its body was red, and the bottom half was snow white, and its only real feature was a set of angry eyes.

"Voltoooorb!" The ball Pokemon screeched in a harsh, robotic voice, prompting Julia to cover her ears. But once it died down, she pulled out her PokeDex to examine it.

" _Voltorb, the ball Pokemon. Voltorb was first sighted at a company that manufactures Poké Balls. The link between that sighting and the fact that this Pokémon looks very similar to a Poké Ball remains a mystery. Voltorb is extremely sensitive - it explodes at the slightest of shocks, even bumps on uneven ground, and Voltorb usually roll in order to get around. Because it explodes at the slightest shock, even veteran trainers treat it with caution. It is rumored that it was first created when a Poké Ball was exposed to a powerful pulse of energy. They are usually found in power plants, especially abandoned ones, but they are known to draw power from trolleys and electric trains. Since they're often mistaken for PokeBalls despite the latter being much smaller than a Voltorb, many people, trainers and non-trainers alike, have been electrocuted by its attacks. There are only 15 known deaths from being electrocuted by a Voltorb in the past 20 years. They are genderless albeit capable of reproduction, and the components its body is made from are not found in nature."_

Already, Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse adopted battle stances, standing right before their trainer as she put her PokeDex away. The Voltorb swirled around to face them, generating sparks of electricity that seemed to crackle and cackle around its body, and the fact that it kept glaring at them didn't help matters any. "Voltorb!"

"Saoirse, use Fire Fang!" Julia commanded.

"Snubbull!" Saoirse's large teeth burst into flames as the bulldog leaped toward the sentient ball. Since Voltorb didn't have legs, this one didn't have to worry about jumping or tripping on anything. As soon as Saoirse's flaming teeth came close, the Voltorb rolled to its left, evading the burning bite.

"Use Headbutt, then!" On cue, Saoirse caught up with the red and white ball and rammed her head against it. This time, the Voltorb was unable to dodge and found itself against the titanium wall. All of a sudden, crackling white thunderbolts shot out from Voltorb's body, striking all over the place wildly. Saoirse managed to run away from a few of them, but one bolt of lightning struck, and electricity surged all throughout her tiny body.

"Snubbuuuuuull!" Saoirse howled, her veins and muscles in excruciating pain.

Julia pulled out her PokeBall. "Saoirse, return!" Right as she held it up to her friend, a red light shot out from the ball, saving the pink bulldog from further electrocution. "Lucretia, use Quick Attack!"

"Eevee!" Voltorb was already attempting to roll right toward them, but Lucretia's body shone in a harsh white light as she bolted toward the sentient ball. Quick Attack allowed any Pokemon using it to move faster than its opponent, so it was no surprise that Lucretia managed to leave the first hit. Once again, Voltorb was rolling against the wall.

However, as soon as Lucretia attempted another attack, her tiny body suddenly went numb. Her legs gave out and she fell on the cold floor despite having perfect balance. "Eeveeeee!" She croaked, pressing her two front legs in front of her in a futile attempt to stand back up. But it seemed every time she moved, her whole body would burn, and it wouldn't move as she commanded it to.

"Lucretia, no!" All it took was electricity sparking over Lucretia's body for Julia to figure it out. Static. Voltorb's ability. Lucretia must have triggered it when she used Quick Attack just now. Julia's palm made contact with her forehead, sending a stinging sensation throughout. _'I knew I should have asked her to use Shadow Ball instead! Stupid Julia! Now your friend's paralyzed!'_ She scolded herself for not thinking this through.

It didn't help that the Voltorb squeezed its eyes shut before shaking its round body like it was a vibrating object. Soon, everyone's ear drums were being split open by a strange sound none of them could describe. It sounded like a cackling ghost was gnashing its teeth on a steel power saw, and with Julia's hypersensitive ears unable to filter out the sound, she fell to her knees, her whole body turning numb from the awful sound. Even Hikaru was at the Voltorb's mercy, helplessly covering her ears despite knowing it wouldn't work.

"What the heck is that?!" Julia yelped, feeling the vibrations and impulses throughout her entire body.

" _Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. Special attack: Eerie Impulse,"_ The PokeDex suddenly commented out of nowhere.

' _WELL, THAT CERTAINLY EXPLAINS A LOT!'_ Julia wanted to scream so bad. Scream louder than the Voltorb's Eerie Impulse and make it stop. But she knew that wouldn't work. She had to make that Voltorb stop emitting that Eerie Impulse attack, but how?

The sound was making it nigh impossible to think. One thought popped into her mind, and she didn't take the time to even consider it before blurting out, "Hikaru! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUU!" Hikaru wasted no time letting out a pained howl and unleashing thunderous lightning bolts, commanding them to rain down on that pesky Voltorb. Since the Voltorb was still emitting its Eerie Impulse and had its eyes closed, it didn't see the thunderbolts rain down on it. As a result, it was a sitting Psyduck, and it's body burned from inside and out. Once Voltorb rolled over in defeat, the Eerie Impulse attack finally ceased.

Julia exhaled a big sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus that awful noise is gone!" She was quick to pull Lucretia back into her PokeBall, making a mental note to give her a Cheri berry later on.

"Pikapi!" ( _"Don't remind me!"_ ) Hikaru retorted, scratching her ear with one hand, too happy to have defeated that Voltorb, especially stopping that Eerie Impulse attack.

If only that was the end of it. Alas, it wasn't. A horde of Geodude and other Voltorb descended down from the ceiling, surrounding the girl and her Pikachu in a circular pattern. The Geodude all balled their fists, ready for battle, and electricity crackled all around the Voltorb's bodies as they glared at the frightened intruder. Julia froze, and Hikaru dropped back down on all fours, her ears and tail facing the ceiling, anticipating whatever attacks the horde wanted to throw at them.

All Julia could say was, "We're so screwed."

"Pikaaaaaa!"

* * *

"Juliaaaaaa!" The Girafarig from before looked up as he heard voices echoing from afar. His ears twitched. He knew those voices. It was those kids! The police had taken them into custody, and he had run back into the wild. But he couldn't help but worry about them. Curious, Girafarig pranced in the direction where he heard the voices echo.

There were Perrine and Caiseal, accompanied by policemen and police cars, with hands cupped around their mouths, calling out for their missing friend. Come to think of it, where was that girl? Girafarig tilted his head in bewilderment. Perrine and Caiseal kept repeating Julia's name over and over. There was no response, even as officers swarmed the area.

"Julia! Where are you?!" Caiseal shouted once more. His voice had grown hoarse from so much yelling, and it almost didn't sound as though it belonged to him. With a loud grunt, he kicked a rock into the nearby lake. "Dangit! Why'd she have to go and run off like that?!"

"Beats me," Perrine piped in. "I really hope she's okay," She clasped her tiny hands together and prayed. Please let Julia come out alright. She prayed to the Gods that they protect their friend, even though anger was simmering in the far side of her heart. Anger at Julia for being so reckless and putting the investigation at risk. But then again, she could see why she would do that.

Even the police officers canvassing the area didn't seem too happy about having to look for an eleven-year-old autistic girl while in the midst of this important mission. The fact that some of them witnessed her leave the police station the minute they heard Lance's report about the satellite location was enough to make some of them grumble. But they knew this was no time for complaining or grumbling. They had to stop Team Rocket and save both Julia and the red Gyarados at any cost.

One officer, the same dark skinned one from before, pulled out a walkie talkie before adjusting the antenna some. When he was finished, he held it up to his mouth. "Lance. This is Officer Stabler. Do you read me? Over," He could barely make out Lance's voice from the thick static, but it was audible enough. "I'm afraid we have some bad news. One of the kids you asked us to look after is on the run. We think she's right in their secret base. Yes. Yes. We understand."

Another officer, a female one, came running toward him. "What did he say?" She asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she pushed her blonde ponytail out of her face.

"He says he can take care of the missing girl," Officer Stabler told her. "And that we should focus on guarding the base and stopping Team Rocket for now."

Good thing they were close enough to where both Perrine and Caiseal could overhear their conversation. Perrine's hands flew to her chest as she exhaled a huge sigh of relief. "Phew. That's good to hear."

Caiseal raised an eyebrow, giving her a quizzical look. "Why's that a good thing?"

"Are you kidding?!" Perrine pumped her fists. "Lance isn't the champion of two whole regions for nothing! He's so strong, I'm sure he can wipe Team Rocket off the face of the planet with just one finger!" She exclaimed, her entire being exuding an almost radiant enthusiasm, so blinding that Caiseal had to look away. He was not used to seeing Perrine so enthusiastic and exuberant, and was this really the time for her to be so? "I'm sure Julia will be fine as long as he's there!"

As much as Caiseal wanted to believe his orange haired friend, all he could offer was a dubious expression and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I thought you'd be way more worried about her. Y'know, like I am!" He had to admit it, but his heart was completely seized with worry. What if a Team Rocket grunt captured his friend and was doing horrible things to her? What if one of their Pokemon attacked her and left her for dead. He wasn't sure what he'd do should something happen to her. No, he didn't want to even think about such an awful scenario.

"Fariiiiiig!"

A familiar neighing sound made the kids whip around. Standing before them was a Girafarig. Perrine leaned closer, gazing at the long neck Pokemon with an innate curiosity. That was when the realization hit her like Hikaru's Thunderbolt attack.

"Hey! You're the Girafarig who helped us before!" Perrine was so shocked, she couldn't help but point her index finger at the long neck. True, she knew pointing fingers was impolite, but Perrine wasn't exactly one to let herself be bound by rules.

"Giraaa!" The Girafarig flashed a smile before neighing once more. All of a sudden, Girafarig inched closer to Perrine before nudging her on her chest with his nose. Perrine couldn't hold back a laugh as the long neck Pokemon nuzzled her.

"Wow, aren't you friendly?" Perrine mused aloud. Then...it hit her. "Do you...want to come along with us?"

"Giraaa?" Girafarig tilted his head to one side, as if to ask, _"Is that okay?"_ Then he smiled once more.

That told Perrine all she needed to know. Of course it was okay. She pulled out a PokeBall and gently tapped Girafarig on the head with it. The long neck morphed into a red light before the capsule sucked him right inside. The PokeBall wobbled a little in Perrine's hand, but it didn't take long for it to settle, and the red light stopped flashing.

"Welcome to the team," A name popped up in Perrine's head like a jack-in-a-box, and it was too perfect to not use. "Marius."

"Hmph!" Caiseal flashed a smirk before crossing his arms. "You haven't caught any new Pokemon since Luminita. About time."

But at this time, Perrine found herself lost in thought, having closed her eyes and ruminating. How could they find the secret base? Julia clearly heard them say it was here in Route 44, but considering how organized they are, there was no way Team Rocket would just leave it out in the open. Perrine's eyes flicked open. What if it was underground?

"Mushi! Come on out!" The orange haired girl released the mushroom Pokemon from his PokeBall.

Mushi the Paras jumped up and down while waving his pincers, happy to be released from the confines of his PokeBall. "Paras, paras!"

With a smile, Perrine kneeled down to the jovial bug's level. "Can you do me a favor?" Mushi nodded without hesitation. "Stick your pincers in the ground and see if you can sense anything strange underground. Can you do that?"

The mushroom Pokemon nodded once more. "Paras!" He looked down at the ground beneath his feet before dredging one of his pincers into the dirt. Confused, Caiseal gave Perrine yet another quizzical look.

"Why'd you make him do that?" Caiseal asked.

"I read somewhere that if Paras stick their pincers in the ground, they use them to look for plants and other food that's buried under ground," Perrine explained matter-of-factly. "They can also detect stuff that's not supposed to be there, like steel, aluminum, trash, or even underground bases."

"You're pulling my leg!" Caiseal exclaimed, giving her an accusatory expression instead. How could a Pokemon like Paras detect things underground just by sticking their pincers in the dirt? A concept like that seemed completely fictional to him. Such a thing couldn't possibly happen, right?

"Paras! Paras!" Mushi chirruped, pulling his pincer out from the ground before jumping up and down once more.

"You find something, Mushi?"

"Paras paras!" Mushi kept pointing to the dirt with his pincers.

Perrine cradled the orange bug in her arms, praising him with a smile. "Good job, buddy."

"Parassssss!" Little Mushi waved his pincers back and forth like he was in heaven, happy to have received praise from his trainer. His jovial gestures warmed Perrine's heart, but also left room for regret. She barely used him much, and she wished that she could have spent more time with him. Perhaps this was a good time to do so, as Mushi did always like her company. For now, she decided against putting the quirky, joyful little bug back in his PokeBall.

"We found it!" An officer shouted from just a few feet away. Two other officers held some kind of box-shaped machine right above the dirt. The screen displayed blue and white images of what appeared to be a hole that led deeper underground, with some machines such as Team Rocket vans and large capture devices they couldn't put a name to. "Their base is underground!"

"Alright, team! Let's move!" Officer Stabler edicted, ready to bring this mission to fruition.

* * *

"Nidoooooo!" Both Rina and Rino used their sturdy feet to kick a group of Geodude away from their trainer. Their combined kicks were so strong that the hapless Geodudes were all sent rolling across the floor. Some of them screamed before floating away in fear. In the same vein, Hikaru used Volt Tackle on almost all of the Voltorb. Some of them exploded in response, whereas others managed to roll away from the scene.

"Good job, guys!" Julia complimented. "Now let's get out of here!" She and the Pokemon wasted no time running down a titanium hallway. Partly to get away from the Voltorb and Geodude, and partly to get away from all the loud noises, namely the explosions, the screeching, and the banging noises that echoed thanks to the walls being titanium and having a lot of corners.

Once Julia found that the coast was clear, she stopped to catch her breath. Her lungs burned with every breath she inhaled and exhaled, and her hands clutched her knees. Even Hikaru, Rino, and Rina stopped to catch their breath. It took a few seconds for them to compose themselves, and Julia pulled three Oran berries out, handing each one to Hikaru, Rino, and Rina.

"Thanks, guys. You're the best," Julia told them gratefully as they munched on the Oran berries.

"Nyuu nyuuuu!" Both Rina and Rino let out sweet chirps before pressing their lips together, locking themselves in a kiss.

If there was ever a worse time to evolve, the poison pin duo wound up picking now to do so, even though they had no control over it. Nonetheless, the moment their lips made contact, both of them began glowing in blinding white lights. Julia's hands flew to her chest, clutching a piece of her shirt as she watched them grow in size almost exponentially. Hikaru's mouth fell agape. Soon, both Rina and Rino grew to the point where they were so big, Julia could almost ride on top of their backs.

The glow around their bodies finally ceased, and the lovebirds found themselves reborn. Their color schemes were in tact, and for the most part, their features didn't look too different from their pre-evolved forms. But the horn on Rina's head and her whiskers seemed to disappear entirely. Her muzzle grew bigger, spikes protruded from her ears and her back, and her front forelegs turned into fully functioning arms. She even had a tail growing out from her backside. The green area in her ears turned into a deep teal blue color, blending in more with the rest of her inner ears.

On the other hand, Rino's horn grew thicker and longer, but barely long enough for Julia to cup her whole hand around it. Like Rina, his legs grew stronger and thicker, but his forelegs remained the same as his back legs. Some teeth grew out from the sides of his upper jaw, and his front teeth seemed to retract. Some of the spikes on his back separated, becoming more spread out. But other than all of these, Rino didn't look different from when he was a Nidoran. Unlike Rina, he didn't grow a tail.

"Riiiiiiin!" Rina chirruped.

"Riiiiiiin!" Rino hissed, stomping on the floor to announce his glorious evolution.

"Wow! You both evolved, and at the same time, too!" Julia barely managed to pull her PokeDex out, as she was just too awestruck to pay attention to anything else. But she pulled out her portable electronic encyclopedia anyway.

First, she held it over Rina. _"Nidorina, the poison pin Pokemon, and the evolved form of the female Nidoran. Nidorina have a caring, docile, gentle temperament and dislike fighting. If they're relaxed, the horns on her body retract. While they do have a horn on their heads, since it is so small, it is barely noticeable, and it develops very slowly. As a result, Nidorina prefer to use physical attacks such as biting, kicking, or scratching, and their limbs have developed stronger muscles, although they are averse to fighting as a whole. When she senses danger, she raises all of the barbs on her body. When she is around friends and family, she keeps her barbs tucked away to prevent injuries, and they become nervous if they are separated from others. When feeding their young, they first chew the food in order to tenderize it, then spit it out so their babies can eat."_

"Ewwwww, gross!" Julia groaned, disgusted by that last part. Then again, anyone would be.

"Rin?" The newly evolved Rina tilted her head to one side, looking confused.

Once that was done, Julia held her PokeDex over Rino next. _"Nidorino, the poison pin Pokemon, and the evolved form of the male Nidoran. Unlike the more gentle Nidorina, Nidorino are hostile, fierce, aggressive, and independent, with a hot temper that can easily be set off. His horn contains highly potent venom, and if he uses it to puncture an enemy, the impact makes him pump the poison into the wound. Nidorino's horn is hard like diamond. Because their large ears are hypersensitive, they raise them to check their surroundings, and attack immediately if they so much as sense intruders or predators, as proven when they bristle all of the spikes on its body. They never turn down a challenge, no matter how strong the opponent is. But despite their aggressive nature, they care deeply for their Nidorina, and often contribute to raising their young, such as bringing food back or teaching them how to fight, even little things such as the difference between a violent bite and a playful nibble."_

"Riiiiin!" Rino hoisted his horn up proudly, as if he agreed with the PokeDex's comments about him never turning down a challenge.

Julia put her PokeDex away, kneeled to their level, and stroke their heads gently, taking care not to touch their horns. Her heart was overflowing with pride. "You two are great."

"Rin!" Rina chirruped, basking in her trainer's praise.

"Pikapi!" ( _"You look awesome!"_ ) Even Hikaru couldn't help but marvel at their evolution.

It took a high pitched chirp from another Pokemon to make everyone whip their heads toward the corridor. There was Tokiko, fluttering toward them with a big smile on her little white face. "Choki choki!" She waved her stubby arms up and down like they were wings.

"You found it? Awesome!" Julia exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Tokiko pointed down the hall. "Now we can save that red Gyarados!"

"HEY!" Too bad a Team Rocket grunt found them right as she said that. Julia barely had time to turn around before Tokiko decided to take the initiative. With a high pitched chirp, Tokiko's body glowed in a harsh white light. Julia could tell it wasn't the light of evolution, but her Dazzling Gleam attack. "Agh! What the heck?!" The light was so blinding that the grunt was unable to stare directly at the happiness Pokemon.

Julia knew why her friend did that: to give them a chance to escape. Julia took the chance and, with Hikaru, Rino, and Rina following behind her, sprinted down the corridor. Once Tokiko was finished, she made the light fade and followed her trainer and friends right down the hall, with intent to escort them to where Team Rocket was keeping the red Gyarados. They could only pray that it was still okay.

* * *

Obviously, the red Gyarados was not okay. In fact, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. The red Gyarados was forced to endure an entire half hour's worth of experiments, many of which involved shooting things at her or injecting things into her system. True, Team Rocket took care to make sure they didn't kill her, but at this point, the red Gyarados was already wishing for the sweet embrace of death. At least when something died, they didn't feel any pain. That was all she felt as of right now. Stuck in that giant room, all she could do was gasp for air, breathing loudly as she huddled against a corner.

"Hmph. This red Gyarados is utterly pathetic," Archer sneered, continuing to glare at the red serpent with an icy expression, one that was devoid of any kind of warmth. "It can't even withstand even the simplest of experiments. What a waste of time."

The red Gyarados said nothing. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, yearning for death to befall her. Anything to get out of here and not have to endure whatever else Team Rocket wanted to do with her. She wished with her whole heart that her parents were here. But alas, they weren't. They were too far away, and probably could never find Team Rocket's secret base. What else was she to do but just lie there waiting for the spirit of death to take her away from this awful place? Would this ever end?

At this point, she wasn't sure if she'd ever come out alive.

But then!

"Commander Archer! There's an intruder in the base!"

The Gyarados kept her eyes closed, and could only hear the disheveled voices of Archer and a few grunts. But from the way they raised their voices, they sounded shocked.

"What?!"

"There's some girl in the base! She has a Pikachu and a Togetic or something!"

"How did someone like that even get in here?!"

"Someone must have infiltrated the base! The police are on our tail, too!"

"How could you let this happen?!"

"Don't just stand there! Get out there and capture them!"

Thundering footsteps raced out of the room. Even the red Gyarados could hear them in spite of being locked in the room. She could only assume that they must have activated some kind of device that allowed them to speak to whoever was in the room. However...Pikachu and Togetic. Were those Pokemon? They weren't any she had ever seen or heard of before. This was natural for a Pokemon that always lived in a large lake, never venturing beyond the surface, not that she really could or had any reason to. Gradually, the pain in her body began to fade. Although the burning sensations still lingered, they didn't burn as badly as before, and the red Gyarados found herself able to lift her head up just a few feet.

The first thing she saw was a small yellowish orange Pokemon blowing a solidified kiss at the grunt, which took the form of a pink heart. Once the kiss made contact, the grunt suddenly fell to the floor with a thud, like he slipped on a banana peel. But the red Gyarados could see that he fell unconscious, as she saw his eyes close in spite of her limited view of the window observing her from above. She could also hear an unfamiliar voice from behind a door next to it.

"How do you open this thing?" She didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded sweeter, younger than all the other voices she heard. It didn't sound like it belonged to a grunt. "Wow! Thanks, Tokiko!" All of a sudden, the titanium doors retracted. A small girl came down the steel ladder, and accompanying her were a yellowish orange rat and a white fairy-like Pokemon. She wasn't wearing any black or white clothes like the other adults she saw, but...the red Gyarados couldn't let her guard down.

She backed into the corner, staring right at the girl, who walked right up to her with a warm, welcoming smile. "Hi there!" The girl raised her hand and waved it. "Don't worry. We're not here to hurt you. We're gonna get you out of here!"

"Pikachu!"

"Chokkiko!"

Get her out? Hearing that was like music to her ears, assuming she had any. To think she had lost all hope of ever getting out. In response to the girl's offer, she growled. Julia translated it as, _"Get me out of here! I don't care how you do it! Just please, I can't stay here anymore!"_

Julia could almost sense everything the Gyarados was feeling. Her pain, her sorrow, her anger, her fear...she inched closer and placed one of her hands on the Gyarados's hide. "I know. You're probably really scared. We'll help you. We promise," She told her reassuringly.

But as much as she wanted to help get the red serpent out, how they were going to do it was another matter. As it stands, the red Gyarados was just too big, and she was sure Tokiko's Extrasensory attack wouldn't be able to carry her. She looked up at the ceiling, pondering for any ideas. The ceiling...that's it! She pulled out her PokeDex to examine the red Gyarados, searching through her attack list. The list was as follows: Bite, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, and Dragon Rage.

"Hey, Gyarados! Do you know how to use Dragon Rage?" Julia asked.

The red Gyarados tilted her head to the left, looking flummoxed.

"If you shoot one of your energy beams at the ceiling," Julia pointed to the steel ceiling right above them. "It might just be strong enough to break right through!"

Gyarados looked up. She had a good point. Then again, it was the only option. Gyarados had no idea if she could use any new attacks at all. True, she saw many of her friends shoot beams out of their mouths the moment they evolved, but...could she really manage to break herself free? She shook her head. No, she couldn't doubt herself now. She had to try. She opened her mouth wide enough for an energy sphere to form. Then, a purple and blue stream of energy shot right out of her mouth, breaking through the steel roof like it was paper. She could see an orange sky right through the hole, and said hole was big enough for the Gyarados to go right through it.

"Woohoo! You did it, girl!" Julia cheered.

"Pikapi!"

"Chokki chokki!" Even Hikaru and Tokiko couldn't help but rejoice. They were quick to get on the Gyarados's back, clinging to one of the white horns on her tail. With a big jump, Gyarados leaped out of the hole, managing to rise right up the ground, landing right next to the lake with a big thud. Some of the lake water came splashing out, and it must be confessed that Perrine and Caiseal were right near it. As a result, they found themselves completely drenched.

"What the heck?!" Caiseal yelped as he found himself almost drowning in water.

"Hey guuuuuys!" Julia called out from the edge of Gyarados's tail. "Gyarados is safe and sound!"

Perrine fell to her knees in relief. All Caiseal did was yell, "You freaking got me all wet, and you almost put everyone in danger!" Some of the policemen facepalmed.

Normally something like this would be the end of the whole fiasco. Unfortunately, Team Rocket was not known to just give up. All of a sudden, two helicopters came flying into the area, and a large net suddenly came down, trapping both Julia and the red Gyarados inside. Before anyone could react, the helicopters pulled the Gyarados right off the ground.

"What the?!" Even Julia found herself aghast at this new development. "Hey! Let us outta here!"

The helicopters were already en route to Mahogany Town, hovering above a long river that seemed to stretch for miles. Two grunts driving one helicopter were squeezed into one tiny space, with one of them holding onto a huge lever. The lack of space wasn't exactly helping their temper any.

"You better hold onto that net or else!" A blue haired grunt barked.

"I'm holding it as best I can!" A brown haired grunt snapped back.

It didn't take long for the red Gyarados to process what was going on. She was trapped again, despite Julia's efforts to help her. Fear seized her once more. She didn't want to be taken away. Not again. No way was she going back to those awful experiments. She had to get out, and she needed to get out right now. Losing all control, the red Gyarados let out a roar and began thrashing all about. Julia clung to Gyarados's fin tightly, with all the strength her body could muster. It didn't help that Gyarados's growling was ripping her eardrums apart.

Finally, the ropes on the net suddenly ripped, and both Gyarados and Julia fell into the river with a big splash. How she was able to keep clinging to Gyarados's fin and not end up drowning, she had no idea. But the water weighed down on her, and she could feel it surging into her ears, filling them right up. She kept her eyes and mouth squeezed shut, and didn't dare try to use one of her hands to close her nose. She was afraid to let go of Gyarados. Thankfully, it didn't last long, as Gyarados popped right back out from the water.

Julia took in a big breath, happy to be out of the river. It was at this time that Lance came soaring onto the scene, riding on Mercury's back. "Julia! What were you thinking?! I told you not to come back here!" Lance scolded once he got close. Oddly enough, the red Gyarados didn't attack or even back away. She could tell the man in the cape was talking to the human on her back.

"Sorry, Mr. Cipris!" Julia bowed apologetically. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble! I just wanted to help, honest!" As much as she wanted to believe this, she knew something like that wouldn't matter, especially since she knew that by getting involved, she put the investigation at risk, along with the lives of many civilians. There was no getting out of this one. She figured she might as well face the music.

Even so, Lance could tell that she was sincere, so he flashed a sympathetic smile. "I understand. You were probably just as worried about the red Gyarados as I was," He held a hand out to her. "Now come back onto land."

Before she could climb down from Gyarados's back, missiles came firing right at them. They broke apart before sending a barrage of nets raining down onto both Julia, Hikaru, Tokiko, and the red Gyarados. Lance managed to get out of the way just in time, but he found himself shocked. Team Rocket trucks with cannons on top had raced onto the scene. How did he miss them? Julia was quick to put both Hikaru and Tokiko back into their PokeBalls.

"Activate electric shock!" One grunt yelled.

Electric shock. Not again. Gyarados flashed back to the time she was in the room. The Team Rocket grunts electrocuted her with strange machines. No. She was not going to go through that again. Rage built up in her system until it came out in the form of a strong Dragon Rage attack. The raging dragon fire came spiraling out from her mouth, ripping right through the net and almost sending the Team Rocket trucks bursting into flames. Good thing the grunts pulled their trucks away.

Lance, Perrine, and Caiseal barely had time to react before the Gyarados suddenly began swimming down the river, with Julia still on her back. "We have to get them back!" Lance cried. "Hop on, kids!" He gestured for Perrine and Caiseal to hop on Mercury's back, which they did without hesitation.

As dire as the situation was, Caiseal cringed when he saw Perrine smiling as she rode on Mercury's back, flapping her hands like she was hyperventilating. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I'm actually riding with Lance! On his Dragonite! Yeeeeee! This is the best day of my life!" Perrine squealed like a happy fangirl.

Caiseal averted his gaze. "Seriously, girl? Our friend's in danger and you're all in a tizzy over this?" He sneered, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. He always knew she liked Lance, but in his mind, she could not have picked the absolute worst time to fangirl over him and his Dragonite.

Come to think of it, he didn't examine Mercury with his PokeDex, did he? On impulse, he found himself pulling his PokeDex out, holding it over Mercury.

" _Dragonite, the dragon Pokemon. While they are technically classified as dragon type Pokemon, they are extremely adept at both flying and swimming under the sea, and it is sometimes called the sea guardian. They are extremely intelligent, and are said to be just as smart as the average human being. They can circle the globe in 16 hours, flying faster than any known Pokemon in existence. Their heavily scaled bodies and strong physique allow them to withstand stormy weather and raging seas with no trouble, and have been known to save people from drowning and guide wayward ships to the safety of land. Because of their kind hearted nature, they are frequently used as lifeguards in nearby beaches and lakes, and they are the primary mascots of the Worldwide Water Rescue Brigade. Drowning rates have gone down significantly since people began to use Dragonite over the past one hundred years. In spite of being frequently captured by trainers, they are very rare Pokemon that don't always appear very often."_

The blonde boy couldn't help but smile at the PokeDex's commentary. But as much as he liked what he learned, this was no time for a Pokemon lesson. Julia was in danger, and he, Perrine, and Lance needed to help her.

Speaking of which, as Gyarados swam through the river, she managed to climb to the back of her neck, clutching a big fin. Her hands began to throb from holding on so tightly, and for so long. "Gyarados! Where are you going?!" Julia cried. "You're not gonna hurt anyone, are you?"

Gyarados said nothing. She just kept swimming and swimming, never looking back even once. But Julia managed to put two and two together. Maybe she wanted to go home, back to the Lake of Rage, where her parents and friends were. But how could they do that? Even though Gyarados was a flying type, as far as she knew, Gyarados couldn't fly, and she was sure she couldn't just crawl back to the Lake of Rage without accidentally doing some damage to any houses that were nearby. She was just too big. Obviously, she couldn't carry her there, either.

"We'll get you back home! We'll figure this out!" Julia told her reassuringly. "Just don't fire Dragon Rage anywhere or hurt people!"

This time, the red Gyarados let out a low growl. _"I...I just...want to go home!"_ She swam faster. Julia could feel her red scales vibrating. This wasn't good.

"Gyarados! Calm down!" Julia cried. But it didn't work. Gyarados growled even louder. Now she was firing Dragon Rage at the sky, and in different directions. "Come on, Gyarados! Don't do that! Don't be mad! We'll get you home!" She implored, her hands still hurting from clutching the red serpent's neck fin. If she continued on like this, Mahogany Town would be destroyed, and Julia knew Gyarados's anger wasn't her fault at all. Even so, should she kill a bunch of people...Julia squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to even think about the implications.

But what could she do? She was just a small girl, and Gyarados was a gigantic red serpent.

"Cloyster! Use Ice Beam!" The husky, raspy voice of an old man cried out.

"Clooooooyster!" A large, purple bivalve Pokemon with a black, pearl shaped head shot a beam of ice at the water, right in front of Gyarados. The river water in front of her began to freeze from the surface downward. The path was completely blocked now. Gyarados looked at the frozen water before her. How was she going to get to the Lake of Rage now?

"Who did that?!" Julia looked to the side of the river, noticing an old man accompanied by a big, sentient seashell that almost stood as tall as he. His thinning hair was snow white, and his brown eyes were just as icy as they glared right up at the girl riding on Gyarados's back. His body was draped in a sea blue winter coat, covering a white turtleneck and a maroon vest. He was also wearing beige pants, thick brown shoes, and a white scarf was wrapped around his neck. Resting in his hand was a white cane with a brown orb at the top.

"Little girl!" The old man suddenly called out, crossing his arms. "Have you any sense? What are you trying to do by riding such a dangerous creature?" He asked, his raspy voice stern and uncompromising.

Something about his question made Julia's blood run cold. Why was he insinuating that Gyarados was on a rampage, or attacking on purpose? "She's not dangerous!" Julia argued. "I'm just trying to help her, that's all! She needs a friend!"

The old man raised his eyebrow. "Friend? You are unbelievably naive," The old man sneered. "Pokemon and humans are not meant to be friends."

Not meant to be friends? Why was he saying that? Julia's once cold blood began to simmer. Pokemon and humans have been helping each other since the creation of life itself. It was what she had always been taught. She and her own Pokemon were best friends, and she always treated them as equals. In fact, she loved them.

"Your childish idealism and reckless behavior are putting everyone in danger," The old man told her sternly, not mincing words. Julia knew that. She knew her actions were reckless. She didn't need to be told that. "That Gyarados is a menace."

"No she isn't!" Julia yelled.

Now, Gyarados found herself firing a Dragon Rage attack at the Cloyster. "Cloyster, Ice Beam once more!" The bivalve Pokemon fired a freezing beam of light at the Dragon Rage. Once the two energy beams made contact, they burst into an explosion. Julia held on for dear life, whereas the old man didn't even flinch.

Finally, Mercury descended onto some land, and Lance, Perrine, and Caiseal both hopped off of his back. Lance saw the old man close by. "Pryce! Stop this! Let me handle-"

But the old man, Pryce, ignored him. "Use Icicle Crash!"

"What the?!" Even Caiseal and Perrine couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The big horn on Cloyster's head glowed in a white light. Soon, icicles materialized in the air, descending right toward Gyarados and Julia. Some of the icicles managed to strike Gyarados all over the place, from her head to her tail. The red Gyarados roared from the pain. Julia squeezed her eyes shut and froze, not moving even a muscle. She prayed to Arceus that the icicles didn't hit her.

"Pryce!" Lance grabbed a piece of Pryce's coat and pulled him to his face. Pryce could almost feel Lance's breath on his wrinkled face. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?! There's a child riding on that Gyarados!"

Pryce didn't flinch, even once. He kept his icy expression. "I'm trying to teach this girl a lesson. Let go of me," He turned to his Cloyster once more. "Cloyster, use Spike Cannon!"

The large bivalve fired shining white needles at the Gyarados. She tried to fire them away with a Dragon Rage, but some of them managed to strike her neck. Two of them managed to hit both Julia's left arm and leg. "Owwww!" The spikes managed to go through her skin, and she was sure she could feel blood coming out. Good thing the spikes disappeared right afterward, as those attacks usually did. But she had to help Gyarados somehow. Why was Pryce attacking it? Was he really convinced that she was a bloodthirsty monster out to kill everyone?

No. No, she wasn't. Julia was sure of that. None of this was Gyarados's fault. Team Rocket was responsible for everything. She could hear sirens blaring by the river, and opened one of her eyes to see policemen arresting various Team Rocket members. But she was sure some of the TR members would escape, knowing how crafty they could be. She was sure they'd come back for her. She'd rather catch Gyarados herself than let them come anywhere near her.

Wait...catch Gyarados herself...that's it!

"Apollo! Use Flamethrower!" Caiseal released Apollo from his PokeBall. On cue, Apollo spilled forth a stream of fire that made Cloyster back away. As a result, Cloyster ceased its attacks. Once again, Pryce didn't say a word.

Julia pulled out one of her empty PokeBalls and held it high in the air. "I know...this may not be what you want...but I want to be friends with you, and I'll do whatever I can to help you!" She cried, pressing the button on the PokeBall, allowing it to increase in size. "I swear it!" She pulled her arms down, slamming the PokeBall on Gyarados's hide.

Everyone's mouths fell agape, even Pryce and Mercury. The red Gyarados stopped moving, turning into red light that disappeared into thin air. But once Gyarados disappeared, Julia began to fall. Right toward the river.

"NO!" Having finally come to her senses, Perrine took action. "Chirin! Use Cotton Spore, and hurry!" She threw Chirin's PokeBall, allowing the pink sheep to come right out.

"Flaaaaaaffy!" Chirin wasted no time generating a huge, comfy cloud of white cotton that flew right over the river, big enough for the now unconscious Julia to fall onto. Just in the nick of time, the unconscious girl fell right in the middle of the cotton cloud. She was safe. Perrine and Caiseal both exhaled huge sighs of relief.

"Thank Arceus!"

Lance rolled her over to get a better look. There were big holes on both her arm and leg, and already blood was slithering down onto the cotton, melting right into it. But what he saw in Julia's hand left him frozen with shock. Wobbling back and forth, right in Julia's hand, was a PokeBall. The circle in the middle was generating a red light that blinked. Soon, it stopped.

' _She caught the red Gyarados...all by herself…'_ Lance was too awestruck to mistake it for something else. There was no doubt about it. Julia caught the red Gyarados, even in spite of all the danger.

"Whoa...she actually caught it," Perrine mused aloud.

"I have to admit, that was pretty durn ballsy, even for her," Caiseal piped in. "But...is she gonna be okay?"

The caped man smiled as he scooped the girl into his arms. "I'll take her to the hospital in Mahogany. I'm sure she'll be fine," He didn't try to take the PokeBall out of her hand. In fact, she seemed to cling to it so tightly that even in her sleep, she didn't seem intent on letting it go. Then he fired a stern glare at Pryce before saying, "We'll discuss your little stunt here later."

All Pryce did was cross his arms as he watched Lance put Julia on top of Mercury. Then, the dragon Pokemon flapped his wings, ascending into the air, flying right toward the city. Lance made sure to keep Julia close, taking care not to let her slip off of his friend. He did pull out some gauze and wrapped it around the hole on her arm. As much as he tried to control it, his blood simmered. How could Pryce allow himself to willingly put a child in danger? Even more so than she already was? He made a mental note to give that old man a good scolding later on. Even if her actions were admittedly reckless and dangerous, that was no reason to attack her while she was on Gyarados's back.

He looked down at the sleeping girl. She looked so content. At least she wasn't dead. Lance thanked his lucky stars that this whole fiasco was over. True, he was sure some Team Rocket members were still on the run, and although he had faith that the police would get them someday, knowing they were still out there still nagged at him.

"...Geraldine…" Julia murmured in her sleep, just loud enough for Lance to hear it, even as they were soaring through the sky. "...That'll be...your name…"

Lance smiled as he saw the Mahogany Town hospital come into view.

* * *

"Curses!" Archer slammed his fist on his car door as Petrel drove through the city. "Those stupid kids! That Cipris! I ought to-"

"Calm yourself, Commander Archer," Petrel advised in a low, calm voice. He kept his eyes on the road, taking care not to get distracted. They came to some stoplights, and the top light was red, signalling for the car to stop. Petrel gently pressed his foot on the brake, and the car came to a slow stop. "It was no great loss. We managed to get important data."

Archer crossed his arms and pressed his lips. He had to admit, Petrel had a good point. Not only that, now they knew what they could do to make an even better evolution inducement wave. "I wonder what our plans will be for the future. Surely Hunter J or Giovanni have grand plans they haven't told us about yet."

"They sure do," Petrel said, watching the red light, anxiously waiting for it to turn green. "I'll radio Giovanni as soon as we make it to our base," Finally, the red light ceased, and the green light flashed, allowing Petrel to continue onward.

"It's a good thing we managed to escape," Archer brushed a hand through his sky blue hair. Today's harrowing events did a great number on his energy levels. "I can't handle being thrown in jail. There's too much to be done."

"I agree. But don't worry. Our plan will be realized soon enough," Petrel said. "I've already told the grunts to make some adjustments to the evolution inducement wave," He added. "Now that we know of its flaws, we can rectify them and make it so that we can control every Pokemon on this planet!"

No plan was impossible for Team Rocket. Even Archer found Petrel's musings about the plans to be empowering. "Let's hope so."

* * *

 **Finally, chapter 32.5 is done! I liked everything else about it...but I think I could have written the ending better. I'm not sure, but something about it feels off to me. I feel like I could have written it a lot better. Oh well. The next chapter will definitely be better. Promise!**

 **Anyway, happy Mother's Day and happy 90th birthday to my grandma! Also, new Sun and Moon info is gonna be revealed tomorrow! Woohoo! I can't wait! Oh, I almost forgot. Julia catches the red Gyarados! So the poll results were pretty obvious. Everyone wanted Julia to catch it, so...you all got your wish, especially since I had that planned from the beginning! But whether she'll be able to handle the red Gyarados is another matter entirely, and one that'll be addressed fully in the next two chapters. Look forward to it!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidorina, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Jab, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Geraldine (Shiny Gyarados, Female, Careful Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Bite, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rage**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Charge, Power Gem, and Signal Beam**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Chinchou, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Water Gun, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Marius (Girafarig, Male, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Sap Sipper**

 **Attacks: Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Psychic, and Crunch**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	40. I Dream of Geraldine

Chapter 33: I Dream of Geraldine

Images flashed through her mind like a record player, only here, there was no stop button. Team Rocket taking her out of Lake of Rage, right in front of her parents. Being electrocuted and having strange substances injected into her as she lay helpless in that large room. Having nets be thrown on her twice. Being pelted by falling icicles. She found herself thrashing all around, back in that awful room. She needed to get out. Get out! Get out and go back home! She could hear the swishing of her large tail, swaying left and right.

Her large eyes slammed open the moment a lightning bolt almost hit her. She looked around, realizing that she wasn't in that room, nor was she in the river heading for Mahogany Town. What happened? Then she remembered: she felt something small tap her hide, and she had turned to light before disappearing completely. Everything around her was pitch black, but she could still make out some shapes, such as a bushy tail, some weird thing shaped like a thunder bolt, and human fingers. Human fingers...this was new. She wasn't outside, so she was sure she was being trapped in some kind of closed space. But oddly enough, she didn't feel trapped. Whatever was confining her, she felt strangely safe. She thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't with Team Rocket anymore.

But that begged the question: what happened to that girl who helped her get out? She heard some people say her name was...Julie? Julianne? No, it was Julia. That was it. Boy, was she glad she was nice and nothing like Team Rocket. Sure, she was a human, and many of her friends and family told her to keep away from humans. But she could sense that this girl wasn't like Team Rocket. But where was she? She wasn't hurt, was she?

"Urrgh...what happened to me?"

Gyarados looked up. She could make out Julia's face.

Speaking of whom, the first thing Julia saw upon peeling her eyes open were the worried faces of Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse. As soon as she woke up, all of their ears stood up in the air, and they flashed huge smiles that just screamed relief. Their large eyes almost watered up as soon as they gazed upon their newly awakening trainer. She was okay!

"Pikapi!"

"Eevui!"

"Snubbull!"

Once she got a better look, Julia found herself sitting upright, and the trio of Pokemon leaped into her arms, nuzzling and snuggling against her chest. The three were just so overcome with relief, as was their trainer. Julia could see that Lucretia wasn't paralyzed anymore. The fact that they stayed by her side, worrying about whether she'd wake up or not, was enough to make tears trickle out from the corners of her eyes. Julia wrapped her arms around her friends.

"Everyone...I'm so glad you're all okay…" Julia whimpered, her voice overcome with intense relief. More than she had ever experienced before. Truthfully, though, she knew that they were just as worried about her, probably even more so than she was about them. The trio of Pokemon cooed and squealed and snuggled against their trainer, all smiles, like they never wanted to let her go.

But the first thing Julia noticed was that she wasn't outside anymore. Large, rectangle shaped fluorescent lights shone down on her, and she looked down to see that she was dressed in a blue paper hospital gown, lying underneath a soft, comfy white blanket. Her left arm was completely covered in gauze, from her elbow to her wrist, with her left index finger being wrapped in gauze, along with having a silver, metal object around it. She was surrounded by light green curtains that almost looked turquoise. Seeing all these objects helped Julia piece together where she was: a hospital.

What time was it? Julia looked to her side, finding her backpack slumped against a small chair. It didn't take much for her to reach toward it and grab it, pulling it to herself as the Pokemon backed away to give her some space. She pulled out her PokeGear and turned it on. The time read 10:16 AM. She remembered seeing the sky turn orange when she was on the red Gyarados's back.

"Have I...been out this whole time? For the whole night?" Julia asked aloud.

"Eevui!"

"Snub!" Both Lucretia and Saoirse answered yes.

Julia held her uninjured hand up to stroke Saoirse's hair. Lucretia laid down on her lap, or what was covered by the blanket, curling up in a fluffy ball. Hikaru leaned her back against the metal railings around the hospital bed, watching everyone with a calm, relieved expression on her orange face. When Julia looked down at her injured hand, she noticed she was clutching a PokeBall. It didn't have a sticker on it like all the others did. Her fingers were a deep red, like Hikaru's round cheeks.

Then she remembered. She had slammed this PokeBall on the red Gyarados before she passed out from the pain her arm and leg had sustained. That could only mean one thing. "I...I caught the red Gyarados?"

Hikaru crawled closer to sniff the PokeBall. Julia couldn't help but smile as she watched the orange mouse's little nose crinkle up and down, twitching as she whiffed the PokeBall. "Pikapika," Julia translated that as, _"Yes you did, Jule."_

Finally, she let go of the PokeBall, letting it sit on her lap, right next to Lucretia. The evolution Pokemon wasn't bothered by the new PokeBall being right next to her. With her fur being so thick and bushy, she could barely feel a thing, especially since the PokeBall didn't move, nor was it very close to begin with. Still, the fact that she actually caught the red Gyarados, who was rampaging through Mahogany Town out of fear and sorrow, wasn't quite sinking in. But she did manage to comprehend one thing: she had made a new friend. Gyarados would be safe from Team Rocket, and they would never even so much as come near her ever again.

To Julia, that was more important than anything.

Still, she knew that the red Gyarados lived at the Lake of Rage, and clearly she wanted to go back home. But now that Julia was in the hospital, questions began hatching in her mind like Pokemon eggs. How long was she going to be in here? Would the doctors make her stay for a few days for observation? She had seen doctors on medical shows advise their patients to stay to check on things, like how their injuries would heal or if certain medicines and procedures worked. She could see from the way the gauze wrapped around her hands that her injuries seemed quite severe, enough to need thick gauze and not a simple band-aid. But would she be advised to just be careful with them for the next few days and just be discharged in a couple hours? Julia let out a grunt. All these questions were making her quite irritated.

Thankfully, someone pulled a curtain back. It was a female doctor with curly black hair and blue eyes, wearing a white lab coat over some blue hospital attire, with her feet covered with what appeared to be paper slippers. Resting in her hand was a brown clipboard with some papers attached to it. As soon as she laid eyes on Julia, she smiled.

"Oh good, you're awake! Hello there," The female doctor greeted her warmly, with a kind smile. Julia looked right at the nametag on her coat. It read Dr. Abigail Meyer in bold black text. "I'm Dr. Meyer. Do you know where you're at?"

"I'm in a hospital," Julia answered matter-of-factly. "How did I get here?"

"Mr. Lance Cipris brought you here on his Dragonite," Dr. Meyer explained. Come to think of it, even in her unconscious state, she could feel rough scales on her skin, but it didn't feel like a Gyarados's hide. She remembered feeling wind on her face and hair. That seemed to explain it. "He told me about what happened. Your arm and leg needed some stitching, and as you can see," She pointed to her index finger, the one that was covered with some kind of bent piece of metal. "Your finger got broken. That's why the splint is there."

"Splint?" Julia asked, holding her finger up close to get a better look. "Is that what this is called?"

"Yes. If you give it some time to rest, your finger will heal in four to six weeks," Dr. Meyer explained.

"Are my arm and leg broken, too?"

Dr. Meyer shook her head. "No. That Spike Cannon attack left some holes in your arm and leg, but they're not broken," She sat down on a nearby chair and set her clipboard down on her lap. "However, the injuries they sustained are severe in that you can't exactly move them for about a week and a half."

"Oh," Julia remembered icicles and glowing spikes falling down on her and the red Gyarados. Then the old man and his Cloyster. That was it! He had commanded his Cloyster to attack the red Gyarados despite knowing Julia was on her back. Her confusion began to gradually morph into anger. She got severely hurt because of him, and for all she knew she could have died. He said something about wanting to teach her a lesson, but did that really warrant telling his Cloyster to attack them? Boy, was she going to give that old man a piece of her mind once she was well enough to leave.

"Unfortunately, you're going to have to stay in the hospital for that time," Dr. Meyer said.

Stay in the hospital? For a week and a half? The old man was pushed out of her mind, and Julia found herself yelling, "What?! For over a week?! Like...I have to stay here? The whole time? And I can't leave the hospital at all until after that?!" Julia always wanted specific answers for everything, and they had to be set in stone. Nothing vague or cryptic.

"Yes to all of that," Dr. Meyer answered, keeping her voice low and calm.

As happy as Julia was about having answers, she couldn't help but groan at the idea of being cooped up in the hospital for over a week. Sure, she knew it was so her injuries could heal, and she appreciated that they were taking precautions to make sure they healed properly. Plus, her Pokemon were here, so perhaps it wouldn't be all bad, but still. She didn't know if she could survive being stuck in a hospital room for an entire week. There were still some questions that absolutely required answers.

"Will I at least be able to stand up and at least walk around? Or go to the bathroom? Or take a shower?" Embarrassing to ask, yes, but Julia was not one to miss bathroom breaks or chances of showers.

Dr. Meyer smiled. "Don't worry. There's a bathroom with a shower right over there," She pointed to the end of the long room. Julia pulled one of the curtains back, noticing a grey door with a shiny handle on it, and hanging from that handle was a double-sided sign, with one side showing the word vacant on it. Julia knew that if the bathroom was vacant, it meant that it wasn't being used at the moment. The sign on the top of the door read _"Bathroom."_ Well, that's one question answered.

If there was one thing Julia couldn't help but be happy about, trivial as it seemed, it was that she managed to wash all her extra clothes before arriving at Mahogany Town. She wasn't sure what she'd do if there was no washer or dryer. Did hospitals even had those? Still, more questions lingered, and being the curious girl she was, the urge to ask them all seized her.

"What about the Pokemon?" Julia asked again. "They probably don't wanna be cooped up in a room all day."

"We have a playroom for Pokemon here in case their trainers get hurt, in surgery, or recovering, and a lot of these procedures take a long time," The doctor explained once more. Good. Then Dr. Meyer noticed the PokeBall next to Lucretia. "You never let go of that PokeBall even once."

"Really?"

Dr. Meyer nodded, seeing the confusion on the girl's face. "You held onto it the entire time you've been here, even when you were getting stitches."

This time, Julia used her uninjured hand to pick the PokeBall back up. It's round, hard surface was completely warm, like it had been placed near a cozy fireplace. Then again, Julia had held onto it for over a day, and her body heat transferred to it, so of course it would be warm.

"Can I ask what Pokemon is inside?"

Julia wasted no time answering. "It's a Gyarados!"

Now, it was Dr. Meyer's turn to look confused. Julia see her tense up and back away a little, like she saw a ghost. Was it fear or confusion? She was sure it had to be either one of the two, or both. Then again, Gyarados were often seen as scary by the public, so it was no surprise, especially with the fiasco from yesterday. Immediately, she thought the worst, holding her PokeBall close like she was clinging to it for dear life.

"Please don't take her away!" Julia pleaded. "I won't let her out, I promise!"

"I wasn't going to," Dr. Meyer told her reassuringly. She took in a breath before saying, "The TV remote is on that night stand if you want to watch TV," She pointed to a little night stand with a black TV remote on it. Julia looked up. Hanging from the ceiling was a small TV that was currently off at the moment. "There are some books over there if you want to read them."

Hikaru leaped off of the hospital bed and walked over to the movable book cart. It was full of books, some big and some small, and they were piled higgledy-piggledy on top of each other. There was one tower of books that leaned over to the left, like one little touch would cause it to completely topple over and scatter all over the place. There were a few books that caught Julia's eye, all of them pertaining to training a Gyarados.

"Thank you," Julia said.

"I have to tend to some other patients, but if you need anything, press that button on the wall," Once again, she pointed to a big red button on the wall. "It'll let anyone within the vicinity know you need something. There will be some nurses that will bring food to you every now and again, in case you're hungry."

As much as Julia liked the notion of eating at the moment, since she hadn't done so all day yesterday, she was sure that hospital food wasn't going to be ideal. They certainly wouldn't have her favorites, such as bananas, blueberry yogurt, chocolate chip cookies, etc. Even if they did serve vegetables such as broccoli, corn, or carrots, she had seen patients receive food trays on TV, and they often didn't look as though they were cooked all the way, nor taste very good. Then she remembered the food she had bought before the Gyarados fiasco. She still had some stuff saved in her bag.

Right then, Dr. Meyer left the room, leaving Julia alone with her Pokemon. It must be confessed that the Gyarados watched and listened to the entire scene, managing to hear every word. Hearing that she was going to be stuck in here for over a week did not make for happy thoughts. All she wanted to do was go home, be with her parents, be with her friends, and go back to her normal life.

" _This stinks!"_ The Gyarados growled to herself. Even so, her conscious rationalized, it wasn't all bad. At least she wasn't with Team Rocket anymore, the PokeBall she was inside didn't feel oppressive or hindering, and this Julia girl seemed nice enough. Her other Pokemon seemed to adore her, and while staying here wasn't ideal, at least nobody was getting hurt or causing trouble. Still, she yearned for the sweet embrace of the lake's cool, soothing waters, and her Gyarados parents welcoming her back home, all smiles, relieved to see that their daughter was alright.

Julia looked down at the PokeBall in her hand. She was sure that the Gyarados she caught must be lonely, being stuck in that ball and not back in Lake of Rage. It would be over a week until she would be discharged, and since Gyarados is a big Pokemon that the hospital obviously couldn't house without potential property damage or putting the lives of other patients at risk, she couldn't let her out, even if it was just to stretch herself out for a bit. She wondered if maybe talking to her through the PokeBall would make her feel somewhat better. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would be better than nothing.

"Hello!" Julia greeted the PokeBall with a warm, beaming smile, holding it up to her face. "Are you doing okay in there, Gyarados?"

The PokeBall nodded, meaning the Gyarados was responding. "Sorry if I scared you yesterday. I kinda captured you, so that kinda makes me your trainer now," Julia told it.

Gyarados looked down at her large, red tail, averting Julia's gaze. _"Well, at least it's better than being in that awful room,"_ She reassured herself.

"I know you want to go back home, but the doctors say we can't leave for another week," Julia told the PokeBall. "But don't worry! I make sure you at least get back home once we get out of here. Promise!"

Something told the red Gyarados that this girl was not to be feared. She had sensed it when the girl had snuck into the room and helped her get out. She definitely wasn't working for Team Rocket. The fact that she stuck around and tried to help her even though there was so much happening at once, from TR trying to catch her yet again, to Pryce's Cloyster attacking them, said a lot about her. Still, she couldn't let her guard down. Something could easily go wrong, and she didn't want to take that chance. But the thought of being able to go back home was too alluring.

Against her Gyarados instincts, she believed in the girl's promise. Julia smiled. "So, uhhh...I hope we can be friends! Oh! I'm Julia, by the way!" She finally introduced herself after so long. Hikaru, Lucretia, and Saoirse all gathered around. "These are my friends! Here's Hikaru the Pikachu, Lucretia the Eevee, and Saoirse the Snubbull!"

Pikachu, Eevee, and Snubbull. The red Gyarados had never seen those Pokemon before. She had seen some Sentret, Hoothoot, Girafarig, and the occasional new Pokemon that passing trainers would send out for battle, but never had she seen these three in particular. But nonetheless, they seemed friendly and approachable enough. The trio of Pokemon squeaked, greeting the PokeBall warmly. Gyarados wished she could go out and greet them herself, but that was impossible.

"So...would you like to have a name?" Julia asked politely. "All of my Pokemon have names, and if you have one, you'll feel more like your own Pokemon, not somebody else."

A name? The red Gyarados had heard many names in her life, namely from seeing Pokemon trainers come by every now and again. Satoshi. Shigeru. Eren. Armin. Abigail. Phine. Jonathan. Tobias. Caitlin. Sally. Holly. Diana. Cordelia. Taranee. Gaspard. Baldomero. They were all so different, yet so strange. But the red Gyarados? Having a name? She wasn't quite sure about that. However...she began to ruminate. Maybe if she had a name, she could have her own identity, and not just be known as the red Gyarados forever.

The PokeBall nodded.

"Great! I have the perfect name for you: Geraldine!" Julia announced.

The red Gyarados found herself taken aback. Geraldine? That wasn't a name she had heard before. Even so, it sounded so elegant, like a Gyarados happily swimming through the lake, with its tail swishing back and forth in a perfect rhythm. Elegant, graceful, mature. The red Gyarados liked the sound of that name. She had always wanted to be graceful and elegant, so perhaps a new name like this would do. Once again, the PokeBall nodded.

Julia smiled once more. "Awesome! Welcome to the family, Geraldine!"

For some reason, the red Gyarados-now Geraldine-thought she saw something in her. There was a happy glint in the girl's eyes, but that was it as far as she knew. Still, she didn't sense any malice in the girl's heart, and her other Pokemon seemed to like her. Maybe, in time, she thought she could, too.

Saoirse was kind enough to get some books out of the cart and hand them to Julia. They passed the time by reading together. One book Julia read detailed how beginning trainers could properly care for a Gyarados, from brushing its scales to what to do when it suddenly goes berserk. Geraldine could barely make out some passages from her PokeBall, but since she was a Pokemon and, well, couldn't read, all she could do was stare at them. Julia especially found the book to be very helpful and informative, making a mental note to buy a copy of it at the nearest bookstore, if Mahogany Town had any.

For now, everything seemed fine. The small Pokemon hung around, keeping each other company, and Julia occupied herself with the books on the cart, along with some of her own she had in her bag. Sometimes she would put on her PokeGear and play the radio function, keeping it at a low volume so she wouldn't disturb other patients sharing the room with her. The whole time, she talked to Geraldine like she was her own.

"See here, Geraldine? This is an Eevee. That's what Lucretia is!"

"I like this song. It's my favorites. I wish the Pokemon Music Channel would play it more often."

"Have you ever seen shiny Pokemon before, Geraldine?"

"Team Rocket sure are terrible, aren't they? We've had to deal with them before. I wish they'd just go away already."

"I'm from New Bark Town. It's very far away. I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing. Did the hospital tell them I'm here?" Julia looked away from Geraldine's PokeBall, eyeing the book cart. "Though to be honest, I kinda wish they wouldn't. I don't want them to get worried or freak out."

Geraldine couldn't help but find herself flabbergasted by that comment. She could see where she was coming from, sure, but if it were Geraldine, she'd want to fly back to the Lake of Rage and let her parents know that she was okay. _"They're gonna get worried whether they know you're hurt or not!"_ Geraldine growled, not that her new trainer could hear.

Speak of the devil, her PokeGear began blaring the high pitched ring tone. Julia checked the caller ID. It was her mother. As reluctant as she was to answer, she knew she had to. She pressed a button and held the PokeGear up to ear.

"Hello?"

" _Julia! Oh, thank goodness!"_ Her mother's voice was almost bordering on hysterical, and since it was so loud, Julia held the phone away from her ear. _"I got a call from some hospital in Mahogany saying you had gotten hurt and I've been so worried and I just got to work and-"_

"Mom! It's okay!" Julia reassured. "I'm fine! Yeah, I'm in a hospital but I'm okay!"

Finally, she could hear some calming breaths, and that usually meant her mother was trying to compose herself. _"I'm glad you're alright. Can you tell me what happened?"_

Julia tensed up. She was sure that if she told her mother everything, including the times she almost got killed while trying to help Geraldine, she would never hear the end of it. At the same time, she didn't want to lie and make her angry. But it seemed both telling the truth or telling a lie would make her mad, even though everyone else said that being honest was good. Even so, there was no way she was going to elaborate on the details. Any way she'd phrase it would make her mother completely flip out and possibly beg for more details, and she really didn't want to deal with that. But perhaps withholding some specifics wouldn't hurt.

"...We were at the Lake of Rage," Julia began. "And there were some Gyarados battling each other," She hated lying to her mother. She wished she could tell the truth, but fear of the repercussions seized her. "Perrine, Caiseal, and I wound up getting caught in the middle by accident. That's all. They're okay, just so you know!" She reassured once more.

" _Goodness!"_ Kassia exclaimed. So much for not wanting to make her worry or freak out. _"You didn't break any bones, did you? You're not hurt badly?"_

"Well…" Julia especially didn't want to tell her mother about the injuries she did sustain, or how she got them. She was sure her mother would file a lawsuit against that old man and never let her or anyone else hear the end of it. As much as she wanted to have a word with Pryce, she really didn't feel like dealing with him or potential lawsuits. "My arm and leg did get kinda bruised, but the doctors said it's nothing too serious, though they said they want to keep me here overnight for observation."

One lie after another piled into her heart. She prayed to Arceus that her mother would believe her and leave it at that. Then again, most parents could tell when their kids were lying, no matter how well the kids tried to hide it. But Julia wasn't trying to be mean or malicious. She just didn't want her mother to worry, nor did she want to deal with anything as of right now, selfish as that admittedly was.

" _I see. That must have been scary,"_ Kassia sounded calmer this time. _"Well, I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd do if I lost another one of my precious daughters…"_ Her voice grew wistful. Julia could tell she was still worried about Amara, and she could detect a subtle tiredness in her mother's voice. _"I wish I could come and visit you. Really, I do. But I can't get out of work as easily as I used to."_

"It's okay! You don't have to do that! I'll be fine! My friends are with me!"

" _That's good."_

"Have you heard anything about Amara lately?"

Kassia fell silent for just a moment. _"...The police said they received some tips, but so far, nothing has come of them."_

"Oh. I did manage to catch an extra Pokemon! I don't know why she's not being transferred to the ranch, though."

" _Wonderful!"_ Kassia rejoiced, her voice going from despondent to jovial within seconds. Julia couldn't help but wonder how easily that could happen. _"I hear that Pokemon transporters emit some kind of energy that allows the extra Pokemon to go to their designated destinations. If the trainer has an extra Pokemon and they're outside of it's range, they don't get transferred until they're within at least a one mile radius of the Pokemon Center."_

"Ohhhhh!" Julia found herself intrigued by this new information. "So THAT's how that works!"

" _So what Pokemon did you catch?"_

Julia winked mischievously. "It's a secret!"

" _Alright then. I have to go now. I have some Pokemon that need care. Call me back when I get this new Pokemon you caught. Okay?"_

"Okay!"

With that, mother and daughter said goodbye, and Julia hung up her PokeGear. Julia spent the next hour watching the TV on the ceiling. There wasn't much on except for a medical documentary about something called Vanishing Twin Syndrome, detailing how some babies, while in utero, could absorb their own twin. Julia barely paid attention, as she kept herself occupied by talking to Lucretia, Saoirse, and Geraldine most of the time while Hikaru sat on the edge of the bed, lost in her thoughts. After seeing that the documentary was over, Julia used the remote to turn off the TV.

"Julia!"

Familiar voices made the girl whip her head toward the door. Perrine, Caiseal, and Lance all came into the room. The first thing Perrine did was run over to her friend and wrap her arms around her, pulling her close. "Thank Arceus you're okay! We've been so worried about you!"

"Sorry about that," Julia apologized.

"We would have come by earlier, but this hospital doesn't even allow visitors until after twelve!" Caiseal explained, scratching his scruffy blonde hair with one hand. "Can you believe it? What kind of stupid rule is that anyway? But seriously, are you alright?"

"Sure am! Though the doctor did say I have to stay here for over a week."

"Ugh. That's gotta stink," Caiseal piped in.

"Agreed!"

Perrine let go of Julia to give her some breathing room. "Since we weren't allowed to come see you until now, Caiseal and I decided to battle the Mahogany gym leader, Pryce," She explained.

"Awwww! You guys battled the gym leader already?!" Julia whined. She knew she was in no condition to battle any trainers, but she wished she could have seen their battles.

"Yeah we did!" Both Perrine and Caiseal pulled out badges that resembled light blue hexagons made to look like snowflakes. "We got Glacier Badges to prove it!"

"Lucky…" Julia pouted. "Wait, who's the gym leader?"

"Pryce Snow," Lance interrupted, crossing his arms, wearing an oddly dark expression on his face. He seemed to spit the name out like it was poison, and Julia could tell from his deep frown and his squinting eyes that he didn't seem to like even mentioning the name Pryce. "He specializes in ice types. But...you should also know…" He seemed hesitant to continue, as he paused at first, letting the sentence drift away. Soon, he dropped a bombshell. "He was the one who commanded his Cloyster to attack you."

To say Julia was shocked would be an understatement. She found herself screaming, "WHAT?!" At the top of her lungs. It was so unexpected that everyone backed away a step or two, and nobody even told her to use her inside voice. Her green eyes became wide to the point of resembling saucers, and she couldn't prevent the ungraceful dropping of her jaw. Pryce Snow was the old man from yesterday? The actual Mahogany Town gym leader, the same one who told her that Pokemon were not meant to be friends, was the man who knowingly attacked Geraldine with full knowledge that Julia was riding on her back.

At first, she couldn't believe it. How could a gym leader willingly put someone in danger, let alone command their own Pokemon to attack someone? Wasn't that illegal? Soon, her confusion gradually morphed into anger. He had no right to attack her or Geraldine. Sure, he might have needed to use necessary force to make sure Geraldine didn't go berserk, but did he really have to command his Cloyster to attack her, knowing that Julia was on her back? Intentional assault on another human, whether a Pokemon was being used or not, was obviously a crime. She had seen enough crime shows to know assaulting someone was wrong unless circumstances dictated otherwise.

"...The gym leader was the one who attacked me and Geraldine?!" Julia yelped, finally letting what happened sink in.

Lance held his head down, averting Julia's eyes. She could see his bright red eyebrows furrow, and he looked more sad than mad. "Unfortunately, yes. I want to apologize on his behalf. I'm sorry he attacked you and the red Gyarados. He had absolutely no right to do what he did," Lance apologized profusely while keeping a calm demeanor. "He's out on errands right now, but I intend on confronting him and reporting this incident to the authorities."

"You better!" Perrine exclaimed. Julia could hear the anger peppering her voice. "He's a gym leader, and he's...what? 70 years old or something?! He should know better than to attack a little kid!"

Julia nodded in full agreement.

"We can be witnesses if you want someone to testify!" Caiseal pounded his hand on his chest to empathize his determination to do so.

"Do you want to press charges, Julia?" Lance asked.

It didn't take much for Julia to know what pressing charges meant. Watching cop shows can really teach someone a lot about what goes on in the police force and the courtroom. Julia simply answered, "Yes. Sure."

"We already chewed him out when we whipped his butt earlier this morning," Caiseal stretched his arms out. "Man, that guy's a total sourpuss!" He complained. "He kept yapping about how Pokemon and humans aren't meant to be friends and that we children are too naive to understand how cruel the world is! Yeah right!" Both girls and Lance found themselves fixated on him. They had never seen Caiseal palaver on about this before. "I know how cruel the world can be! I spent two months living on the streets! My own mother hated and abandoned me! I-"

When he realized what he just said, he immediately clammed up. Now the girls and Lance know, and he had been so intent on hiding it, too. Oddly enough, nobody said anything. There was a pause, and the tension in the area was thick. Desperate to not have to elaborate, he quickly changed the subject.

"Well...uhhh...Julia!" Caiseal suddenly exclaimed. "What were you thinking running out of the police station and throwing yourself into that fiasco yesterday?!" He yelled. Julia covered her ears faster than she could comprehend what he was saying. "You put yourself, the red Gyarados, and everyone else in danger, y'know!"

"I'm sorry!" Julia threw the blanket over herself, using it as a shield. "I just wanted to help, that's all! I didn't mean to cause trouble!"

"That doesn't matter! Even if you didn't mean it, something bad could have happened and you'd be the one to blame-"

Perrine was quick to pull Caiseal back by the arm. Even she thought he was being a little too harsh, though she did understand where he was coming from and that Julia did need to be scolded. "Alright, Cash! Back up!" He shut up the moment the orange haired girl pulled him back. "She's autistic, remember? She hates it when you yell."

' _Autistic?'_ Hearing that made Lance's eyes widen and his eyebrows fly up. While he didn't exactly know too much about autism, as being the champion of two regions didn't give him much free time to do research on these things, he did know a little bit about it. So Julia was autistic...that explained a lot in his mind. Better yet, it made a lot of things clearer. Now he had a better idea of how to approach this situation.

"Quit making excuses, Perrine!" Caiseal snapped. "Even if she is autistic, she needs to-"

"I KNOW!" Perrine interrupted. "I get that. But do you really think yelling at her is gonna make her understand?"

Before Caiseal could argue, Lance stepped forward. "If you kids don't mind, I'll handle this," He approached Julia slowly, keeping his voice low and calm. "I understand now. I get that you were worried about the red Gyarados," He noticed the piles of Gyarados-related books on her bed. This told him that she seemed to be quite a responsible trainer, wanting to know all she could about Pokemon in order to care for them and understand them. "It's good that you love Pokemon so much, and I must thank you for your help in this situation."

Slowly, Julia pushed the blanket down, but didn't dare look Lance in the eyes. People's eyes were always judging her, thinking things about her, sizing her up, facing her, setting up expectations for her that she was sure she wouldn't be able to fulfill, making her feel as though she was being stripped all the way down to the deepest, darkest, most private, secret parts of her soul. She fixated her gaze on his red jean jacket. But she did listen, and it must be confessed, she found herself basking in Lance's praise.

"However," Lance frowned this time. "While we do appreciate your help, there were better ways to handle the situation, and running out of the police station, disobeying orders, and throwing yourself into the situation without consideration of the consequences aren't the best ways to do it."

Julia didn't protest. She didn't even try to argue, as she knew deep her heart that he was right. She knew doing what she did had consequences should she have failed, but she did it anyway. She was sure just saying sorry wouldn't resolve anything. But what else could she do.

"I'm sorry, sir," Julia apologized ruefully. "I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I got tired of waiting around and just wanted to help."

"I understand," Lance kept his voice soft and gentle. Despite his lack of knowledge about autism, he at least knew that sometimes the best way to approach someone was to be as calm, civil, and diplomatic as possible. Some people weren't always going to understand things right off the bat and do need to be told, sometimes repeatedly, what they had done. Yelling and screaming would only make things worse. "But I want you to understand that every choice you make, good or bad, can have consequences. I've seen people get thrown in jail for both grand crimes and even small offenses. I've seen people have their Pokemon taken away by the authorities, and I don't want these things happening to you."

Again, Julia didn't protest. He was right about everything. Well, at least he was being nice about it, so Julia didn't particularly mind.

"So how long did the doctors say you're gonna be here?" Perrine asked curiously.

"A week and a half."

"What?!" Both Caiseal and Perrine's jaws fell wide open. "What a bummer."

As big of a bummer as it was, Julia still had her Pokemon with her, so she wouldn't be lonely. Plus, Caiseal and Perrine decided they'd hang around and visit whenever visiting hours were open, and since they already defeated Pryce, they had all the time in the world. Lance said goodbye to the kids and left. It wasn't difficult to figure out where he was going or what he wanted to do. But for now, the kids were just happy that everyone was alright.

* * *

Mercury the Dragonite carried Lance across the skies as they headed toward a lone house in the middle of some woods. It was a small, modest looking house with icy blue walls and a grey roof. Some of the paint began to chip off, as there were some white spots that dotted the house. As soon as Lance got off of Mercury's back, he called him back to his PokeBall before walking on the porch and knocking on the door.

 _Knock knock knock_

No answer as of yet. He didn't mind, as Pryce was over 70 years old, and he had gotten slower over the past few years. Lance stood before the door, planning what he wanted to say to Pryce and how to say it. Finally, the door knob creaked and the door was pulled open. Pryce came to the entrance, holding his signature cane and wearing his signature scowl, along with his blue coat and white scarf. As soon as he saw Lance, all he did was glare. Lance kept a stern, uncompromising expression on his face, determined to keep his composure. The air around them was as cold as ice.

"I take it you're aware why I'm here," Lance began, adopting a firm tone of voice that didn't allow for funny business.

Without a word, Pryce opened the door wider and backed away, allowing Lance to come inside. The red haired champion received a chilly reception. The walls were painted a dreary shade of grey, and there were barely any decorations. No photos, no frames, no accessories, nothing of the sort. The fireplace was completely empty, having never been used for years. The leather couch was a striking shade of mahogany, and some nests of dust rested on the armrests. Pryce sat down on a smaller chair, but didn't put his cane down. Even the kitchen, which was right next to the living room, was remarkably dull in that everything, from the dishes to the piles of cookbooks were very neatly organized, arranged in neat piles with nothing even remotely out of place.

Resting on the grey shag carpet were Pryce's Pokemon. One of them was a Dewgong, the other a Cloyster, and the final one being a little black weasel-like Pokemon with a long pink left ear, piercing eyes, a small yellow sigil on its forehead and chest, and sharp white claws. Protruding out from its ear were three pink feather-like shapes, resembling its long ear, forming three tails. All three Pokemon were huddled together, sleeping with content smiles on their faces. None of them even noticed Lance coming in, nor were they awoken by anything that seemed to happen around them.

"Don't waste your time with formalities," Pryce began, his voice adopting a bitter iciness to it. Even Lance could feel how frigid he was.

"Alright, then I won't," Lance answered back, crossing his arms. He didn't sit down anywhere, even on the leather couch. "Why did you command your Cloyster to attack that Gyarados?"

Pryce wasted no time answering. "That Gyarados was causing trouble for my city. Did you really think I'd just stand around doing nothing while it had the chance to wreck the town?" He replied matter-of-factly, not mincing his words one bit.

"You're right in that Gyarados was out of control. I won't deny that. But Team Rocket is responsible for its state of mind yesterday," Lance argued. "Not only that, a child was riding on Gyarados's back...and you commanded your Cloyster to attack the both of them!"

Now the three Pokemon opened their eyes, becoming rigid at the sight of the man in the cape. Pryce didn't avert his gaze one bit. His icy eyes fixated on the younger champion, his scowl unchanging.

"That girl was being naive and reckless. I only wanted to teach her a lesson about how her recklessness could hurt those around her," Pryce answered once more.

Lance's jaw fell open. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Any attempt to control his anger became futile as the champion raised his voice at his elder. "You willingly put a child's life in danger! You could have killed her! You should know better than this!"

Pryce didn't say a word. He let Lance continue on his tirade.

"Do you really think almost killing a little kid would teach them a lesson about recklessness?!" Lance bellowed. Pryce's three Pokemon backed into the nearest corner, cowed by the red haired man's fury. They were sure they could see his hair burst into flames, especially since his hair did resemble a burning fire. "I heard you had changed since last year, but to pull something like this is not only very unlike you, but extremely unethical! You're lucky she only suffered minor injuries, but that's still assault!"

The old man didn't even protest. After a brief moment of silence, he said, "I won't deny that what I did was wrong, and you're right. It was unethical of me."

The champion's blood continued to simmer. The icy old man before him said it with such bitterness in his voice that it didn't sound like he was truly sorry or feeling any guilt. It definitely didn't sound genuine. But he knew he couldn't lose his temper. If there was one thing he didn't want to do, it was completely blow his top. If he let his anger catch fire now, it'd be cheap. Shallow. A childish tantrum. He had to be somewhat professional. He took a deep breath.

"I'm glad you're not making any excuses," Lance hissed, barely managing to keep his still simmering rage in check. His cheeks burned. "I hate to do this, but I have to report your actions to the Pokemon League Board of Directors, and...what happened to you last year doesn't absolve you of what you did."

He could see Pryce clenching his teeth. Of course, he struck a nerve. Like Lance, Pryce held down whatever anger was simmering in his heart. Lance hated to even attempt striking at Pryce's weak point. Even now, he wondered if it was necessary. However, for what it was work, he could see the scowl soften somewhat, morphing into genuine remorse.

"Do what you wish. I have no complaints," Pryce told him. Lance could hear that the old man's voice still had fishhooks of bitterness that snagged on his words. It had been there ever since last year, after what happened. Funny how the red haired man always seemed to notice it without really noticing it.

Without another word, Lance pushed his cape back and walked out the door, leaving the old man alone, swimming in the sea of bitterness. But even after he left, his anger gradually began to morph into pity. Pity for the old man sitting alone in that empty house. He was with his Pokemon, yes, but he seemed fairly persistent in his new belief in that Pokemon and humans were not meant to be friends. He could only wonder how his Pokemon were perceiving this change in the trainer whom they served for decades.

* * *

Spending a whole week and a half in a hospital wasn't an easy thing to do, especially for a child. Julia had tried to manage most of the time, and she managed to survive. She occupied herself with everything possible: her PokeGear's radio, the books on the cart, the books she had in her own backpack, talking to every one of her Pokemon including Geraldine who still resided in her PokeBall, and making the most of Perrine and Caiseal's visits. There was one visit in particular that happened to be the highlight of the whole week.

"Oh! Jule, you'll never believe this!" Perrine exclaimed.

"Two of our Pokemon evolved during our battles with Pryce!" Caiseal was just too impatient to not tell his friend about it.

Julia found herself starry-eyed. "Really? Who?"

Both Perrine and Caiseal released two Pokemon from their PokeBalls. One of them looked to be Apollo. No, it was Apollo, as he still had his choker on. This time, he seemed to be just two feet taller than Caiseal. His forelegs grew into fully developed arms, complete with functioning fingers. The orange spots were now just on his neck, and there were no spots on his rear.

"Chraaaah!" Apollo screeched.

The next one was a large, blue fish Pokemon with lighter blue pectoral fins, red eyes, and a yellow gourd shaped spot on its face. A Y-shaped antenna with two teardrop shaped yellow orbs at the ends protruded from its head. Its tail was mostly yellow, with a longer blue tip. It seemed to resemble Luminita.

"Laaaaan!" Luminita warbled.

"Wow! Both Apollo and Nita evolved?! That's great!" Julia cheered.

"Yep! Now they're Typhlosion and Lanturn!" Perrine exclaimed right as Julia yanked out her PokeDex.

" _Typhlosion, the volcano Pokemon, and the evolved form of Quilava,"_ Julia rolled her eyes. Apollo was not a volcano. He was a flaming badger or gopher. _"_ _Typhlosion obscures itself behind a shimmering heat haze that it creates using its intensely hot flames. This Pokémon creates blazing explosive blasts that burn everything to cinders. If its rage peaks, it becomes so hot that anything that touches it will instantly go up in flames. When heat from its body causes the air around it to shimmer, this is a sign that it is ready to battle. It rubs its blazing fur together to cause huge explosions."_

She then held the PokeDex to examine Luminita. _"Lanturn, the light Pokemon, and the evolved form of Chinchou. The light it emits is so bright that it can illuminate the sea's surface from a depth of over three miles, penetrating any seam of the water's surface. This Pokémon uses the bright part of its body, which changed from a dorsal fin, to lure prey. It blinds prey with an intense burst of light, then swallows the immobilized prey in a single gulp. Lanturn is nicknamed "the deep-sea star" for its illuminated antenna. This Pokémon produces light by causing a chemical reaction between bacteria and its bodily fluids inside the antenna. f you peer down into the dark sea from a ship at night, you can sometimes see this Pokémon's light rising from the depths where it swims. It gives the sea an appearance of a starlit night."_

"Graaah!"

"Laaaan!" Both Apollo and Luminita couldn't help but continue rejoicing in their new evolutions, even after they had long since finished their battle.

But that was the only eventful thing that happened the whole week Julia was in the hospital. Most of the time, Julia was climbing the wall, dying from boredom. She had read all the books in the cart by the seventh day and her own books by the third. Most of the shows on the PokeGear's radio weren't very interesting, and since the TV had very few channels, and didn't list what channels were what numbers, it was hard to find anything good or interesting to watch. It didn't help that the farthest Julia could go on foot was the bathroom. She was advised not to move her arm and leg much so she wouldn't exacerbate her injuries or undo the stitches.

By the tenth day, Julia was already mad from boredom. "Uuuuuuugh! If I have to spend one more minute in here I think I'm going to explode!"

"Snubbull snubbull," ( _"You're already exploding."_ ) Saoirse joked, and that sent the Pokemon rolling on the floor laughing. Even Julia couldn't help but laugh.

Thankfully, as good things come to those who wait, after another day, Julia got her stitches removed, and they came out clean. She was discharged the following afternoon, and that meant she was free to leave. Julia couldn't contain her bubbling joy, as she was already sick and tired of sitting around in that hospital. Fresh air! Gentle breezes! Blue skies! Flowers and soil! But before she left, she pulled out Geraldine's PokeBall.

"Hey, Geraldine?" Julia said. "I have seven Pokemon with me, you being said seventh Pokemon, and since I have more than six, it's likely you'll end up getting teleported to my house later on," She told her friend. "I just want you to know so if that happens, you don't think you got lost or abandoned or anything like that. But a lot of my Pokemon friends are there, and my parents will take good care of you! Is that okay?"

The PokeBall nodded. Julia smiled. "I'm so glad you understand!"

Geraldine let out a sigh. Anything was better than being back in that Team Rocket base. Once Julia came within the Pokemon Center's vicinity, Geraldine's PokeBall turned into white light before disappearing into thin air. But there was still a lot she wanted to do right now.

"Hey, Jule!" Caiseal cried, with Apollo standing right by his side. "You wanna have a practice battle with us?"

"Sure!" Julia shouted back before running over to join him. After being cooped up in both their PokeBalls and that hospital, she was sure her Pokemon would love a good practice battle to stretch their muscles and let off some steam. Truth be told, Julia was feeling the same way, bubbling with excitement as she and Caiseal raced toward the battlefield in the back.

* * *

Unlike Mahogany Town, which was sunny and clear, New Bark Town had an army of thick, dismal grey clouds blocking out the sun at every turn. There wasn't much rain, which was good as far as the citizens were concerned, but most of them still missed the sun shining her warm, beautiful light on the town, livening everything up.

On the other hand, for Kassia Parisa, the gloomy day matched her mood perfectly. Once again, she slumped onto the couch after being outside most of the day. Her feet throbbed from standing and walking all day, and to not have to stand on any kind of surface was Heaven. Piled higgledy-piggledy next to Kassia's feet were a pile of missing persons posters, all of them bearing Amara's picture. Another day of searching, another day of nothing. Kassia laid her head back on the couch, looking right up at the ceiling.

"Azumarill?"

"Fuuuurret?"

"Ledi?"

"Freeee?" Aqua, Neji, Ladybug, and Papillon all gathered around Kassia, eyeing each other with concern. "Eeeee freeeee!" Papillon fluttered her white butterfly wings, hoping to liven the tired woman's spirits some.

It seemed to work a little bit, as Kassia smiled. "Thanks, everyone," She stroke Neji and Ladybug's heads with both hands, using what little energy she had. "I needed that," She stood back up, as she figured a cup of coffee would take her mind off of things.

Before she could even grab a coffee carton out from the refrigerator, the PokeBall transporter in the dining room suddenly emitted a white light. Aqua, Papillon, Ladybug, and Neji all gathered around, their eyes glimmering with excitement. Kassia stopped what she was doing and ran into the dining room. Soon, the light dissipated, and a lone PokeBall stood in the middle of the transporter. There was a fish shaped sticker on the top, with the name Geraldine scribbled on it in black pen ink.

"Ohh!" Kassia picked up the PokeBall and held it in her arms. It was oddly warm, like someone had held onto it with their bare hands for weeks. "This must be the new Pokemon Julia was telling me about!" She mused.

A new Pokemon. To the group of Pokemon that surrounded Kassia right now, this could only mean one thing: a new friend. Aqua, Ladybug, Papillon, and Neji all trotted out into the meadow, with Kassia slowly following from behind. Whenever the Parisa parents received a new Pokemon, they always released it outside just in case someone caught a big Pokemon. Since Julia didn't tell her mother exactly what kind of Pokemon she caught, claiming it was a secret, Kassia figured this would be the chance to see just what her daughter caught. She secretly hoped it wasn't anything large, dangerous, or a Pokemon she wouldn't be able to handle.

With expectation in her heart, she released whatever Pokemon was in the PokeBall. Kassia wondered if maybe Julia caught a nice little Sandshrew. Or maybe a hardy Corsola? What if she caught a Girafarig or a Hoothoot? Unfortunately for Kassia, those were small Pokemon, and as the light began to materialize into a Pokemon, she was going to wish she had seen a small Pokemon. As its inhabitant emerged, Kassia looked up to meet her eyes.

And up...and up…

Standing before her was a weary looking Gyarados, and a red one, at that. The Gyarados opened its huge maw to let out a tired yawn. Everyone in the ranch, the Pokemon included, found themselves gazing up at the red serpent with wide eyes, and none of them could prevent the ungraceful dropping of their jaws. It was almost half a minute before Kassia was able to reorient herself. Soon, the red Gyarados-Geraldine as the sticker on the PokeBall said-looked down at the surprised woman with a look of curiosity, tilting her head to one side.

Then the red serpent smiled, letting out a low growl. If Julia were here, she'd have translated it as, _"Hello! Nice to meet you!"_

However, for Kassia it was NOT nice to meet this Gyarados. Her utter shock and confusion gradually morphed into a desire to scream. All of the other Pokemon could sense it. Neji simply tapped Kassia's arm with one of his fluffy hands.

"Furret furret?" ( _"Are you okay?"_ ) Neji asked worriedly.

"Ledian lediaaaaan," ( _"I think she's gonna explode!"_ ) Ladybug yelped before fluttering away to find cover.

She was right. The scream they would hear would echo all throughout the meadow. Even the neighbors would hear it, not that Kassia cared at this point. Finally, she screamed to the heavens, "JULIA CAROL PARISAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

 **Chapter 33 is done!**

 **First off, I want to thank every reviewer who has supported me and this stupid little story all this time. You guys are great. It's because of you that I'm able to keep writing in spite of real life and hardships, and your support and patience means so much to me. I can't even begin to thank you all for your love, patience, and support. Know that I will never give up on this story, nor do I have any intention to, for this and others I'm writing or plan to write.**

 **Unfortunately, from today onward, I have decided to moderate incoming guest reviews from now on, namely because certain anonymous people have been flooding my stories with reviews which mainly consist of flames, threats, name calling, petty bullying, wanton cursing, etc. I refuse to let them get the best of me, nor will I let them get me down and stop me from writing, because, as you good people have proven, what I write makes you happy. I refuse to stop writing just because some people don't have anything better to do than send flames, threats, and petty name calling my way.**

 **To the anonymous reviewers who continue to send flames my way, and I know there's more than one of you out there, know this: I won't tell you to stop, because I know that even if I do, you won't listen and will continue doing what you're doing. But it doesn't make you strong, awesome, cool, brave, or anything like that. It makes you petty, immature, childish, and a coward, especially since you refuse to actually make public accounts so I can respond to them. Even though you're the reason I'm moderating guest reviews now, know that I'm not disabling anonymous reviews entirely, as there are still people out there who leave reviews and who love my story, and I love them just as much.**

 **You haven't won, and I won't let you. But please, do something productive with your lives rather than harass me with your flames. I haven't even done anything to you, so why? Actually, better yet, just leave. You're not casting yourselves in a good light by continuing leaving all of those flames and threats on my stories, and I know you're only doing it just to attack me and make yourselves feel good. I don't have time or patience to waste on you anyway, nor should you with me. I'm not writing my stories for people like you anyway. I write for myself, my fans, my critics, and fellow Pokemon fans everywhere.**

 **Random fact: Pryce's last name here is Snow. No explanation there. I thought about giving him the last name Nieves, which also means snow, but Pryce Snow had a better ring to it so I went with that.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rina (Nidorina, Female, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Scratch, and Bite**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Jab, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Geraldine (Shiny Gyarados, Female, Careful Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Bite, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rage**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Lanturn, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Discharge, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Marius (Girafarig, Male, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Sap Sipper**

 **Attacks: Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Psychic, and Crunch**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	41. A Trainer's Responsibility

Chapter 34: A Trainer's Responsibility

"Ohhhhh my lanta!" Amara let out an overly drawn groan as she slumped in front of a big tree, her long legs burning from toe to thigh from walking for so long. "Finally, I made it to Mahogany Town!" She exclaimed once more. The sun was still shining on the town below, bathing it in golden light. It wasn't like Goldenrod City, but for the citizens, some nice weather was very much appreciated.

Too bad Amara was not one to appreciate nature's blessings and beauty. In fact, she didn't even realize that she was in a heavily populated part of town, and people were running to and fro, too absorbed in their own business to notice her. Just like Amara. She sat down in front of the big tree, staring up at the openings through the leaves, losing herself in her thoughts. All she could think about was how she finally managed to get six badges. Just two more, and she could enter the Pokemon League, like she and Chanel wanted.

Only Chanel wasn't here. Amara would never be able to share that dream with her.

Still, she wanted to do something. For Chanel's sake and her own. Sitting around in that house was not going to get her anywhere. But while her mind and heart resolved to continue going forward, the rest of her body had other priorities. Her stomach let out a Gyarados-like growl, begging for anything resembling food.

"Uuugh…" Amara complained, placing a hand on her stomach. "I could really go for some shrimp right now…" She could picture it now. Tasty, scrumptious shrimp laid out on a plate, dipped in some kind of yellow sauce, with those little green leaf fragments sprinkled all over it. How heavenly it would be to taste that beautiful shrimp again.

Once she rested up some, she stood up and began walking around again, hoping to find someplace she could eat without being noticed. But when she happened upon a mirror that was on display, she saw an unfamiliar face stare back at her, noticing every feature she had, even things she didn't know she had. The blonde dye in her hair was fading, and streaks of her original light brown hair began to resurface. A subtle red pimple began to form on her chin. Not a pretty sight for a growing teenager. Her skin had been tanned from months of walking around in the sun, but not so tan that she'd be completely unrecognizable to those who knew her well.

But to Amara, she had become a different person. No longer was she the girl who used to sit around in the house moping about being forbidden from having Pokemon of her own. However, seeing this new face stare back at her...it was almost surreal. Frightening, even. Where had this new person come from? Her blue eyes were still the pale shade of blue they had always been, but Amara began to notice other things had changed as well. Her chin had grown out some, looking more pronounced than it was before. Her fingernails had grown longer and sharper, even though they hadn't been manicured for some time. Her face looked like a stretched out oval, and even her chest began to develop. As a result, her brand new tank top had gotten tighter around the chest. But she didn't mind. She liked tight clothes. One of her eyes was bigger than the other.

In short, Amara was in an ugly state of her life, as most teenagers liked to describe it.

Disgusted by the sight of her rapidly changing body, she marched away from the mirror. Her stomach growled once more, continuing to beg for food.

"Ugh! I look like a freak!" Amara grumbled.

To the ordinary person, Amara looked like every other girl. Average height, scrawny build, developing breasts, light brown hair, light blue eyes. One would have to look closer in order to see how she was changing physically, and Amara was definitely one of those people who could see someone have a pimple on their face and notice if it wasn't there before. Finally, she stopped at a food stand and grabbed herself a pack of sushi and a meat sandwich. It would suffice for now.

She sat down at an unoccupied bench and satisfied herself with the sandwich. The girl watched as people went to and fro. A boy and a girl were standing in front of a small fountain, kissing with their lips pressed together, their eyes closed. Amara snickered, wondering if they were making out, maybe planning to take it further. Some children younger than herself ran around the park laughing and screaming, with some Pokemon chasing after them. Amara recognized some as Sentret, Rattata, and Mareep. The kids seemed to enjoy their game. Some Pidgey and Pidgeotto fluttered about the area, chirping away or using their beaks to pick food or wrappers off the ground.

"They're lucky," Amara mused, glaring at them as she took another bite of her sandwich.

Amara wanted to be lost in her thoughts and plan for her next gym match. Too bad the opportunity was stolen before she could even grasp it.

"Ai-Ai-Ai-Aipom!"

"Yeeek!" Amara backed up to the edge of the bench when she saw a cute, purple and beige monkey Pokemon hop next to her. Its long, oval shaped ears had beige under layers, and it had stubby purple arms and beige feet, and a beige oval shaped belly. Sticking up from its head was a cowlick with three points. A long tail with a beige appendage at the end swished back and forth, and its round, blue eyes fixated on the sandwich in Amara's hands.

"Aipom!"

"Shoo!" Amara waved her hand at the curious purple monkey. "Go away!"

But the purple monkey Pokemon didn't go away. Using its long tail, it swiped Amara's sandwich out of her hands. Flashing a cheeky smile, the monkey smacked its butt in front of her twice before hopping away.

Amara stood up in alarm, her face turning beet red with rage. "HEY! Come back here you little thief!" With that, Amara chased after the purple monkey Pokemon, who simply ran on the ground on all fours. But even with the sandwich in its tail, the monkey managed to outrun Amara rather quickly. That didn't mean Amara was going to give up.

"That's mine!" Amara cried as she turned a corner. She wasn't sure how long she had been chasing that purple monkey.

Finally, the purple monkey stopped in its tracks. "Poooom?"

"Aipom! There you are!" When Amara stopped to catch her breath, Aipom's ears picked up on a familiar voice. Soon, out from some thickets came a girl about Amara's age, with lightly tanned skin and deep brown hair that went down to her shoulders, with her bangs held back by a turquoise headband. Her eyes matched her skin perfectly.

The girl scooped the purple monkey in her arms, noticing the sandwich in its tail. "I knew it!" She was quick to yank the sandwich out of Aipom's tail. "You shouldn't wander off and steal someone's food! That's bad!" She scolded in a frank tone, before handing the sandwich back to Amara. "I'm so sorry! He does-"

But Amara was in no mood for apologies. That Aipom was hers, so by association, it's trainer had to take responsibility. That was what Amara thought, anyway. "Are you kidding me?! That little pest stole my sandwich! Control that little freak, will you?!" She yelled, having no sympathy for the girl or the Aipom.

"Hey, Emily!" Another voice called out. Both Emily and Amara froze, turning in the other direction.

Amara couldn't prevent the ungraceful dropping of her jaw. Another girl showed up on the scene, with short black hair arranged in a neat bob cut, with hazel eyes gleaming with relief. Something about these girls made goosebumps dot her arms from her elbows all the way up to her shoulders. It was like she had traveled back in time.

"Oh! Great, you managed to find Aipom!" The hazel eyed girl stroke Aipom's cowlick with one hand. "Were you causing trouble again, you little prankster?"

"De…" Amara blurted out. Now all three girls made eye contact. It was as though they were frozen in time.

Finally, it hit Amara like the Magnet Train came and run her down. She knew these girls, and they knew her!

"...Debbie?! Emily?!"

Soon, the realization struck the two girls as well. Even they couldn't hold back the shock that seized them. The two of them gulped before shouting, in perfect unison, "...Amara?!"

"Is...is that really you?" Emily sputtered, barely managing to keep hold of Aipom. This was Amara? Her ex-friend?

"Yeah...yeah, it's me," Amara confessed.

Out of all the people Amara didn't expect to run into, she was sure her ex-friends would be the last people she'd wind up running into. Or back into, in this case. She had cut herself off from them long ago, to the point of not even speaking to them or associating with them in any way. In her mind, there was no need to hang around with them, as they made their priorities in life very clear. Already, she was wishing she could just teleport away from here and go to the gym.

Even now, she didn't expect a warm reception. As she expected, the atmosphere around her was cold. Emily simply averted Amara's eyes, focusing on Aipom. On the other hand, Debbie crossed her arms, her look of shock forming a scornful frown. Amara knew that look all too well. Of course she would still be mad. Who wouldn't be?

"...We never expected to run into you again," Debbie hissed, like she was spitting out poison. "I see you got a new look. To be honest, you look like you got tan paint poured all over you."

"Debbie! That's rude!" Emily interrupted, already not liking where this was going. All she got in response was Debbie holding her hand up, immediately silenced. Talk to the hand, the gesture said.

Normally, Amara would blow her top if someone so much as looked at her the wrong way. Since Chanel's death, almost everything set her off. Even Emily and Debbie knew it, as they had been on the receiving ends of Amara's seemingly endless rants about whatever was annoying her. But now, Amara didn't have it in her to yell or scream. All she could do was avert her eyes and take it.

"Come on," Emily freed one of her hands to grip Debbie's left hand. "Let's just go. It's not-"

But her friend didn't listen. Debbie pried her arm out of her friend's and immediately put Amara on the spot with no hesitation.

"You sure have some nerve showing your face to us!" Debbie exclaimed. "After everything you did!"

"I didn't know you guys were here!" Amara protested. "What are you even doing here anyway?! I thought you still lived in Cherrygrove."

Debbie rolled her eyes. "We've been on a Pokemon journey together for months now, duh!" She replied in an exasperated tone, like she expected Amara to just know that off the top of her head. "Pretty sure we told you about how we wanted to be trainers."

The memory came back right then. It was the day Amara first met Chanel. She, Debbie, Emily, and another friend, Maria, had a picnic in Cherrygrove. Debbie went on about how she dreamed of becoming the champion and going to places no trainer had ever gone before. She had been so enthusiastic when she talked about her dream, so much so that her eyes were gleaming. Now, the only thing in her eyes was undiluted scorn.

Emily could feel the tension rising. "S-S-Sorry that Aipom stole your sandwich-"

"Hey!" Debbie suddenly cut her off. "Don't apologize to her!" She swung her arm aloft to point her index finger at Amara, again putting her on the spot. "She should be the one apologizing to us!"

Apologize to them? For what? Now she was confused. She hadn't seen them in years, but now they were making it sound like Amara, once their best friend, had done something horrible to them. But as far as Amara knew, she didn't remember doing anything particularly bad to them. Sure, she knew she had been abusing her own Pokemon, stole one from a lab, and assaulted others. But Emily and Debbie, her old friends? No, she hadn't done anything to them all year. She had barely interacted with them since the weeks following Chanel's death.

"Why?" Amara found herself asking aloud. "We haven't talked in months!" She protested.

The more the girls heard, the more angry Debbie became. "Are you kidding me?!" Debbie roared. Amara found herself stepping back two steps, completely taken aback by her ex-friend's outburst. "We were friends for years! _Years!_ But the moment you started obsessing over Chanel's death and hanging out with those high school aged stoners, you completely tossed us aside like trash!" She was quivering with anger. "Like we never even meant anything to you!"

"You're the ones who didn't give a crap when Chanel died!" Amara protested, pointing her index finger at her former friend. A question swam through her mind: how did they know about her hanging out with stoners? She didn't remember anyone seeing her with them.

"It's not like that!" Emily interrupted. But neither girl heard her.

"You didn't even want to make sympathy cards with me! You didn't even tell the school to hold some kind of vigil for her! That shows you never cared!"

With a swipe of her hand, Debbie smacked Amara's hand away. The sting that followed normally wouldn't be much, but to Amara, it was like someone slapped her across the face. Debbie balled her fists as though she were trying really hard to not explode in a rage.

"Newsflash, Amara...we DO care!" Debbie hissed. Any attempt to keep herself calm was futile at this point. "Don't you _dare_ say that about us!" Her voice rose with every word she spoke. "The school DID hold a vigil for Chanel! Literally the week after what happened!"

Amara froze. She couldn't believe it. It just had to be a lie. She had heard nothing about a school vigil being held in Chanel's honor. There was no such thing that had happened...was there?

"In homeroom, the teacher made us make sympathy cards for Chanel's family the day afterward!" Debbie continued. "After that week, the school held a vigil! We texted you about it that morning! We tried to tell you, we really did!" Her ex-friend's voice was almost bordering on hysterical now. "But you didn't even come to school! Not for the next three days at that!"

With every word she heard, Amara felt as though her insides had been gouged out. But the worst thing was that Debbie was right. Amara had chosen to stay home from school. She never even bothered to check her phone, she was too busy sitting in bed and mourning Chanel, completely shutting herself off from the outside world. Her phone had been off those past few days.

"We tried to come over to your house a few times before to tell you about it! We even art supplies with us so we could make cards for her together! But you didn't come out of your room even once! Your mom tried to get you to come down but she said she couldn't!"

Memories came flashing through her mind. Amara burying herself in her bed, pushing pillows down her head. Hearing the creaking of her door as her mother peeked inside to take a look. Amara wanting the world to just stop. She wanted to be alone in her sorrow.

" _Amara? Your friends are here. They brought flowers and candy and art supplies-"_

" _Tell them to go away!"_

" _But they're worried about you, sweetie. They said they want to tell you that-"_

" _I want to be alone! Make them go away!"_

How could she have forgotten about that? Another part of her was regretting turning them away. Maybe if she had accepted them and let them cheer her up somewhat, perhaps...something might have changed. Her heart was awhirl with all kinds of emotions, all of them unimaginable.

Too bad Debbie didn't know this, and continued on with her tirade. "Ever since then, you just completely ignored us like we never even mattered to you!"

The pain was too much even for the both of them.

(flashback)

 _Six months after Chanel's death, she and Emily noticed that Amara had been gone from school more often. At this point, their friendship had long since fallen apart, and they were in different classes, so they hardly spoke. Any time Emily or Debbie attempted to talk to Amara, the latter would always shoot them down. Even when Emily and Debbie wanted to reach out and help, Amara would always yell at them or look at them like they were the most disgusting thing on earth. What happened? Neither Debbie nor Emily had any idea. Changes swept over Amara like a tsunami, and neither Debbie nor Emily liked them one bit._

 _It was so strange, they thought. Amara was usually cheerful and outgoing, even before Chanel came into the picture. The times they spent together were wonderful, especially when Debbie and Emily warmed up to Chanel and saw why Amara liked her so much. It was like she was one of their own. But now that Chanel was gone, everything seemed to unravel._

" _Hey, Amara? There's grief counselors at school now. Do you want to go to a session with me?" Debbie had asked Amara in the halls one day._

" _No way!" Amara snapped. "I'd rather eat dirt than see a freakin' grief counselor!" She said the word like it was poison and stomped away, leaving a flummoxed Debbie all alone._

" _Amara? Would you like to come to my house?" Emily asked her one day. "My mom's making T-shirts with Chanel's picture on them, and she gave me a few to give to the students. I thought maybe you could come over and-"_

" _Yeah right," Amara sneered. "Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" She acted as though Emily was planning some kind of cruel prank or being a manipulator. Even Emily found herself completely flabbergasted. Amara had never talked to Emily that way before._

 _If it had to do with Chanel, Amara would jump at anything. Now, turning down a chance to go to Emily's? That was very unlike Amara. Going to Emily's house to do anything, even study, was always something the girls liked to do._

 _At one point, Emily and Debbie found themselves despondent over everything. "Amara's taking Chanel's death really hard, isn't she?," Emily mused, her voice adopting a twinge of sadness._

" _I don't blame her," Debbie put both hands on her chin as they sat in front of a tree by the school. This was after school, so they weren't skipping or playing hooky. "They were best friends. I'd be angry a lot too if I lost my best friends, or even my family."_

" _Have you noticed that Amara's changed? She's suddenly become...angry. Like, she's always angry now."_

" _I know," Debbie wished she could do something to help. She and Emily both. They knew nothing they did would bring Chanel back, but they wished they could do something, anything, to help Amara cope with this. "Maybe we should give her some space. She probably wants some time alone. My dad says sometimes being alone can help people who are grieving."_

" _Yeah, you might be right. Everyone grieves differently."_

 _The girls really hoped that Amara would be able to cope in her own way. They weren't sure how long Amara would do this, but they knew they couldn't force it. Amara had a right to grieve, too, just like they did. For now, they decided to leave Amara alone for now. They figured they needed to let Amara sort things out. Debbie was sure they'd retain some sense of normalcy after everything that happened._

 _Then she heard rumors circulating around. People saw Amara hanging out in the park with high schoolers, sitting around and watching the others smoke weed or cocaine. Some even said Amara was doing some of it herself._

 _That couldn't be true, Debbie thought to herself. Amara wasn't the type to do that, right? She just couldn't be! After school, she slipped over to the park to see if it was true. She had hoped that those were just rumors, nothing more. Rumors were almost always false unless confirmed. She needed to see it for herself. She was only going to wish she hadn't gone to that park._

 _The rumors were true. She hid behind a thick bush so nobody would see her. There was Amara, sitting among kids who looked to be 15-17 years old, and Amara was still twelve! Not only that, there were three boys and one girl, all of them dressed in black clothes, with their ears covered from top to bottom with silver piercings. Some of them even had colored streaks in their hair. Light blue, pink, lime green, grey. One boy was leaning over a stump, sticking a glass tube in his nose, using it to suck up some weird, white powdery substance. The others smoked on some white cigarettes. Upon closer inspection, they had green, seven-pointed leaf emblems on them._

 _A hand flew to Debbie's mouth. Amara, her former best friend, was hanging out with that kind of crowd? As far as Debbie knew, Amara was never the type to even associate herself with druggies, or even people who were far older than her. She even heard Amara say that she would never smoke or drink alcohol in her life. Just what was Amara of all people doing with them? She could only pray that they weren't going to hurt her in some way._

 _But in hindsight, that wasn't even the worst part about the whole thing._

" _I just don't get why my mom keeps hounding me about my grades, y'know? She's all like,_ 'If you don't get straight A's, then you won't get to go to a good college!' _Like, come on, I don't even wanna go to college. College is for nerds who don't have a life outside of school."_

" _At least your parents only bug you about one thing. My parents always diss everything I do. They refuse to see me for who I am."_

" _You guys don't have an older brother. My parents always want me to be like him, but I'm supposed to be the evil twin! I'm not some goody-two-shoes!"_

 _All Amara did was listen to her newfound friends vent about their problems, watching the clouds of smoke come out from their mouths. Debbie, still hiding in the bush, was still too dumbfounded to completely take it all in. But even she wasn't prepared for Amara's input on the little venting session._

" _My friends don't care about me or Chanel," Amara told them in the most pitiful voice she could muster. Everyone turned to gaze upon the runt in the odd group. "Especially not Chanel! I suggested they make sympathy cards or hold some vigil, but they looked at me like I was brain dead! They won't even talk about her anymore!"_

 _Debbie's mouth fell open. Where did Amara get that idea? Surely that wasn't true! They had attempted to tell Amara about the vigil numerous times, even going to her house to try and do so, but every attempt failed. Even when they did try to tell her, Amara had always shot them down. Debbie couldn't remember looking at Amara like she was brain dead._

 _The three high school aged kids stared off into the distance, watching as the gray clouds above them didn't budge an inch. There was no sun, so the whole area was given a dismal grey coloration about it._

" _Your friends sound like a bunch of heartless idiots," The older girl mused, holding a cigarette in between her teeth. Amara took care not to let the burning end come close to her, lest she be burned. "They probably completely forgot about her."_

 _One of the boys shrugged. "That's just people for you. They never see what's really important. Life just sucks, and then you die," What a bleak, cynical thing to say._

" _Yeah, they can be kinda stupid," Amara told them without the slightest hint of hesitation. "Debbie's kind of a fat slob, and Emily's so clumsy she can never tell when she's bumped right into a stop sign."_

 _Fat slob. Clumsy. Can't see the stop sign. Debbie's fist crumpled around a leaf on the shrub. Amara, her once best friend, calling her and Emily stupid, fat, and clumsy? Right in front of people she barely knew? If Debbie's heart was fabric, it was getting unraveled faster than a sewing machine could fix it._

" _Not only that," Amara continued, not noticing that a set of eyes was watching her from the bushes. "Emily told me that when she was a baby, she tried to eat a Rattata's poop."_

 _The reaction was instant on both sides. "Ewwwwww! That is SO gross!" One of the boys bellowed, looking away in disgust._

" _Oh, and Debbie likes to dance in the house and pretend she's married to some gym leader named Grant when she's alone."_

 _The whole group found themselves bending over in 90 degree angles, unable to suppress their laughter. "Man, now that is hilarious! Oh, my ribs!"_

 _On the other hand, Debbie found herself livid._ 'AMARA! What the freak are you doing?! You can't just tell random strangers about your friends' most private secrets!' _She wanted to yell, scream, pull Amara to the side and tell her what a horrible person she was being right now. Amara was straight up telling people about secrets that she was absolutely forbidden to disclose to anyone. This was a traitorous act that Debbie found herself unable to forgive for as long as she lived. But something inside her told her that Emily needed to know about this. Right now._

 _Any sympathy, trust, or compassion she had for Amara was completely gone by this point. She sprinted out from the bushes, running as fast as she could. She hoped in her heart of hearts that it was only a dream. Just a terrible, horrible dream, or even a prank that Amara was playing on them. But considering the shift in her behavior over the past few days, Debbie could feel in her gut that this wasn't a dream. This was real. Amara had taken the trust that Debbie and Emily had given them and thrown it to the side of the road like it was garbage._

 _Utterly unforgivable._

 _Debbie was quick to give Emily a call and tell her what she saw. When she mentioned the part about Amara disclosing their secrets, that she was instructed to NOT tell ANYONE no matter what, there was a very eerie silence. For a moment, Debbie thought Emily had hung up on her._

" _Emily? Hello? You still there?"_

 _An answer came, but in the form of a sob. Then more sobs, which quickly morphed into a full on bawling session. Debbie scolded herself for not expecting this. Of course Emily would cry if someone would betray her like that. Her best friend, telling some random strangers about an embarrassing secret she wanted to keep hidden? In the girl world, that was considered tantamount to a grade A felony. At least, that was how Debbie saw it._

" _...How could she…? How could she do that to us?!" Emily sobbed._

 _Debbie frowned. She didn't have an answer for that. Actually, she did, but she was sure it wouldn't do anything to assuage the mixed feelings they had. Anger. Frustration. Regret. Humiliation. Worst of all...their trust had been completely broken._

(end flashback)

"You saw me with them?!" Amara yelled once Debbie finished. Amara had taken great pains to make sure nobody saw her with them. True, her parents found out in the end, as that didn't matter. But Debbie? Debbie saw her with them? The humiliation that washed over her was instantaneous, and far too overwhelming to even process at the moment. "And you heard that?!"

"Come on, Debbie," Emily pleaded. "Just stop-"

"No, Emily! Don't defend her! She needs to hear this!" She turned right back to Amara. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt us by doing what you did?! We trusted you! You should never have told those stoners our personal secrets!"

There was truth to what they were saying. It shamed Amara. To know that she had said those things about her friends, not realizing that they actually did care. Far more than she realized. The shame was instantaneous, and she found herself unable to protest. No, she didn't want to protest at this point.

"It really hurt…" Debbie's voice had softened somewhat, even though it still trembled. Some tears came out from her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. "...to know you betrayed us like that...after all the time we spent together…"

For once, Amara didn't disagree. In fact, she knew how Debbie felt. If someone were to disclose one of Amara's most personal secrets to someone, possibly someone who could easily use it as leverage or blackmail, she would definitely feel hurt and betrayed. She was sure Chanel would feel the same way if someone told others about what her father did.

Emily put Aipom back down on the ground, her arms weak and limp from carrying him for so long. "Amara? Listen, we don't hate you. You have every right to grieve, and for as long as you need to. It's just…" She kept her voice gentle and calm. Unlike Debbie, Emily did not wish to exacerbate this conflict. But she did feel she needed to be honest. "...Ever since Chanel died, you became all angry and argumentative, and that isn't you. Normally, you would never tell random strangers our most personal secrets, and...I won't lie, that's not what friends do."

This time, even Debbie fell silent. She didn't want to interrupt Emily's attempt at reaching out. She gave a big sniff before wiping her tears. Boy, did it feel good to finally let all those feelings out.

"We're sure Chanel wouldn't want you to be sad and mad at the world all the time," She crooned. "She'd want you to be happy and live life like you always did."

Something inside Amara snapped. She couldn't contain it. "...Stop that."

"Huh?"

"Stop lying!" Amara screamed. "Stop it! You never cared about her or me!" Debbie and Emily exchanged confused glances. "You don't know anything about Chanel! You don't know what she went through!"

"Hey!" Debbie threw herself back into the fray. "Come on, Amara! Sure, we weren't close to Chanel like you were with her, but that doesn't mean we didn't care!"

"Yeah right!" Amara spat venomously, narrowing her blue eyes to slits. "Don't give me that fake pity crap!"

"Why else would we suggest to Emily's mom that we make T-shirts with Chanel's picture on them?!" Debbie argued. Just what was going to convince Amara that they were sincere?

"To make yourselves look good!"

"Stop it, you two!" Emily pleaded. "We can handle this more-"

It was evident from their shaking bodies and loud, disorderly ranting that they were not going to calm down or handle this maturely. The whole thing was unraveling right before her eyes, and no matter what she did, she couldn't stop them from arguing once more.

"I hate you two!" Amara screamed once more. "You get everything handed to you on a silver platter!"

"No we don't!"

"You get to go on Pokemon journeys and I don't! You talk like you wanna be friends but really you care more about yourselves! You didn't even cry when Chanel died!"

"Yes we did!"

"You completely ditched me!"

Debbie's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who ditched us first!" She protested. "You know what? Just stop. Seriously, just stop! You don't want to heal! You just want to wallow in your self-pity and make Chanel's death all about you!"

There, she said it. She had been dying to say it since she saw Amara change so drastically. She didn't want to put her friend on the spot like that, or say those things to her. Inhaling and exhaling, the tears came back. God, did it hurt to call Amara out like that. But Amara had to know what she did, and what she was doing now. She had agonized for an answer for so long, just thinking about everything hurt her heart. It hurt all of their hearts. She knew saying that would hurt Amara. But as much as she hated having said it, her mother once said that sometimes it's better to tell a harsh truth than a kind lie.

"Alright, that's enough!" Emily yelled, taking Debbie by the arm and pulling her away. Not even Aipom's extra weight could prevent Emily from pulling her friend back any faster. "You've gone too far!"

For once, Debbie said nothing. Even Amara fell silent. Emily recoiled upon seeing the hurt on her ex-friend's face. While she did agree that Amara wasn't helping matters by continuing to be stubborn as a Ponyta, she felt Debbie could have said it more delicately. Then she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen before scribbling on it.

"Here," Emily put the paper in Amara's hand. "It's my PokeGear number. You may not think it to be much, but...I wish...I wish we could go back to the good old days. You can call me...if you want to just talk."

Before the two girls could leave, Amara's silence faded, and her frustration morphed into a volcano of anger that erupted faster than she could watch them leave. Before that, she slammed the paper on the ground. "You fakers! You're just as much bad friends as I am!" Amara screamed at the top of her voice. "You're stupid fat slobs who don't care about anything but saving your own hides!"

With that, Amara was alone. Alone with her still boiling anger. Now her friends had completely cut her off. Still, the truth was too cruel to face. She didn't want to face the truth, that Amara was the bad friend and they were right in calling her out on her betrayal. For not realizing that they tried to reach out to her, that she did nothing but sit around and wallow in her sorrow and self-pity. But...making Chanel's death out to be all about Amara? Where did they get that idea?

That wasn't the worst thing about that thought. The worst part was the possibility that they were right.

From this day forth, Debbie Strongwell and Emily Flaherty were no longer her friends. For real, this time.

* * *

By the time Julia had gotten discharged from the hospital, the air was frigid, having adopted a frosty bite to it. Everywhere, the leaves on every tree in the city would change from their summer green to colors that never cease to be amazing. The birches became a luminous yellow, almost blinding in direct sunlight. The oaks and elms would turn a mature, majestic mahogany or bronze. The maples would go from a warm, soft orange to blazing vermillion red which, in Julia's mind, was like Geraldine's thick hide.

Even with the cold and the changing of the seasons, trainers always had it in them to battle, no matter the weather. Julia and Caiseal faced each other on the battlefield behind the Pokemon Center, with Viole and Saoirse hopping around, flinging attacks at each other or dodging. Perrine sat on a nearby bench, holding Mushi in her arms.

"Saoirse, use Fire Fang!" Julia commanded.

"Snubbuuuuull!" Saoirse's sharp teeth burst into flames as she darted across the dirt, ready to fry Viole into a burnt plant.

"Ha! Viole, use Sludge Bomb to hold her off!" Caiseal cried, his smile brimming with confidence.

"Gloom!" Viole fired a sphere of sludge from the flower on his head. Since Saoirse was running, she found herself unable to get away in time as the sludge bomb came flying right toward her. Splat! The icky substance smacked her right in the face, causing her to fall on her rear. Thus, her pink face was covered with sludge.

"Haha! Good one, Viole!" Caiseal ran to his plant friend's side, holding his hand up for a high five.

Viole flashed a drool filled smile. "Gloom gloom!" He smacked Caiseal's hand with his short, stubby one.

"Saoirse!" Julia managed to pull out a napkin and used it to wash that stuff off of Saoirse's face. Thankfully, it came off rather easily. "You okay, girl?"

"Snubbull snub," Saoirse replied, rubbing her face with her own hands this time, just in case there were any excess spots she missed. Julia found herself glad that Saoirse wasn't wearing her favorite red dress and matching ribbons.

"You did great," She told her little friend.

"You were pretty good yourself," Caiseal suddenly piped in. Julia scooped Saoirse in her arms and stood up to face him.

"Same to you. I guess battling Pryce made you stronger."

"Yeah, sorta," Caiseal rubbed his head with one hand.

"But man, does it feel good to be outside again!" Julia stretched her legs out by standing on her tip-toes. "I was worried I might die from boredom!"

Perrine stood up from the bench and walked over to the kids with a bright, friendly smile. "I can relate. When I was little, my dad wouldn't let me leave the house a lot of the time except for school," Perrine explained. "He wouldn't even let me go out into the front yard," She puffed her chest out and held a fist aloft before presenting an admittedly bad imitation of her father's voice. " _'Perrine, my child! A proper lady does not frolick in the grass! You'll get your dresses dirty, and I paid over a thousand dollars for your whole wardrobe! Now you better come back in here and finish your piano lessons, young lady!'_ Man, he was such a sourpuss back then!"

Both Julia and Caiseal held their hands over their mouths, attempting to suppress laughter but failing. Perrine's voice was far too high pitched to imitate her father's voice, but the attempt was still rather funny and accurate. Then again, kids liked doing silly things like this. It was here that Julia saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked near the bench before running over to it.

"Jule? What's up?" Caiseal asked.

"Gloom gloom?"

"Paras?" Even Viole and Mushi couldn't help but wonder what was up.

Once Julia made it to the bench, she kneeled down to get a closer look. Laying in the grass was a grey stone with a green leaf shaped emblem on it. She reached out to pick it up. It didn't feel very heavy in her hands, but the bottom was covered in dirt that it had been sitting on for a long time. Julia cringed upon feeling the icky dirt on her skin.

"Hey! You found a Leaf Stone! Awesome!" Caiseal bent over to get a closer look. "Gloom use those to evolve into Vileplume!"

"Glooooom!" Viole agreed, flapping his hands up and down.

Julia stood up so she could meet everyone at eye level. "Hey, Cash? Does Viole want to evolve into a Vileplume?"

"Ask him."

She did just that. Viole nodded. But Julia seemed unsure. "I wonder if Blossom wants to evolve into a Vileplume or a Bellossom? I'll ask her if I ever get the chance to get Mom to send her over, then we can use the stones. Is that okay?"

Perrine nodded. "Sure."

"Fine with me," Caiseal shrugged.

"Gloom gloom gloom." ( _"I can wait."_ )

Speaking of which, she figured she could ask her mother if she could send Geraldine over. Julia did promise to at least take Geraldine back to Lake of Rage. Her parents were sure to be worried. But who could she send over in the mean time? She pulled out two PokeBalls and released Rino and Rina from their confinement. Rino yawned while Rina simply brushed her large ears.

"Niiiii niiii."

"Hey guys!" Since the poison pin duo had grown large, Julia didn't feel the need to kneel down to their level. "You know the red Gyarados, right? Well, I caught her, and she's at my house right now. I want to have her with me so we can hang out and be friends. But since I have six Pokemon, one of you has to go back home," She explained in a matter-of-fact, casual tone, like she always did. "Would either one of you like to go home and hang out with our other friends for a while?"

Both Rino and Rina exchanged glances. Julia didn't see any resentment in them like before. The last time she managed to switch Rina and Rino out, they were angry with her, thinking that she lied to them about liking her. Thankfully, those feelings had completely disappeared. Still, there was hardly a time when Rino and Rina were apart, being the lovebirds that they were. The kids were convinced they could see hearts fluttering out from their bodies the moment they would see each other. Rino and Rina found themselves ruminating.

Then, a couple seconds later, Rina raised her front paw. "Nido nido!" ("I wouldn't mind going.") She announced.

"How come?" Julia asked.

"Nido nido?" Rino cocked his head to one side, flummoxed. He figured she'd be the last Pokemon to want to go back to Julia's house.

Rina let out some huffs and grunts, explaining that although she loves Rino, she figured her lover could stand to have some time to himself and not have Rina constantly hovering over him. Plus, Rina liked some of the food Kassia made, and did find some good friends in Aqua and some of the other Pokemon. Rino nodded in an amicable manner, respecting his lover's decision.

"Okay then! Return!" Julia called Rina back to her PokeBall, deciding to switch her for Geraldine.

The practice battle session ended, and the kids scurried back into the Pokemon Center, namely because Julia was just too excited to see Geraldine again. She raced to the video phone as soon as she came in, with Caiseal and Perrine standing behind her. Julia held the phone to her cheek, waiting for the static to go away. Finally, the video began to materialize.

"He-"

 _"JULIA CAROL PARISA!"_ Her mother's loud voice forced Julia to pull the phone away. It almost blew her ears right off of her head. More than that, she hadn't heard her mother yell like that in a long time. Even Caiseal and Perrine could hear it, flinching at the staticky sound on the phone. This was not what she was expecting. _"We need to talk right now, young lady!"_

Julia flinched. The uncontrolled rage in her mother's voice was enough to make her shiver, and already she could picture bad scenarios playing out in her head. Even looking at her proved to be too much. Her mother's face was illuminated a bright, angry red.

" _I can't believe you actually caught a Gyarados of all Pokemon!"_ Kassia bellowed, not turning her voice down one bit. Of course she would be referring to Geraldine.

Still, Julia found herself confused. Was that what her mother was mad about? "Yeah, I did. Is...that bad?"

On the video, Kassia took some deep breaths before continuing. _"You caught a Gyarados, and not just any Gyarados, the red one that's been wreaking havoc on Mahogany Town! I've seen it on the news!"_ Kassia yelled, once again making no attempt to temper her voice. Again, Julia held the phone away from her ear, as said lack of tempering hurt her ears. _"How could you be so reckless?! You know how dangerous Gyarados are!"_

"Mom! Calm down!" Julia snapped back. "I only caught her because some Team Rocket goons were hurting her! I just wanted to help her, that's all!" Kassia was about to go on, but Julia held her finger up, silencing her. "Now, I want to ask if you can send Geraldine to me."

Kassia raised an eyebrow. _"Geraldine?"_

"The red Gyarados, Mom! I'm gonna send Rina over. Is that okay?"

Without a word, Kassia complied with her daughter's request. Julia put Rina's PokeBall in the transporter, watching it disappear as another PokeBall materialized in its place. There was Geraldine's name tag, in the exact same place as Julia left it. Perrine and Caiseal exchanged awkward glances.

"This is not going to go well," Caiseal whispered.

Perrine nodded in agreement, shivering like a leaf. "She's really mad."

"Thanks, Mom!" Julia beamed as soon as her hand wrapped around the PokeBall. However, Kassia still looked angry. Julia's smile faded. Just what was wrong? Was she not allowed to catch a Gyarados? She didn't remember hearing about any rules like that, and she had seen plenty of large Pokemon at the ranch. Some of those Pokemon were even perceived to be dangerous by the public, but Julia had always known the ones at the ranch to be nice and friendly. "...What's wrong?"

Kassia shook her head. _"I can't believe you'd do something this stupid. I never should have sent you out on a journey, at least until you turned eighteen…"_

"Hey! I heard that!" This was very unlike her mother. Julia had seen her complain about some things before, and be exasperated, but when it came to Pokemon, her mother was always enthusiastic about them. Plus, she would usually be like this when Amara did something stupid or was misbehaving. She hardly ever acted this way with her younger daughter, only when she really deserved it, which was rare.

" _...Julia."_

"Hm?"

" _I want you to do something for me."_

"Yeah? What?"

The atmosphere between them was tense. Kassia's stern expression didn't go away. She narrowed her eyes to odious slits. _"...I want you to go back to the Lake of Rage and release that Gyarados."_

Release Geraldine? Julia's mouth fell open. This mysterious disdain her mother seemed to have for Geraldine was unfeasibly strange. Both Perrine and Caiseal heard it as well. Again, they exchanged confused glances. Sure, Julia had planned to go to Lake of Rage and have Geraldine reunite with her parents, and maybe ask their permission to take Geraldine with her. But release her completely? Why would Kassia ask that? Julia wanted to spend time with her new friend and give her all the love, care, and affection in the world. Her parents always told her that Pokemon deserve love and care, and all Pokemon are important in this world.

All she could ask was, "...Why?"

" _You know why."_ Julia knew from the tone of her voice that her mother meant business, and was in no mood for jokes or compromise.

"No, I don't."

Kassia gripped the phone on her side of the conversation. _"Julia, listen to me. I don't want you keeping that Gyarados."_

Not keep her? That did it for Julia. She could no longer keep an indoor voice. "Why not?! Other trainers can catch Gyarados and raise them just fine!" She didn't care if her mother was glaring at her for yelling. At this point, Julia wanted to yell. What else could she do? "I'll take good care of her, I promise!"

" _Julia! It's not about whether you'll take care of her, it's about whether you can handle her or not!"_ Kassia snapped back. _"And I absolutely know for sure that you're completely unable to handle a Pokemon like that!"_ Julia tried to protest, but her mother continued on. _"Gyarados are extremely dangerous, and if anyone does anything to set them off, they can go on rampages and reduce entire towns to rubble! They're called the atrocious Pokemon for a reason! People have died because of them!"_

She knew that. She knew that Chanel had died in a Gyarados rampage. But in her mind, she was making it sound as though all Gyarados were bad. Surely, that wasn't the case. Nevertheless, Kassia kept going. _"They've killed millions of people since ancient times. They can generate millions or billions of dollars in property damage. What will you do if Gyarados suddenly goes berserk and begins using Hyper Beam of Mahogany Town?"_

"I…" Julia had no answer for that. Then she noticed something really odd: Not once did Kassia refer to Julia's new friend as Geraldine. Just plain old Gyarados. That was strange. Why wasn't she calling Geraldine by her new name? Julia could tell that had to mean something.

" _Should Gyarados do that, the town could force you to pay the property damage fees, and you know we don't have that kind of money! They could take Gyarados away and euthanize her if she so much as takes one life, and I don't want that happening to you!"_ Julia squeezed her eyes shut. She knew all of that. She knew she wasn't stupid, and wished her mother wouldn't remind her of that truth. _"You could go to jail, and they could revoke your trainer's license!"_

Unable to take it anymore, Julia found her voice. "But Mom! Geraldine's not some heartless killer monster! Besides, I've seen you raise dangerous Pokemon before, like Ursaring, Pinsir, and Rapidash! You loved them and cared for them like they were your babies, and they came out super nice! I'll love Geraldine just as much, just like you showed me!"

Again, Kassia shook her head grimly. _"Julia. I've raised hundreds of Pokemon before I even had you and Amara. But for some, no matter how much care I gave them, it wasn't enough. Nothing I did could help them with their problems. I either had to put them up for adoption and have them put down-I mean, euthanized."_

Julia always hated it when others would describe putting a sick Pokemon out of their misery as being put down. Why bother sugarcoating it? She knew what euthanize meant. She looked it up on the computer and in her books. It was just a fancy word for killing them with a substance they inject into sick Pokemon with needles and syringes. She didn't understand why her parents wouldn't just be honest with her about these things. However, she wished Kassia wasn't being honest right now.

" _I'm already seeing signs that your Gyarados has problems that you're not going to be able to handle, even if you do give her all the love in your heart,"_ Her voice quivered somewhat. Whether it was anger or sorrow, Julia wasn't sure. She couldn't quite make it out with the phone's sound quality. _"Besides, only experienced trainers who know how to care for Gyarados can handle them. At your level, how can you even begin to try to raise one? I just don't want you getting into trouble or taking on far more than you can handle."_

"Mom! I've read books on how to care for Gyarados!" Julia argued once more. "Can't I at least try? I know Geraldine's not some evil monster! She's a nice Pokemon!"

" _JULIA!"_ Kassia barked, her face curling into a hideous expression of both melancholy and anger. _"I'm not giving you a choice here! Get rid of that Gyarados right this instant! I don't want you keeping that thing!"_

Now she was plain distraught. All she could do was stare at the corners of the monitor, looking like she was going to burst into tears. Her grip on the phone strengthened, and her blood began to boil. One side of Julia saw-and knew-that her mother was right. Gyarados were dangerous, and if she couldn't handle them, people could get seriously hurt or even die. Maybe she herself might get killed. Should a Gyarados destroy a whole town, someone would have to pay for the damages. The Parisas didn't have that kind of money. They weren't poor, but they weren't rich, either. There was no possible way Julia could pay for any property damages beyond what she had saved in her account, and she was told to only use that money for her journey, especially for necessities. Plus, Julia had no experience with especially large Pokemon, and all she really did with the ones her mother owned was play with them and feed them a lot of the time. She hadn't raised them or taught them manners or disciplined them when they were bad. The rational side of her said to comply with her mother's demand and spare herself the dangers and the trouble.

Then-sweeping across her mind's eye, in one swift instant of wishful thinking-she visualized the moments she could spend with Geraldine. There was so much they could do together. Julia could read books to her out loud, just like with her other Pokemon. She would feed her good food, the best her money could buy. She and Geraldine would play with the other Pokemon and become great friends. She and Geraldine could ride the oceans to other regions and see the world, and she wouldn't have to worry about boats, storms, waves, other water Pokemon, or even paying any fees. Julia could tell her lots of funny jokes that would make anyone, human or Pokemon, laugh out loud. Julia could make Geraldine happy and give her love, love that would help her overcome what Team Rocket had done to her. She would brush her scales every day, keep her company, tell her secrets, and maybe perfect some of her attacks. Why shouldn't she keep her? Sure, she had gone berserk in Mahogany Town, but that was because Team Rocket had hurt her. It wasn't like she wanted to hurt anyone. She was scared and upset. Anyone would be if random strangers kidnapped them and did horrible things to them.

Besides, Julia was in Mahogany Town. Her mother was far away, back in New Bark Town. Too far away for her mother to suddenly bark new rules at her. Her blood boiled even hotter, which made her build up her courage. There were too many questions, too many impossible choices swimming in her head, all at war with each other.

One choice began to win everything over: No. She was done being told she couldn't do one thing she wanted.

" _Do you understand me, young lady? I want you to release that-"_

A shiver of outrage finally ran through Julia's being. In the course of a split second, she refused to let her mother finish that command, screaming, "NO!" She didn't care if people turned to look at her. It wasn't any of their business anyway. She stood up from the chair. "I'm NOT getting rid of her! I'm GOING to take care of Geraldine, like a good trainer should! I'm GOING to be a good trainer AND THAT'S FINAL!"

With a grunt, she slammed the phone down in its proper place, and the video suddenly turned black. Soon, she found herself gasping for breath, though she wasn't running or doing anything that would make her lose breath. Perrine and Caiseal were speechless. They had never seen Julia like this before. The people who stopped to look were also speechless, though they were more confused than shocked, wondering just what was going on. But it didn't take long for them to go back to what they were doing.

"Uhh…" Only Perrine managed to summon the courage to speak. "Jule? Are...you okay?"

Julia took in a sharp breath before turning to face her friends. "Let's go to Lake of Rage. Geraldine wants to see her parents."

Once again, the duo exchanged glances. Talk about changing the subject. Nevertheless, they complied without a word.

* * *

Lake of Rage wasn't far from Mahogany Town, only a 30 minute walk on foot. Unlike before, the Lake of Rage was now calm and serene, and nothing stirred. Even the lake's waters were still as a mannequin. Once Julia got close, she took out her PokeBalls and let all of her Pokemon out, Geraldine included. The red serpent stood before them on a small bit of land right in front of the lake. Julia looked up at her serpentine friend, beaming, unlike before.

"Hi, Geraldine!" Julia warmly greeted her friend like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Guess what? You're back home now!"

Geraldine turned around. There was the lake. Her home, her beautiful, serene lake, just the way it was when she left. Already, relief washed over her. She was home now, just like Julia promised. She closed her eyes and flashed a big smile, rejoicing in her return. The joy was instantaneous, and Julia could tell that the red serpent was in a state of absolute bliss.

"Sorry it took so long to bring you back here," Julia apologized. The anger in her voice had vanished completely. The walk probably helped. Nature sometimes does that to people. "Oh! I want to introduce you to my friends! These are Perrine and Caiseal, and all the Pokemon here are my friends!"

The red serpent listened as Julia, her new trainer, introduced the Pokemon one by one. It must be confessed that the Pokemon found themselves huddled together, shaking like leaves. Julia could see the fear in their eyes.

"Don't worry, guys!" Julia told them reassuringly. "Geraldine's a nice Gyarados! She's not gonna hurt you!"

The red serpent looked down at them, despondent. Of course they'd be afraid. She was a giant red serpent known by the public for attacking people and reducing towns to rubble. They were tiny, harmless Pokemon. Still, she wasn't an angry Pokemon, nor did she want to hurt anyone. She was big and did look intimidating, but she knew this wasn't her fault. Very slowly, she lowered herself to their level.

"Pikapi…" Hikaru held her hands over her head just in case anything happened. All she felt was a soft, slobbery tongue licking her fur. She looked up, seeing Geraldine smiling at her. Her body relaxed at the gentle but sticky touch. "Pikachu!" Hikaru beamed. So Geraldine wasn't dangerous after all. The other Pokemon could sense Hikaru's relaxation, and they followed suit.

Then, Geraldine turned around and let out a growl. _"Mom! Dad! It's me! I'm back!"_ She cried. Within a split second, two blue Gyarados sprang up from the ground, growling with relief as they coiled their bodies around their daughter, rejoicing in her return. Julia could hear and translate every word they said.

" _Oh! Thank goodness you're alright! We were so worried!"_

" _We were afraid those humans had killed you!"_

" _Sorry for scaring you, Mom, Dad."_

" _It's alright. It's not your fault. We're just happy you're safe and sound."_

" _Come meet my new friends!"_ Geraldine gently escorted her relieved parents to Julia and her Pokemon. The Gyarados parents tilted their heads to one side, looking flummoxed. _"This human here is Julia! She and her Pokemon saved me! I couldn't have gotten out without their help,"_ Geraldine explained in soft growls. Julia's cheeks turned a rosy pink.

The two Gyarados exchanged glances. Soon, their faces relaxed and they bowed before the girl in gratitude. _"We thank you for saving our daughter,"_ The Gyarados parents warbled.

"You're welcome! Hey, Geraldine? Do you want to play?"

Geraldine beamed. After being cooped up in the PokeBall for a week straight, of course she wanted to play. She allowed Julia and the Pokemon to ride on her back as she swam through Lake of Rage, allowing the girl and her Pokemon to take in all the new sights. Julia and the Pokemon were in awe. Everything around them grew smaller as they were high up on Geraldine's back. They even found themselves among a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto, as the birds flew right past them, flapping their wings and flying to wherever they wanted to go.

"Hey, no fair!" Perrine complained. "I wanna ride a Gyarados, too!"

Caiseal pulled all of his PokeBalls out. "How about we all ride on her?"

Soon, all of their Pokemon found themselves out and about, riding on the backs of many grateful Gyarados, Geraldine included. They had no idea when Pryce was going to come back, so Julia figured they could hang out here for now, that way Geraldine could relax and catch up with her family and friends. She was in no rush to battle him. Basically, the kids and the Pokemon decided to play at the Lake of Rage all day.

At one point, Julia sat down in front of a tree, and Geraldine just plopped down next to her. An opportunity arose. "Hey, Geraldine! Want to listen to me read a book? It's super good!" Geraldine smiled, keeping her mouth closed. "Look! This is one of my favorites! I'll read it to you!" Soon, Julia's other Pokemon gathered around, listening as their trainer's soft, friendly voice read the words in the book aloud for all to hear.

Caiseal and Perrine sat down just a couple feet away, watching the happy group enjoy themselves. "She's so good with her Pokemon," Perrine mused, brushing her hair with a comb she brought with her. "It's no wonder they like her so much."

"Yeah, true," Caiseal stretched his arms out. "But I wonder if she can really handle a Gyarados, though? I mean, they can be pretty rough when they want to be. They're not called the atrocious Pokemon for nothing."

Perrine fell silent. Caiseal had a good point. Doubts began to spring forth like a leak in a boat. Julia's mother did bring up some good points. Every trainer and Pokemon is different, and sometimes a trainer and a Pokemon just aren't compatible. Sure, Geraldine was being calm and friendly now, but Gyarados were well known for having vicious tempers. Who's to say something won't set her off or cause her to go on a rampage? Perrine shook her head.

"Well, if something happens, we'll do what we can," Perrine answered. "I mean, we are Pokemon trainers after all."

By this point, Caiseal pulled out a crossword puzzle. "Let's just keep an eye out, okay?" He filled out one word in the puzzle before looking up to see Julia still reading to the Pokemon.

"' _You are a princess, and nothing can make you any different,' said Henriette. 'You're still my friend no matter what,'_ "

Not even Caiseal could deny how warm, accepting and loving Julia was toward Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. But even he knew that that love could only go so far, and just because someone loves their Pokemon, doesn't mean the recipients would always be willing to accept it. He knew this from experience. For now though, he let them be. They were happy, so he was happy. Everyone else was, too.

* * *

After a full day of doing nothing but play and have fun, the kids found themselves bushed when the moon rose, and they didn't feel like going back to the Pokemon Center. Not only that, Julia figured Geraldine would like to spend the night at her home, so they decided to camp out for the night. The sky was draped with an elegant black cloak, bejeweled with a myriad of shining stars, and crowned by a crescent moon. Everyone, even the Gyarados, was deep in sleep, lost in dreamland, enjoying the peaceful nights. The kids slept in tents that they set up-which Perrine and Caiseal had bought long beforehand-and some of the Pokemon stayed outside in case anything happened.

Hikaru was one such Pokemon. She slept right in front of Julia's tent, her ears tucked back. But oddly enough, she couldn't sleep. Images of Geraldine being welcomed back by her family kept on lingering in her mind, blocking out everything else. At one point, Hikaru simply woke up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her little fists. She looked up to see Geraldine, also awake, staring right up at the crescent moon with curious, interested eyes. Hikaru frowned, and her stomach lurched. Memories of her old parents barged right in, intruding on the peace she had made with herself.

But worse than that was jealousy. Geraldine was accepted by her parents, and her parents loved her. Hikaru's...she shook her head. She was over them, and the less she thought about them, the better. Still, the pain lingered, and the despairing thoughts were intruding upon everything else. That wasn't Geraldine's fault, and Hikaru mentally scolded herself for being jealous of a Gyarados. Nobody can choose their parents, nor can they choose the color of their fur. Neither Hikaru nor Geraldine chose to become shiny Pokemon, especially since their shiny coats brought them so much unneeded grief and trouble.

Geraldine stirred, turning around to see the small rodent behind her. "Oh? Hi, Hikaru!"

Hikaru's ears drooped. "Hi."

"What are you doing up this late?" Geraldine kept her growls low so she wouldn't wake anyone.

"I should be asking you that."

"Touche," Geraldine lowered herself down to Hikaru's level, placing her chin on the ground. "Want to hop on?"

Without hesitation, Hikaru hopped on Geraldine's head, holding tight onto one of her horns as the red serpent pulled herself back up. Under the moonlight, Hikaru noticed that Geraldine's red hide looked somewhat darker, a blazing crimson. Even more strange feelings Hikaru couldn't put a name to raged in her heart like a whirlpool. Finally, another shiny Pokemon she could relate to. Sure, Geraldine wasn't born a shiny Pokemon like Hikaru was, but her color had changed, and it was different from other Gyarados. Just like Hikaru's orange fur was different from regular Pikachu.

"So...you're a Pikachu, right?" Geraldine asked in a low voice. Since Pikachu had long, pointed ears, which grew longer from evolution, her hearing had become more sensitive. She could hear Geraldine's low growls. "I've never seen a Pikachu before. Are all of them orange like you are?"

Hikaru smiled at the red serpent's curiosity. "No. They're yellow. I'm what you call a shiny Pokemon. They have different colors than normal."

Despite her unfamiliarity with the rodent sized Pokemon, Geraldine could understand Hikaru's words perfectly. Different colors...Geraldine looked down at her tail. "So...does that make me a shiny Pokemon?"

"Sort of," Hikaru clarified. "But I was born shiny. You were forced to evolve against your will."

"Ohhhhh!" Geraldine was awestruck. Finally, she had answers. Did it feel ever so good to receive some answers. "That explains why I look so different!"

However, in her happiness, Geraldine could sense something stirring within the mouse Pokemon. Was she somehow sad? "You don't sound happy. Did I do something wrong?"

Hikaru's ears perked up, and her mouth fell open. How could this Gyarados think she had done something wrong? She had been nothing but nice throughout the whole day.

"No. It's not you. It's just…" Hikaru replied with a hint of sorrow in her voice. "Your parents...they really love you."

"Yep, yep, yep! They do!" Geraldine agreed, sounding pleased. "I was so afraid they'd throw me out because of my odd colors, but they didn't! They still love me!"

' _You're lucky,'_ Hikaru thought to herself. _'You're so, so, so lucky,'_ Once again, the pang of jealousy sprang up in her heart.

"My parents...they didn't like me."

"Huh? Why not?" Geraldine asked, curiosity piqued.

"They thought my shiny coat would attract predators," Hikaru explained. Talking about her past made her feel drained. The last thing she wanted to think or talk about were those Raichu who disowned her. What good would it do to bring them up again? For reasons that were a mystery even to her, Hikaru continued on. "They said I was bad luck, so they didn't consider me their child. They said I was a defective, wretched creature."

Geraldine looked down, flummoxed. "What does defective mean?"

"It means in their minds, I came out wrong, like I was broken," Hikaru explained. She found herself liking this red Gyarados.

Confusion evaporating, Geraldine found herself appalled. "That's terrible! Your parents shouldn't have done that! I think you're a great Pokemon! You didn't come out wrong at all!"

"Try telling them that."

"To think they'd throw you aside like trash like that…" Geraldine kept herself calm, not wanting to wake the others. "If that's how they're gonna treat you, then they shouldn't even be parents at all!"

Hikaru smiled, pleased. "My adopted dad said the same thing."

The two Pokemon found themselves laughing in agreement. "I...I know this seems insignificant, but...I had a crush on another Magikarp before I evolved," Geraldine explained once more. "I wanted to tell him how I felt. But when I evolved, he swam away like he saw a ghost."

"Hmph! He's not worth it," Hikaru crossed her paws and sat down. "You'll find someone better."

The red serpent liked the idea. "Do you, Julia, and the others travel all over the world?"

"Not the whole world, but we have been traveling," Hikaru answered. "I've been hanging out with Julia, Perrine, and Caiseal for a while. I've seen lots of things I would never have seen before. There's a lot we still haven't seen."

"That sounds fun! I'd love to travel with you!" Geraldine beamed. "I mean, I'll have to ask Mom and Dad if I can, but now that they know I'm safe, I'm sure they won't be worried."

It hadn't occurred to Hikaru that Geraldine felt as though she had to ask her parents for permission to go with her. Then again, different Pokemon had different values and policies. Hikaru looked up. The moon was high in the sky, having reached its zenith.

"The sky sure is pretty, isn't it?" Geraldine mused.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"I...I'm scared to go to sleep."

"How come?"

"I...I'm free from Team Rocket. I don't have to worry about them capturing me again," Geraldine elaborated, her voice quivering. "I should be happy and feel safe...but I don't. I...I still see myself in that room, going through those awful things. Sometimes I feel like I'm still back there. I can't seem to stop thinking about it no matter what."

Once again, Hikaru could relate. Memories of her parents disowning her still lingered despite wanting to put them behind her. But she could only imagine what Geraldine's pain must be like. Hikaru hadn't been subject to Team Rocket's experiments, but whatever Geraldine went through, they must have been extremely traumatizing. No wonder she didn't want to go to sleep. She wished she had the answer to the red serpent's inquiries. Regrettably, she didn't.

"I wish I could help with that," Hikaru told her. "Maybe hanging out with Julia can help."

"You might be right."

"So, uh...what do you think of her so far?"

Geraldine beamed once more. "I think she's great! My family and friends were always wary of humans, but she helped me, so I'm sure not all humans are bad. She's nice, too!"

"I can definitely agree with that. I should probably get back to sleep."

"I'll try to sleep, too," Geraldine lowered herself to the ground, letting Hikaru down safely. "Good night."

"Night."

With that, the two Pokemon returned to their slumber. Geraldine laid her head down on the ground, leaving the rest of her body in the water so her family would know she's still there. If only the rest of the night were peaceful and serene.

* * *

Before the sun came out from the horizon, as red and purple clouds streaked the sky, a loud, deafening roar roused everyone from their sleep, and rather rudely, at that. Julia and the other Pokemon found themselves shooting upward, awake and alert. Julia barely scrambled to put her hands over her ears.

"What in the world?!" Never had she been awoken in such a manner. Better yet, she had never been woken by a deafening roar in her entire life. Not until now.

She slipped her shoes on-without putting her socks on-and raced out of the tent, as did Perrine and Caiseal. They were all still in their pajamas.

"What the heck was that?" Caiseal yelped, his curly blonde hair still disheveled and in dire need of brushing.

"I...I-I-I-I-I don't know! But man, I was having such a nice-"

Perrine didn't get to finish that sentence, as yet another roar cut her off. They all looked toward the Lake of Rage, and their Pokemon followed suit. The source of the roars was right in front of them. In the middle of the lake was Geraldine, roaring and shooting random beams of multicolored light in the air. Some of them almost hit some nearby Pidgey and Pidgeotto. Others managed to knock down several trees, which roused many other forest Pokemon from their sleep.

"Oh no!" Julia hands almost flew to her mouth. Geraldine was roaring and shooting Dragon Rage all over the place. Just what was going on?

Then Geraldine turned around. Her eyes were squeezed shut, like she was still dreaming. Everyone's pupils shrunk to the size of dots. They had to do something.

"Geraldine!" Julia screamed, picturing what would happen if she didn't try and calm her down. "Geraldine, stop!"

"Pikapikaaaaaaa!" Hikaru screamed with her.

Their cries went unheard, as Geraldine fired yet another Dragon Rage attack on another set of trees, sending them falling to the ground. Tremors sent ripples all through the entire lake. More Pidgey and Pidgeotto flew away from the forest, intent to escape with their lives. Julia couldn't let this go on. She yanked out Geraldine's PokeBall.

"Geraldine, return!" Julia shouted, attempting to recall the red serpent, but her wild movements caused the red beam to miss somewhat. Finally, the red beam managed to hit Geraldine, pulling her right back into the PokeBall. Overcome with relief, Julia fell to her knees, clutching the PokeBall like her life depended on it.

"Thank goodness!" Perrine let out a huge, relieved sigh. "I thought we were toast for a second there!" All of the Pokemon gathered around with concerned looks on their faces.

"What the heck just happened?" Caiseal asked, scratching his hair.

"I...I don't know…" Julia immediately released Geraldine from her PokeBall.

The red serpent's eyes were wide open. This time, she didn't look like she was in pain. She examined her surroundings, noticing that some trees were knocked down. She let out some confused growls, which Julia translated as, _"What just happened? Did I do that?"_

"Geraldine!" Her trainer's voice pulled her out of her reverie. "Are you okay?" The concern in her voice was unmistakable. "You were using Dragon Rage and going a little berserk just now."

Geraldine stiffened. Did she really? Upon further rumination, that was the only explanation that seemed somewhat plausible, and she could only assume that they saw it happen. Remorse overtook her, and she bowed apologetically. _"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"_ Julia could hear the pain in her serpentine friend's growls. _"I dreamt that Team Rocket was hurting me again!"_

Julia smiled, satisfied with the explanation. She walked over to her friend and stroke her yellow hide gently. "It's okay. You had a nightmare, that's all. It happens," She told her friend reassuringly. "We all get them. But don't use Dragon Rage when you're sleeping, okay? If someone got hurt, we'd both get in trouble, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Perrine and Caiseal exchanged glances. They could only assume Julia was trying to take some of what her mother said seriously, or at least try to take the initiative and prevent any trouble. Geraldine smiled, basking in the warmth of her trainer's touch. For now, everything seemed fine. Julia tried to convince herself that this was just one little incident. Nobody got seriously hurt or killed, and Geraldine didn't mean it, so she was sure they could try to get past this with a little love and care.

Unfortunately, this would only be a harbinger of terrible events to come, and Julia was going to wish she had listened to her mother's warnings.

* * *

 **Alrighty! The red Gyarados arc is almost done! Just one more chapter to go. Yeah, the next chapter will be up soon if I ever get the inspiration.**

 **So...who's excited for Pokemon Sun and Moon?! Oh my God, I can't wait for November 18th! I want November to come already! Aren't the new starters just utterly precious?! I love them all, but I like Rowlet and Popplio the best! I'm gonna get Moon and start with Rowlet, and then get Sun and choose Popplio, and get Litten through GTS. New Sun and Moon info is gonna come out June 2nd. And guess what?! Trainer customization is back! I hope they add more clothing options for girls, like normal shorts and capris (I seriously hate how they keep shoving girl characters into** _ **ridiculously**_ **short shorts that go up to their thighs. If you guys like them that's fine, but those have got to be really uncomfortable, and I don't think they'd be very practical for harsh travel). Anyway, I can't wait for the games to come out, and I'm buying them on the first day!...if I have enough money, that is.**

 **Random fact: I thought about giving Marius the Girafarig to Caiseal, but seeing how Perrine hadn't caught any new Pokemon since Luminita the Chinchou, I decided to give him to her.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Geraldine (Shiny Gyarados, Female, Careful Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Bite, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rage**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Lanturn, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Discharge, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Marius (Girafarig, Male, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Sap Sipper**

 **Attacks: Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Psychic, and Crunch**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Acid, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	42. Geraldine's Goodbye

Chapter 35: Geraldine's Goodbye

In life, there are some truths that people are going to have to accept no matter how much they try to prove otherwise. Reality can be a cruel beast, and denying it can only lead to trouble, both small and grand. In the grand scheme of things, however, accepting those unpleasant truths can actually benefit those involved if they're willing to accept that reality and take steps to ensure a better future. Julia was one of those people who experienced it firsthand, and it would change her life forever.

Morning had come, with the sun once again shining down on Mahogany Town, it's light strong enough to illuminate one whole side of the world. Everyone was wide awake and ready to go about their day. Geraldine was the first to wake, but her sleep was not in any way serene or peaceful. Bags hung from her eyes, dragging them down like someone had put cinder blocks in them. Everything seemed blurry, and since she had no hands, she couldn't rub her eyes and make them adjust to the light.

"Hi, Geraldine!" Julia greeted her red serpent friend warmly, like she usually did. Geraldine smiled and growled softly. "I brought breakfast for you!" Julia put down a big bowl and poured a bag of large Pokemon food into it.

She had bought them yesterday, before they went to Lake of Rage to take Geraldine back to her parents. The normal Pokemon food she usually carried around was too small, so she had to make do and buy something for Geraldine. Once she finished pouring them into the big bowl, she backed away to let Geraldine sniff them. After a couple whiffs, Geraldine took some bites out of them. Soft, chewy, and scrumptious they were, and they melted right in her mouth, disappearing the moment she chewed on them twice. These weren't like the lakewater plants she would always eat, but they were good regardless.

"You like it?"

"Grrrr."

"That's great!" Julia clasped her hands together. "If you want, after breakfast, I can brush your scales with this new brush I bought. How about that?"

Geraldine nodded in agreement, and the kids found themselves making breakfast for both themselves and the Pokemon. Well, not making breakfast, merely providing the Pokemon the food they bought and eating food they already bought for themselves. The Pokemon in particular were enjoying themselves, not noticing anything around them except the food in front of them. After breakfast, Julia pulled out a brush and brushed Geraldine's red scales. The red serpent closed her eyes and laid down on the ground, basking in the morning sunlight. Julia didn't brush too hard, and didn't need to as Geraldine could barely feel the bristles since her scales were so thick. Nevertheless, both of them enjoyed the activity.

"Do you like this, Geraldine?"

"Grrrrrr…" Geraldine let out soft hums as she sat underneath the sun's rays.

Julia smiled. "I'm glad."

However, as happy as Perrine and Caiseal were about seeing Julia lavish all her love onto the red serpent, the events of last night were still strong in their minds. Perrine tried to take her mind off it by listening to the radio on her PokeGear. Romantic, sentimental pop music streamed out from the PokeGear, and Baloo found herself dancing and singing to it.

"Jiggly jiggly jigglypuff~!" ( _"You are the only one I need~!"_ ) Baloo spun around on her tiptoes like she was a ballerina, completely lost in the cheesy music.

Perrine could barely hold back a chuckle. "You'd make a pretty good singer some day, Baloo," She mused, finding the sight endearing. Baloo barely noticed, not that her trainer minded. Good thing Baloo wasn't using the attack Sing, so nobody was falling asleep. Better yet, she had heard of something called Pokemon Musicals, where Pokemon would dress up in costumes, sing, and dance on stage. What region were they in, again? Baloo would probably love doing something like that.

"Aw man!" Caiseal groaned, rummaging through his bags. "I only have one empty PokeBall left!"

The girls all turned to look. "Really?" Julia asked.

"We can go into town and buy some more," Perrine suggested with a smile. "There's a whole variety of different PokeBalls available."

Caiseal beamed, standing right up. "Great idea! I really wanna buy some Ultra Balls!" He balled a hand into a fist.

"Alrighty, then! Let's go!" Julia was quick to put everyone in their PokeBalls. Everyone else followed suit.

When they got into Mahogany Town, the whole place was swarming with people going to and fro. Now that Team Rocket was gone, for now anyways, the citizens found it safe to go back out again. It helped that the PokeMart was close by, so the kids had no trouble finding it. But the moment they got in, it was as though they had been sucked into a whirlpool of people, barely managing to just get to the PokeBall isle. Thankfully, once the crowd dispersed, it was easier to navigate.

Julia bent over, examining every kind of PokeBall they had. She recognized most of them: Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Heal Balls, Quick Balls, Timer Balls, there were just so many. There were others she didn't recognize, such as a PokeBall that was blue on top and orange on the bottom, and a normal PokeBall that had fake jewels all over it. One kind caught Julia's eyes, coated in shiny black paint, with streaks of gold and red going across it horizontally.

"I wonder what this PokeBall is?" Julia asked aloud.

"That one?" A voice made Julia whirl around. Standing behind her was a large, plump man wearing a red and white baseball cap. "That's called a Luxury Ball."

"Luxury ball?"

"Yeah. If you catch a Pokemon, this PokeBall makes it easier to be friends with it."

Easier to be friends with it? The sound of those words was like music to Julia's ears, and she was all about making friends with every Pokemon she caught. "Okay, I'm buying these for sure!" Julia pulled ten Luxury Balls off the shelf. Caiseal had several green PokeBalls in his hands. Perrine had picked up a couple things, such as plastic bags, fruits such as apples and bananas, and some new socks. Some of her old socks had become dirty or had holes in them, so she was in dire need of new ones.

Having stocked up on PokeBalls, the kids found themselves about to leave. But exactly what was there to do now? Pryce still wasn't back yet, and none of them knew where he'd be. Julia still wanted to battle him, partly to win the badge and partly to beat him as payback for what he tried to do to her when she caught Geraldine. Thankfully, some neighborhood gossip gave them the answers they needed.

"Hey! Did you hear? Pryce is coming back to the gym tomorrow!"

"Really? Isn't he in the detention center?"

"He was, but he got released today. One of my friends told me."

Pryce was coming back? Tomorrow? The kids all exchanged excited glances. That was quick. They were sure he wouldn't come back until much later, or maybe not even come back at all. Julia couldn't wait for tomorrow. Now was a good time to go back to the Pokemon Center and maybe train her Pokemon for battle with him. She had done her research. Pryce commanded ice types, and her friends filled her in on their battles with him from when she was in the hospital.

The kids returned to the Pokemon Center, back to the battlefield where they had their practice battles. "Alright, everyone! Come on out!" Every one of Julia's Pokemon came forth. Hikaru, Tokiko, Lucretia, Saoirse, Rina, and Geraldine.

The red serpent stood out starkly amongst the smaller Pokemon. She was a giant, hulking sea dragon that towered over every single one of them combined, whereas the Pokemon and even the children were diminutive to the point where they looked more like pebbles in comparison to a big boulder. Even so, the Pokemon gathered around, fixating their gazes on Julia with their eyes glimmering with curiosity and anticipation.

"Okay, guys!" Julia began with a clap. "Listen up! Tomorrow we're going to battle the Mahogany Town gym leader. Since he's going to come back, we should take some time to train for the match. Would you guys like that?"

Everyone nodded, Geraldine included. While she didn't have any gym experience, she managed to figure out that Pokemon battles might be involved, and she had battled several other Magikarp before she evolved. Some battles she lost, and others she won. She had even seen other Gyarados partake in battle. Her parents said that battling was not only a healthy part of a Pokemon's development, it was also a necessary tool for survival. Perhaps battling new Pokemon would be a good experience, she thought.

"Now, these are the Pokemon he'll be using," Julia pulled out a book, showing them the pages that had Pryce and his Pokemon on them. Pryce's listed Pokemon were the following: Dewgong, Sneasel, and Cloyster. "They're all ice types, but most of you know attacks that can easily work against them."

Julia first turned to Saoirse. "Saoirse, you're a fairy type, and Sneasel is a dark and ice type, so your Fire Fang can be useful in that situation."

"Snubbull," Saoirse nodded in agreement.

"Hikaru and Tokiko. You two know electric and grass attacks, giving you the advantage over Dewgong and Cloyster, and they're still part water types. But Tokiko, you need to be careful, as you're part flying, and ice is super effective against flying."

"Chokki!" Tokiko did a sailor salute, keeping that information in mind.

Geraldine cocked her head to one side, taking everything in. _'Wow. Pokemon battles sure do have a lot of rules,'_ She thought to herself. It didn't occur to her that battles actually had all these type matchups and underlying complexities. Most of the battles she witnessed were Magikarp ramming into each other or Gyarados firing beams or smashing their tails at one another. Granted, she had never seen other Pokemon, nor the battles they usually had.

"Geraldine!" Her trainer's voice pulled her back to reality, and the red serpent looked down. "Even though you're part flying type, you're still a water type, so ice attacks won't do much damage on you. Plus, your scales are really thick, so you might be able to withstand some attacks, and your own attacks are pretty strong."

"Strong enough to reduce a whole town to rubble," Caiseal retorted. He barely got a chance to be lost in his thoughts before a blow struck his forearm, sending throbbing pain right up his arm. "Owwww!" He yelped, backing away from Perrine's elbow. Her blue eyes were narrowed as she shot a glare that could make anyone shut up and listen. It worked like magic.

Not many knew that although Gyarados typically have vicious tempers, they have become calmer and gentler over the years. Geraldine didn't necessarily mind Caiseal's comment. He was just sarcastic in general. Many Magikarp she met were exactly like that. Julia continued on with the discussion. Since Rina knew Double Kick, she could land some hits, but her poison type moves could help increase their chances should Pryce's Pokemon get poisoned, and Lucretia could use her attacks to chip away at their defenses.

"Alright! Let's start training! Hmmm…" Julia looked over every single one of her Pokemon friends. "Geraldine and Lucretia! You guys can battle each other!"

"Graah?"

"Eevui?" The red serpent and the evolution Pokemon exchanged glances.

Something prickled at Geraldine's senses. Lucretia's ears rose upward as the evolution Pokemon squeaked her concerns. But at this point, the Eevee's voice had become white noise to the red serpent. The icy air began to burn her lungs, and flashes of herself in the room flickered in her mind. Lightning, syringes, people in black and white clothes watching…

"Don't worry! It'll just be practice!" Julia reassured her furry friend. "Okay, ready?"

Geraldine shook her body. No, she was safe now. Team Rocket wasn't going to go after her anymore. But why were those memories bombarding her? That was the question she thought she could answer easily. However, it turned out to be the hardest. Still, unease took hold. She thought she could feel safe. Why wasn't she feeling safe. It seemed every scale on her body was preparing itself for something, like an apocalypse. Why?

"Alright, Lucretia! Use Shadow Ball, and Geraldine, blow it away with Dragon Rage!"

The small, brown and tan Pokemon fired a black sphere at the red serpent. Calmly, Geraldine opened her maw and fired a stream of purple and blue light at the sphere. The attacks collided, heralding a small explosion that made the battlefield tremble beneath everyone's feet. Good thing everyone managed to keep their balance. Lucretia squeezed her eyes shut, her eyelids forming a barrier against any dust that was being carried by the autumn winds.

"Good! Geraldine, use Dragon Rage again, and Lucretia, dodge it every way you can!"

"Eevui!" Lucretia nodded, her ears up and alert.

This was practice, Geraldine told herself. Only practice. Nobody was going to get hurt. Once again, Geraldine fired her Dragon Rage, allowing multiple beams to fire, one after another. She kept them small so they wouldn't be too powerful. She didn't want her new friend to get hurt. Thankfully, the tiny Eevee dodged every single attack with ease. Being light on her feet, Lucretia leaped away from every Dragon Rage attack, be it by rolling, doing backflips, or constantly jumping all over without taking time to even breathe.

Perrine's ears were the first to catch a wave of whispers and murmurs. She tapped Caiseal's shoulder, taking his attention away from the practice battle. They looked around the battlefield. Small crowds of people gathered around, their eyes wide with curiosity, fixated completely on Geraldine. Some Pokemon were among them as well. None of them could take their eyes off of the red Gyarados. Such an alien creature they had never seen before.

"Wow! Is that a red Gyarados?! So cool!"

"Isn't that the same one that tried to destroy Mahogany Town last week?"

"Can that kid trainer even handle it?"

"Man, I wish I caught it!"

"You gotta admit, it does look kinda cool."

"Pryce is really gonna be in for it if she uses that in a battle with him!"

The flood of voices finally caught Geraldine's ears as she turned around, noticing the growing crowd. When did all these people get here? How long had they been there? Geraldine froze. Her vision instantly blurred, and flashes of Archer and his goons flickered over them. The titanium walls came right back. The pain from whatever was being injected into her veins returned. Any attempt to remain calm and collected failed as Geraldine's pupils shrunk dramatically.

Even Julia could see it. "Geraldine? What's wrong?"

Terror seized her. She knew that look. It was the same look Geraldine had when she had that nightmare last night.

Fear. Anger. Frustration. Everything Geraldine had felt suddenly spilled forth in full force as she let out a roar in aggravation. Most of the people watching immediately dispersed. Perrine and Caiseal stood up in alarm. People were still running, even as Geraldine fired Dragon Rage outside the battlefield, sending flames and light spiraling around the area. But that wasn't the end of it. Geraldine roared two more times, and both roars sent tremors through the Earth.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Next, the red Gyarados-now completely consumed by the awful memories of Team Rocket-was dragging herself out from behind the Pokemon Center, heading right in the middle of town. Her body was big, so she left large trenches as she dragged herself across the dirt. It didn't necessarily help that as she squirmed into the center of town, she began firing random Dragon Rage attacks in a frenzy. Some of them ripped through someone's roof, sending roof tiles flying. One attack split a tree in two, knocking it to the ground and sending tremors throughout the Earth.

' _No! This can't be happening!'_ Julia thought in horror as she and the others ran after the red serpent. She had no idea Gyarados could even be mobile on land. But that wasn't important right now. Geraldine was on a rampage, just like last night.

"Oh man! What's going on?!" Caiseal yelped, running his hands through his hair.

People screamed the moment they saw the red serpent drag herself through the dirt, charging right at the crowds. Another Dragon Rage ripped through the concrete road before her, plowing a huge trench going at least three feet deep.

That did it for Julia. She covered one ear with one hand and scrambled to yank her PokeBall out with the other. "Geraldine, return!" The red beam shot at Geraldine multiple times. However, her erratic movements and refusal to keep still made the red light miss every time. One would think that since she was so large and heavy, she would be slow, and on land for what matter, being half water type. It didn't occur to everyone that not only could Gyarados actually survive on land, but actually have enough mobility to actually traverse on land despite having no visible limbs.

Julia's pupils shrunk in horror. "Why isn't she going back in the PokeBall?!"

"Why is she even going berserk?!" Caiseal couldn't believe his eyes.

"Geraldine!" Julia hollered, chasing after the red serpent. "You have to calm down! Please, listen to me!" She cried desperately. Her pleas went unheard as Geraldine found herself firing another Dragon Rage at a smaller building. The shimmering flames consumed the entire wooden house. Julia's stomach churned at the sight. She could only pray that no one was inside.

"Chokkiiiiiii!" Tokiko flew right in front of Geraldine. Despite her small size, she spread her arms out, staring the red serpent right in the eye. "Choki chokki chokkiiiii!" ( _"Please, Geraldine! Snap out of it! You don't have to do this!"_ )

All the fairy Pokemon got in response was a Dragon Rage to the face. Tokiko didn't even feel it. Being a fairy type, she was immune to dragon attacks.

"Ugh! I can't just stand here!" Perrine exclaimed, pulling out a PokeBall. "Marius! Use Psychic on Geraldine and make sure she doesn't move even an inch!"

With a swift throw, Marius came galloping out from the PokeBall. The moment he slid in front of the red serpent, his eyes glowed in an eerie purple light, as did Tokiko's. Both of them made a purple light consume Geraldine from the tail up. The red serpent attempted to thrash around, howling and roaring like she was trapped, to no avail.

Julia looked up. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as Geraldine roared and thrashed around. Finally, Geraldine broke through the psychic attacks, knocking both Marius and Tokiko to the ground by headbutting them both. Tokiko barely managed to keep herself aloft, but the long neck Pokemon fell feet first on the ground before losing his balance. This was bad. Really bad. Geraldine was thrashing around, attacking other people, going on a rampage, her eyes full of a kind of crazed fury she was unable to describe. What could she possibly do?

Her mother's warning played back in her head.

"What will you do if Gyarados suddenly goes berserk?"

" _They could take Gyarados away and euthanize her if she so much as takes one life!"_

" _You could go to jail, and they could revoke your trainer's license!"_

Julia gritted her teeth.

"Pika! Pikapika! Pikachuuuuu!" Hikaru pleaded as Geraldine used her teeth to rip a tree out from the ground, roots and all. As usual, the red serpent didn't listen.

There was no other choice now. She didn't want to resort to this, but people could die if she didn't take action. Spurred by Hikaru's cries, she yelled, "Hikaru! Tokiko! Do all you can to stop Geraldine! Make her immobile!"

Both Hikaru and Tokiko nodded before returning their gazes on the red serpent. Hikaru unleashed a strong Thunderbolt attack. Reluctantly, she fired the thunderbolt straight at Geraldine, closing her eyes to spare herself the pain of watching her friend writhe and howl. Tokiko simply encased herself in light, blinding the red Gyarados enough to make her close her eyes. Even Lucretia stepped in to help by firing several Shadow Balls at her.

"Eeveeeee!" ( _"Now's your chance!"_ ) She cried in Julia's direction.

Julia took that chance without hesitation. "Geraldine, return this time!" The red beam shot right at Geraldine this time, turning her to light and pulling her back into her PokeBall. It worked! Julia fell to her knees, clutching the PokeBall in her hands.

"Thank Arceus...thank Arceus…" Tears came running right out.

Even more so when she observed the damage. Several buildings were either reduced to rubble or had their roofs burned straight through. Several trees blocked the roads, preventing any cars or vehicles from passing. Cars that were already there were forced to sit in front of the barricade, with the drivers angrily blaring their horns loud enough for the whole town to hear, along with shouting expletives Julia didn't dare repeat. Mothers and fathers held onto their crying children, observing the destruction with utmost horror. Others cried upon returning to their destroyed homes.

"How…?" Julia was completely lost in her thoughts, looking down to avoid seeing what Geraldine caused. "How did this happen…?"

Perrine recalled Marius before kneeling down to her friend's level. "Are you okay, Jule?" She felt it needless and redundant to ask. Julia was obviously not okay, and neither was everyone else. Still, Geraldine's sudden rampage would probably send anyone into a nervous wreck. All she could do was stroke her catatonic friend's shoulder gently, reassuring her that she was here. Hikaru and Julia's other Pokemon gathered around her, their gazes brimming with worry and concern.

"Okay. Now that was crazy!" Caiseal exclaimed. "What the heck just happened?!"

"I...I don't know…" Julia whimpered. "Something must have set Geraldine off, but…" One word crashed into the other. "I...I don't know what!"

"HEY!" The three kids whipped their heads up. A large, beefy man stomped right over to them, his face scrunched up in a blazing scowl. Once he got close, he grabbed Julia's shirt sleeve and yanked her right off the ground, dragging her to her feet.

"What the-?!" Perrine and Caiseal were flabbergasted. Who was this guy, and where did he just come from? More than that, why did he pull her up like that?" "Let her go!" Perrine put a hand on his large, hairy arm, attempting to pry it off, to no avail.

"Was that Gyarados your Pokemon?!" The man roared, making Julia's pupils shrink even further. The man's bellowing voice exploded in her eardrums, and since both hands were occupied, she couldn't cover her ears. The man's face peered in so close, their noses could almost touch, and she could smell a strange grape scent in his warm breath.

It was too much. The yelling, his getting too close, his rough, calloused hand squeezing her shoulder so tight that she was sure he could break it if he wanted...Extremely loud, incredibly close. Why didn't he back off? She couldn't answer his question. His very presence stripped her of any attempt at communication. Then again, he didn't want an answer, as her silence only made him angrier.

"Your freakin' Pokemon nearly destroyed the durn town! You even destroyed my business!" The man hollered, forcing the girl to squeeze her eyes shut. Too bad his other arm mercilessly grabbed her chin and forced it up so hard, Julia thought it was a wonder it didn't break. His rough fingers dug into her skin. It was like she was being stabbed with knives. "Look at me, girl! How are you gonna pay for all this?!"

"Put her down! Come on!" Caiseal threw his hands on the man's hand, pulling on his fingers to force him off of his overwhelmed friend. Again, the man was too strong.

Pay for all of this? Julia knew that businesses cost money, and a lot of it. The money she had was only to be used for her journey, nothing else. How could she possibly pay for the man's business, and whatever else Geraldine destroyed? She could only think they must have cost a million dollars, and Julia didn't have that kind of money. Not that much. But more than that, she just wanted this freaky man to get out of her face, stop touching her, and put her down.

"I...I…" Finally, she found her voice. "I...don't...know…"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" The man barked, louder this time.

"I'm sorry! Geraldine didn't mean it!" She finally shouted defensively, against her better judgment. She needed to convince his man that Geraldine didn't do this out of malice. But by Arceus, why didn't this man be quiet? Everything about him was making Julia lose her mind. "I had no idea any of this would happen, and I don't know what caused it!

Her apology went completely ignored, and she knew it. No amount of saying sorry would magically fix everything. Words couldn't magically fix anything that Geraldine destroyed. But by Arceus, she wished they could!

"Well, yer not knowin' resulted in this here mess, and you're gonna have to pay for it!" The man roared once more, his voice rising with everything that came out of Julia's mouth. "You can't even control your own Pokemon!"

"GET OFF!" Finally, Julia found her strength and pried the man off of her shoulder, returning to the ground.

She knew it all along. Of course he'd get mad. Of course the townspeople would be mad at her. Geraldine was her Pokemon, and because her friend went berserk and destroyed people's property, she was also guilty by association. She would have to take responsibility. Anything she thought of saying and doing wouldn't fix anything, so of course they'd ignore her and tell her that she couldn't control Geraldine. That she would have to pay for everything. Regret and woe completely consumed the girl from head to toe. Why did this happen? Worst of all, her mother warned her about this, and Julia didn't even listen. She found herself wishing she had, and that she would disappear. Away from the man, away from all the destruction, away from the yelling, the angry eyes judging her and vilifying her.

"Stop! Stop yelling, please!" Not even Caiseal and Perrine's attempts to help managed to smooth things over.

The angry voices didn't stop either.

"My house is gone! My children and I are homeless now!"

"How are you gonna take responsibility for this, huh?!"

"Your Gyarados could have killed us all!"

"We ought to call the cops for what you did!"

Julia covered her ears, but not even that could help. Not only could she not block out the noise, she couldn't block out the reality of the situation. Everything became white noise. Anger, hatred, rage, fury...the world completely swallowed her up. Nothing they said made sense anymore. Everything seemed to merge together and trap her in a suffocating hold. Pulling her downward. Down, down, down…

"Stop."

One clear voice stopped everything. Julia whipped her head up. Standing before her was a long, trailing cape, capped with spiky, carmine red hair. A cape? Spiky red hair? Julia looked up, her eyes widening with surprise.

"...Lance?!" The large man yelped.

There he was, Lance Cipris, standing before the man and Julia with a cool, calm expression on his face. "Mr. Giesenhagen. There's no need to yell," Lance told him, keeping his voice low. Despite his calm voice, he looked dead serious.

Even Perrine and Caiseal found themselves flabbergasted once more. Lance? What was he doing here? The spiky haired man rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, many of which were hundred dollar bills. He didn't hesitate in handing them to Mr. Giesenhagen.

"These should cover all your expenses for now," Lance reassured.

Julia's mouth fell open. Did he just pay for all the damages? He was rich? Julia couldn't believe her eyes and ears. He was actually defending her, doing what she couldn't. Fear began to be knocked out of the way, being replaced by sheer gratitude. But why? It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for Lance's generosity. But they had only met a few times, and not under the best circumstances either. They weren't close friends, and Julia only saw him as some famous guy whom Perrine obsesses over.

"Oh…" Mr. Giesenhagen's anger morphed into joy. "Thank you so much, Lance! You're a generous soul indeed!"

Lance turned to the others. "I'll help with your expenses as well," He handed money to others' whose houses were destroyed. "I'll handle everything from here. Everything is fine."

With that, everyone dispersed, sans Lance, Julia, Perrine, and Caiseal. Everything gradually returned to normal. At least, for Julia. There was no noise, no yelling, no strange hands touching her or forcing her up on her feet without permission. Still, the PokeBall felt heavy in her hand. Even Perrine and Caiseal were silent.

The caped champion kneeled down to the girl's level. "Are you alright?"

"No…" Julia whimpered in the most pitiful voice she had. She hated lying, and she figured she might as well be honest. "...Th-Th-Thanks...for helping me...you didn't...need to-"

Lance held a hand up, silencing her. "It's fine. There's no way you can pay for the damages. They can't expect a child to be able to do that, and since I'm the champion, they have no qualms about allowing me to pay whatever compensation they need."

"I…"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry...I know it won't fix anything, but...I never meant for this to happen! I really didn't, honest! I don't know what made Geraldine do what she did!" She cried, her face turning red from both the embarrassment and everything that happened piling up on her all at once.

"I know," Lance adopted a softer voice this time. "Let's go inside the Pokemon Center. We can talk in private there."

* * *

Julia was in no mood for talking. Not right now, anyway. Lance respected this and let the girl have about an hour or two to herself so she could calm down. She needed it. Perrine knew about Autism and figured that Julia liked being in quiet places and having time to calm down so she could process what happened and de-stress. She had long since accepted it as her coping mechanism. She had seen her aunt do strange things to calm herself down multiple times, but Perrine was never bothered. After all, her aunt wasn't hurting anyone by doing what she liked, and Perrine often liked having time to herself and a quiet place to get away from all the overwhelming things, so she could de-stress.

After going through something like that, of course Julia would want to go somewhere and destress. Better yet, she wasn't merely stressed, she was pretty much overloaded, like a machine's power level reaching critical mass and about to explode. Nobody dared disturb her during that time. She needed her space, and it wouldn't do anyone any good to force her to do anything right now.

The girl took about an hour and ten minutes to have a good cry, then composed herself before coming back out. She didn't dare look at him, or anyone, not even Perrine and Caiseal. She didn't want to see any faces right now. Faces judging her, sizing her up, making assumptions about her...She knew Perrine and Caiseal would be there for her, but she knew that could only go so far.

"Hello, Julia," Lance greeted her warmly. "If you don't mind, I'd like for us to go on a walk and talk in private. What do you say?"

She nodded without hesitation, and walked behind the caped man as they went back outside. Julia could only assume that Lance was probably hiding his anger, taking her to a private place where he could scold her harshly. Julia braced herself. She knew she had to face the music. There was no running away from this one. Plus, she owed him a great deal. He got her out of trouble, and he didn't even need to.

Oddly enough, Lance didn't look the least bit angry. Sure, his eyebrows were furrowed, but he didn't look stern or angry. "How's your finger?"

Julia pulled her hand up, noticing the splint still wrapped around her finger. "It's doing fine, but I hate this thing. It itches really bad, and my finger can't breathe!"

Lance found himself smiling at the comment. "I can relate. I saw you and your friends at the Lake of Rage yesterday."

"Really?"

"I stopped by for a bit to see how things were going. You and the red Gyarados were laughing. It really seems to like you."

"She," Julia corrected. "She's a girl, and I named her Geraldine."

"Geraldine…" Lance mused. "That's a pretty name."

Unable to stand it any longer, Julia had to get rid of that nagging feeling in her stomach. "...Aren't you gonna yell at me?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't that why you're taking me out here?" Julia asked inquisitively. "To tell me I'm a horrible trainer and what a bad person I am for letting Geraldine go out of control? That big guy who yelled at me earlier did just that."

Lance turned around, crossing his arms. "No. That's not why, and you're not a horrible trainer or a bad person," His voice had an earnest, sincere swing to it that even left Julia speechless. "The fact that you even caught Geraldine and managed to bond with her at all tells me that you possess a lot of good qualities befitting of a good Pokemon trainer. The love you have for your Pokemon tells me that you had no malice in your heart when you sent Geraldine out."

Hearing this was like music to her ears. Julia found herself on the verge of crying again. He understood, and she didn't even need to explain anything to him. Just like Jasmine, in a way. "I...I don't know what to say. Most people either think I'm a bad kid if I so much as say or do something, even when I'm trying to be nice, or yell at me or my parents."

"Can I ask exactly what happened?" Lance inquired. "I'd like to know all the details, please."

Julia nodded and explained everything as best she could. "I was training for my upcoming battle with Mr. Snow. I wanted to have Geraldine and my other Pokemon have practice battles with each other so we could prepare. Then we saw a crowd around us and...that's when she freaked out. But that wasn't the first time, either. Last night, she woke me and my friends up howling and screaming. I found out she was having a nightmare."

She was sure he wouldn't listen, but he did. Not once did he interrupt her or even try to discourage her from talking. To Julia, that allowed her the chance to continue on. "I'm starting to notice other things as well. If I try to talk to her, she looks at me like...like...like she was under attack by something. She...she also told me that she always seems to think about what Team Rocket did to her, and no matter what she tries, it won't leave her mind."

"Wait," Lance paused. "She told you? How can a Gyarados do that?"

Julia's hands flew to her mouth. _'OH NO! Not again!'_ Once again, she let slip that she could talk to Pokemon. Seeing that there was no way around this, she told him how she can understand what Pokemon are saying. Oddly enough, again, Lance listened without interruption or discouragement.

"I see…"

Julia pulled Geraldine's PokeBall out. "I don't get it. She's usually really nice, but...I don't know what caused her to…"

"If you don't mind, would you let me see Geraldine?" Lance asked as politely as he could muster.

For a brief moment, she almost handed the PokeBall to him. But something seized her, and she found herself glaring at him, holding Geraldine's PokeBall close like she was intent on protecting it with her life. "No! No way!"

The red haired man's pupils shrunk a little bit. Why the sudden mood change? He could see the anger and fear in her whole being. "I just want to see her? I'm not going to do anything."

Julia didn't stop glaring at him. "How do I know you're not gonna secretly take her without my permission, give her over to some facility, and tell them to euthanize her?!" She insinuated, her voice adopting a frantic swing to it.

To say Lance was surprised would be an understatement. He was downright baffled. How could an eleven-year-old girl possibly know of those things, let alone accuse someone of attempting to do so? He could come to a few conclusions, the most plausible one being that Julia did research on what happens to Pokemon if they're deemed aggressive or volatile by society. Perhaps she was scared the same would happen to Geraldine. Then again, considering what happened, she had every right to be.

The man flashed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I assure you none of that will happen. I don't know what she's like, so if I just took her without a word and sent her off to be put down, it'd reflect badly on me, and I'd be stripped of my title," He explained. "Plus, that only happens under absolutely extreme circumstances. Anyway, just release her from her PokeBall. I want to just see what she's like."

As much as she wanted to believe that, she still kept a guarded stance. She could never be absolutely sure of whether anyone was lying or telling the truth. There were times when she believed that some things were true, only to have something bad happen and then realize they lied and she was tricked. By Arceus, that always made her angrier than anything, but worst of all, never being able to tell what's true and what's not. How could she be sure that Lance wasn't going to just go back on his word and take Geraldine away?

But another side of her pleaded with her to listen to him. He was the champion. A professional. He knew what he was doing. She was sure Lance wouldn't just steal her Pokemon and hand her to some facility. But how would Geraldine react to seeing a stranger? Julia was one of the few people she trusted. But...if she didn't do this now, she might not get any answers. Finally, Julia relented.

"Fine. But you better not be lying," She made sure to stare right at him, her eyes gleaming with a look that said, _'If you lie to me, I won't show any mercy.'_ "Come on out, Geraldine."

Julia expected Lance to be alert, or to have a PokeBall ready should something go wrong. Oddly enough, it was the opposite. He still wore a warm, gentle smile, watching as the red serpent took shape. Geraldine looked down at Julia with a confused look on her face. She gave a soft growl, which Julia translated as, _"What just happened?"_

"Hi, Geraldine," Julia greeted her. "How are you?"

The red Gyarados smiled.

"I want you to meet a friend. This is Mr. Cipris," She pointed in Lance's direction. As soon as Geraldine met his eyes, she tensed up. "Don't worry. He's nice. He won't hurt you."

True to his word, Lance slowly approached the red Gyarados. "Hello, Geraldine. I'm Lance."

Geraldine bent downward so she could look at the caped man at eye level. She sniffed him inquisitively, taking in his features, examining him thoroughly. She didn't sense anything malicious or skeevy in this man. Then, she flashed a smile...before dragging her large tongue across Lance's entire being, giving him a good saliva bath.

"Geraldiiiiine!" Julia whined. "You got him all dirty!"

Oddly enough, Lance found himself laughing. "Well, you certainly are friendly."

The happy red Gyarados turned to Julia before growling, _"He's cool. He smells like a dragon."_

"I'm glad you like him, but it's rude to say he smells!"

"Like what?" Lance asked.

Julia's palm met her face. "She says you smell like a dragon."

Lance didn't look fazed by being covered in Gyarados drool. "Well, I am surrounded by dragon type Pokemon on a daily basis, so that's a pretty accurate statement," Julia had to wonder if Lance considered that a compliment. He didn't look offended, so she dropped the subject.

What Julia didn't know was that the wooded area they were in was reasonably close to the areas that Geraldine had damaged. When Geraldine opened her eyes, overlooking the trees, her pupils shrunk again. This time, not out of fury. She could make out piles of rubble with some smoke still billowing out. Huge trenches ran across the road, with people cleaning up all the debris leftover. Trees had been ripped right out of the ground, roots and all, with the roads being completely blocked.

The memories came rushing back. She let out a low, sad growl. _"Is this...my fault? Did...did I do all this?"_ She had known that Gyarados had somewhat of a bad reputation, going on since ancient times. Gyarados were known to be set off if someone so much as invaded their territory, and they could reduce entire towns to rubble. Geraldine had heard the stories, but she didn't want to be a fearsome monster. She just wanted to settle down and have a family, like most of her friends.

None of this was what she wanted.

Julia looked up, noticing Geraldine's despondent, guilty expression. Her heart went out to the sad red serpent. She knew it. Geraldine wasn't vicious, nor did she do it on purpose. Still, she knew that even if she didn't mean to, there would still be consequences. All she could do was put a hand on her friend's red scales.

"Geraldine...I want to know. What happened?" Julia asked. "What made you...freak out like that?"

The red serpent explained that for a moment, she felt as though she were back at Team Rocket's other lair. Vivid memories of the cruel experiments had completely consumed her, and before long, she was sure she was re-experiencing everything all over again. The more Julia translated, the more Lance listened, and the more intense he grew. Not once did he comment on Julia's ability to talk to Pokemon, and she was sure he would, as others did, sometimes kindly, sometimes nonchalantly, and sometimes cruelly. Lance displayed little to no reaction. Or if he did, maybe he was hiding it.

"Hmm...I need to observe her a little more to come to a solid conclusion about this," Lance put a hand on his chin. "But it doesn't seem like Geraldine herself is the problem. There could be something else going on."

"Like what?" Julia asked this time.

"I have several theories, but I'll need solid proof," Lance turned back to the girl. This time, Julia found it safe to look directly at him. "Would it be okay if I observed you and Geraldine for the next day or two? I have some idea of what might be wrong, but I want to see how you two interact to be sure."

That was not the answer Julia expected. Then again, it proved to be a relief. At least Lance wasn't doing anything drastic. Julia could feel her body relaxing. But there was one question she was dying to have answered.

"Ummm...I know this sounds weird to ask, but...nobody got hurt, right? Nobody got killed?"

Lance smiled. "You're lucky. There were no deaths, and nobody was hurt too seriously," Julia exhaled a big sigh of relief. Thank goodness. "Mahogany Town has lots of experience with dealing with Gyarados, so they're always prepared. I'm honestly glad you didn't have deaths of both Pokemon or people on your hands," A stern look returned. "That would most certainly result in a permanent confiscation of your Pokemon trainer license, and you'd be on the blacklist forever in no time flat. No amount of intervention could save you from that."

As happy as she was to hear about no deaths or serious injuries, the thought of losing her trainer's license and being on the blacklist forever was enough to completely push any positive thoughts away. Once more, her mother's warning echoed in her head. Julia knew in her heart of hearts that her mother only wanted to help her, as mothers usually knew what was best for their children, Kassia being no different, even if she didn't always get things right. But the anger in her mother's voice was the strongest thing about that memory, the one that would always nag at her.

Maybe...did she know this might happen?

With that, the discussion was over, and the kids were back to doing what they usually did: train their Pokemon, chat amongst themselves, and have fun. But for Geraldine's sake, they went back to Lake of Rage so Geraldine could be back with her own kind. Julia knew that Geraldine's problems wouldn't go away in one day, or even the snap of a finger. She had seen too many medical shows to believe otherwise.

Still, she made sure to shower Geraldine with all of her love. Feeding her lunch, brushing her scales, reading books to her Pokemon out loud, etc. Lance made sure not to get in the way of their activities, but seeing Julia treat her Pokemon so well, and watching them return her affections...it made his heart stir. All of the Pokemon responded so well to their trainer, and not once did she ever get angry at them for anything. The fact that Geraldine, a Gyarados, normally feared and called the atrocious Pokemon, liked her a lot said a lot about Julia as a trainer.

But the signs were there. At one point, when Julia and Perrine were having a practice battle, Geraldine found herself numbing up before returning to the lake, hiding, like she was being attacked. Or if she didn't hide, she watched with a strangely anxious look on her face. Trembling, watching with wide eyes, like she expected something horrible to happen.

When the sun began to set, Geraldine was in the lake by herself, enjoying some alone time, while the kids were having their own dinner. All of a sudden, Geraldine started thrashing and growling in the water, then proceeding to use her tail to smack herself across the face multiple times.

"Geraldine! Stop!" Julia pleaded.

She didn't stop. "I don't think she can hear you," Perrine told her.

"Geraldine!" Julia shouted louder this time. "Don't do that to yourself!" Again, her pleas went unheard.

It was when she began firing random Dragon Rages at the sky that Julia realized it. She couldn't handle Geraldine. There was nothing she could do to stop Geraldine from freaking out. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. But not before she finally shouted once more, "STOOOOOP!"

For once, Julia's voice finally reached Geraldine. Several other Gyarados, including her parents, had risen up from the waters to try and restrain her. Luckily, the red Gyarados stopped before she gave them any reason to try and do so. She opened her eyes, seeing her family and friends surrounding her. Guilt weighed down on her scaly body.

" _Oh no...I did it again, didn't I?"_ She growled softly, retreating to the water. _"Sorry…"_

The other Gyarados joined her, wrapping themselves around her as though they were trying to hug her.

"Man...you're in a real pickle, Jule," Caiseal told his friend. "I wonder if you can really handle her like this."

"I hate to say this…" Perrine agreed. "But I think your mom was right about Geraldine."

In desperation, Julia scurried to the library to find every book on Gyarados she could find. She went back to the lake with at least ten small books in hand, all of them about raising Gyarados. But Lance already found his answer. The sky began to adopt an orange hue, being painted by the brush of incoming night. When he returned to the lake, Julia was sitting on the grass, hastily flipping the pages of a book with a look of desperation on her face, and said face was beaded with sweat.

"No. No! No! No no no no no!" Julia scrambled through every book she had rented. Lance's mouth admittedly fell agape. "What am I doing wrong?! There must be something I'm missing!" She didn't even take the time to really read any passages. She wanted answers. Answers regarding Geraldine's outbursts.

"Julia…" Lance could hear his heart break.

"Ugh! There's nothing here!" Julia slammed the book on the pile and stood up. "I tried everything!" She shouted, running her hands through her disheveled hair. "I read so many books on how to raise a Gyarados! I made sure to buy big food, I brush her scales, I make sure she's included in everything, I shower her with love and care, I give her baths, I make sure she gets her exercise...but nothing I do is working! I must have done something wrong because I'm pretty sure Geraldine wouldn't be having these outbursts if I had raised her right!"

One word crashed into the other, and the more Julia talked, the faster and more incoherent her sentences became. Lance grimaced as he saw the pain and desperation in the girl's face, her green eyes looking as though they're about to produce tears at any moment. It didn't necessarily help that her voice was almost bordering on hysterical.

"What's wrong with Geraldine?! I have to figure out what it is and try to understand or else I'm a bad trainer!" Julia cried.

"Julia…" It hurt Lance's heart to see her like this. But he knew it would hurt even more if he told her the answer. He had to, though. There was no denying it now. "It's not you."

"It has to be! Geraldine's suffering and I can't help her and I have to because I'm her trainer and if I can't help her than she's gonna-"

A firm hand touching her shoulder silenced her. "Julia. It's not you. You're not the problem, and it's nothing you did."

"Well, what is it?!" She shouted.

Lance adopted a stern look. Here goes nothing. "I think...Geraldine's problems are in here," He pointed to his head, where is brain would be.

"In her brain?"

"I'm sure of it. After watching you two the whole day, I'm sure that...what Team Rocket put Geraldine through may have traumatized her far more than we realized," Lance explained calmly. "I think...I think those experiences keep playing in her head over and over again, and like a broken tape recorder, she can't turn them off. Have you ever had that happen to you?"

The girl stopped to ruminate. There were some times when bad experiences would just suddenly appear in her mind, and even if she tried to put them in the back of her mind, they'd always sneak back in and torment her for short spans of time. There was the Amoretto incident. Julia wished she could just forget about that already. There were a few bullies who always tried to make Julia's school life miserable. But that was it as far as she could pull out of her memories.

"I've had…a couple of those," She answered.

"But they probably don't make you constantly scared of everything or make you want to attack someone."

"No," Julia shook her head. "They don't."

Lance had to tell her the truth, even if it would hurt her. He had to do it. There was no sugarcoating it. "You're not doing anything wrong. You're actually doing everything right. But I think Geraldine's problems need to be addressed by professionals."

Already, Julia could see the truth being laid out before her. With every word Lance said, a piece of her heart would fall, then many more would follow. _'Please, Arceus. Don't let this be true. Make this just a dream. Don't make this true...make this not be true…'_ She begged and begged, but her prayers went unheard.

"There's a facility out in Blackthorn City," Lance began. His words were saturated with truths Julia didn't want to hear, but there was no escaping them. "They specialize in taking care of abused, exploited, or mistreated Pokemon that have problems like Geraldine is having. Experienced professionals, therapists, and psychologists that have helped numerous Pokemon over the years, one of mine included."

Every hope Julia had was being destroyed. Every hope she ever had of being able to take care of Geraldine without problems. But her mother's warnings and Lance's words made cracks in her emotional paralysis, allowing sadness and horror to seep right through.

"Geral…" Julia attempted, the first sounds of Geraldine's name coming out, but never making it to the end. Her voice didn't work.

"What I'm saying is...Geraldine needs more support than you're capable of giving her."

There, he said it. Julia figured he would say something like that. She tried to tell herself this was better than being euthanized. She tried to see the positives of it. Geraldine would be cared for. Experienced professionals, far older and smarter and more capable than she, could help Geraldine. But that was just it. She wouldn't be the one caring for Geraldine. The full impact of Lance's words finally struck her, and she found herself weeping openly.

She made no attempt to control her sobs. Her hands flew to her face as her tears melted into her palms. She stood still, unmoving, but her passionate cries were as loud as Geraldine's growls. Great, shuddering sobs escaped her tiny body until she was gasping for breath. All Lance did was stand there, watching as the small girl cried every tear she had. In fact, she was still crying. He couldn't blame her. He offered a solution, but of course it would involve the trainer giving up a Pokemon she tried to hard to raise with love and care.

"I...I...I...I can't give her up…" Julia wailed through her sobs. "How can you...expect me to give her to strangers whom she doesn't know?!"

Lance kneeled to her level to meet her covered face. "I know it's a hard decision. Believe me, I've been in your shoes. But...I feel this is the best option we can take. The staff there are excellent at what they do, and I've seen them help thousands of Pokemon. My Dragonite, Mercury, was exactly like Geraldine at one point," He explained. "He displayed the same symptoms Geraldine is showing, and when he had his outbursts, he was uncontrollable. My parents handed him over to them, and I visited every day. Now, he's been completely rehabilitated. I have faith that they can help Geraldine in the same way."

"I...I want to believe you. I really want to…" Julia was faced with a tough decision. Keep Geraldine and risk her having an outburst, then having her trainer's license revoked and put on the blacklist, or give Geraldine up and be possibly told that the red Gyarados was beyond help, then euthanized without her consent. She wished she didn't have to make this choice. It was all too hard, too overwhelming for her heart to handle. "But...I want to know for sure...that they'll really help her, and not just...claim she's bad and not even try to-"

"They will," Lance reassured, keeping his voice firm. "I wouldn't be recommending this to you if I didn't believe in them."

"And even if I do give her to you...you're someone she doesn't know, a stranger...what if Geraldine thinks I don't love her?!" She ripped her hands from her face. Red cheeks inflamed from exposure to tears met his eyes, and Lance didn't dare look away. "What if she thinks I hate her or abandoned her?! I can't bear for her to think I don't love her! I do! I really do! I don't want her to spend her life in some place she doesn't know thinking that...that I never loved her…"

"I'm sure she'll understand. She likes you enough already, and I know you love her," Lance told her once more. This wasn't an easy decision for anyone, be it an adult or a child. "But sometimes, being a good trainer means making hard decisions. It's about doing the right thing."

She knew what he meant. Her mother tried to warn her, but she didn't listen. The destruction Geraldine caused flashed through her mind. That basically told her everything she didn't want to admit was true. Keeping Geraldine and not being able to handle her outbursts...she couldn't do that to Geraldine. No, she wouldn't let Geraldine be taken away by whoever was in charge. Julia stopped crying for a moment to think. Lance was right. She needed to do the right thing. Geraldine needed help, and it would be wrong of Julia to not let her have this chance. No, this was the only solution. It would be better than being euthanized, than having her be taken away, or being deemed aggressive or beyond help.

"She can get better," Lance said. "I know she can. But that depends on whether you want to do the right thing for her."

Julia wiped her tears with one arm. She knew what she had to do now. No more denying it. She had to do the right thing.

"Alright. I'll...give her to you. But...can I be the one to tell her?" She asked, still whimpering. "I don't want to just hand her to some stranger she doesn't know."

Lance smiled. "Take all the time you need."

Julia didn't need all the time in the world. In her mind, she needed to do this now, or else both she and Geraldine would pay the price.

* * *

The sun was almost setting, and the Lake of Rage had become a magnificent, shining pool of liquid orange and amber. But Julia was in no mood for appreciating its beauty. She couldn't even look at it, as it was far too bright for her eyes to see, and exposure to the sun could easily make her go blind. With a frown, Julia released Geraldine from her PokeBall. The red serpent looked down at her trainer, noticing that her face was red, just like her scales.

"Geraldine?" Julia began, her voice quivering. "I...I have something I want to say to you."

Geraldine said nothing, allowing Julia to go on. "I...I want you to know that...that I love you very much. You're one of my best friends, and no matter what, we'll always be friends, and I'll always love you. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true, and nothing will ever change that."

Perrine looked away. Caiseal simply stroke her shoulder with one hand, even though he knew it wouldn't do much to help. Again, Geraldine was silent.

"But...there's something I need to tell you," She found herself saying it again, scolding herself for being so redundant. Then she realized she was stalling for time. She couldn't stall. She had to say it. She gulped. Here goes everything. "Even though I love you and want to travel the world with you...I can't take care of you. I know you don't mean to, and it's not your fault, but your nightmares and outbursts...there isn't much I can do to stop you, and even when I try, people and Pokemon get hurt, and if you wind up killing someone, people could take you away and do things to you. I don't...I don't want that happening to you."

The air around them was tense. So tense that one could easily cut it with a knife. Lance could hear Julia's harsh sniffing as she desperately tried to hold back tears. But Julia persevered and continued on. "Lance says...that there's a place you can go...a place where people can help you with your nightmares. They can help you deal with what happened. I don't know who they are or what they do, but Lance trusts them, and he knows more about them than we do. They can...they can take care of you...in ways that I'm not capable."

Geraldine closed her mouth, listening attentively. No growls, no roars, nothing. She was silent and still, like a statue.

"I can't go with you though," Julia said. "You might have to stay there for a long time. Weeks, months, maybe years. I know your problems won't go away in the blink of an eye, and...no matter how hard I try, I can't help you when you really need it. That's why...that's why…" She had to say it. She had to. "For your sake and mine...I think you should go!"

Perrine and Caiseal exchanged glances.

"But...but you don't have to if you don't want to!" Julia waved her hands back and forth. "I know it's probably scary to be surrounded by strangers, and I know the feeling! I want you to have a choice in this. You can stay with me, or go with Mr. Cipis and go to that place. Don't feel like you have to-"

Before she could continue, Geraldine's tail popped out from the water, gently pushing Julia toward her beige underbelly. Julia's face made contact with the wet underbelly, inflaming her tear stained cheeks even more. Low growls escaped Geraldine's mouth, but they were soft and calm. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Even Perrine, Caiseal, and Lance looked baffled.

"What's she saying?" Caiseal asked.

"Yeah! Translation?" Perrine inquired.

Julia said nothing. She couldn't say anything. The gesture and Geraldine's words deprived her of communication for a brief moment. Finally, she found her voice. "...She said…she said…" The first attempt didn't work, as her voice caught in her throat. " _'...I'll go. Let me go with him. I'm sorry I put you through this. I want to get better. I don't want to cause you trouble. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me._ ' That's what she says."

She had completely expected Geraldine to take it differently. Going berserk, growling like crazy, firing Dragon Rage everywhere...but she was calm. Calm and collected. Julia finally realized it now. Geraldine was hugging her, and she had already made her decision. Unable to hold it in any longer, Julia cried into her friend's underbelly. She cried and cried, wishing she didn't have to do this.

"I'm sorry, Geraldine...I'm sorry I have to do this...please, please don't hate me," She begged. "This is...the only option for you...I wish I could take you with me…"

"I know. I know," Geraldine gurgled.

Two other Gyarados popped up from the lake. Geraldine turned around, freeing Julia from her hug before swimming over to them. The two Gyarados wrapped themselves around their child.

" _Mom. Dad. I have to go. I won't be back for a while, but...I'll get better. I want to."_

" _It makes us sad to see you go...but we accept your decision."_

" _No matter what, you'll always have a home here."_

With that done, Geraldine turned back around, facing Julia. She had finally stopped crying, and wiped her tears to no avail. "Okay. Geraldine? I'll try to visit when I can. Okay? I can't do it often, but you know I'll always be thinking about you," Reluctantly, she pulled out her friend's PokeBall. "Please be good and do everything Mr. Cipris tells you. Okay?"

Geraldine nodded.

Julia sniffed. "Goodbye, girl," With that, the red beam fired at Geraldine, turning her into light and sucking her right in. Julia marched over to Lance and held her PokeBall out. "Here. Take her. She deserves to have a good future."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Julia shouted, her voice bordering on angry. "Why do you think I did this?! Now take her, and hurry before I change my mind!"

"Julia…" Perrine approached slowly, putting both hands on her friend's shoulders. She wished there was something she could do to help, to ease her friend's pain.

Without hesitation, Lance took the PokeBall from her hand. "I promise that Geraldine will receive the best care. Here," Lance handed her a piece of paper. "Here's some information on the facility, the phone number, and everything."

Paper. Phone number. Julia rummaged through her bag, pulled out a pencil and paper, and scribbled something down before handing it to Lance. "This is my PokeGear number. Feel free to give it to someone there so they can call me...if Geraldine is doing well or not."

Lance smiled sadly before taking it. "Thank you."

"But...but know this!" Julia growled, glaring at him through her tears. "...If I find that you're lying...and that Geraldine's been euthanized...I'll never forgive you, even if you are the champion!"

This time, Lance said nothing. He couldn't blame her. She was sad and needed to get her feelings out. It was nothing he wasn't used to. Still, he liked how honest and cautious she was. He wished more trainers would be as considerate and earnest as she. All of a sudden, Julia whirled around and darted away.

"Hey! Julia, come back!" Perrine gave chase, leaving Caiseal alone. Lance got on Mercury's back and flew away without another word.

Julia tried to tell herself that this was for the best. She was doing what was best for Geraldine. Geraldine needs professional help and care, and now she had the chance to get it. She wasn't being euthanized or taken away, and she would still be Julia's Pokemon. Julia could go and visit when she wanted to, and Geraldine would be cared for by people who knew how to deal with Pokemon like her. This was for the best. She did the right thing. Geraldine deserved all the love and care in the world, and even though Julia wouldn't be there, Geraldine would be cared for. That would be best for her.

Why was she still so sad?

She knew the answer to that. This wasn't what she wanted. Julia wanted to be with Geraldine, to take her with her across Johto, to fulfill their dreams together, to travel the world, meet new friends, make wonderful memories, and do whatever they wanted. Julia wanted so, so, so badly to keep Geraldine. Julia wanted this...but it wouldn't be good for Geraldine, for her, or for anyone. Julia couldn't help Geraldine with her problems, nor could she handle her when she had her nightmares or outbursts. If Julia kept Geraldine, they could take her away, revoke her trainer's license, and put her on the blacklist permanently if Geraldine so much as killed one person.

No. Julia wanted this, but it wasn't what Geraldine needed. She needed help. She needed professional care. Julia wanted so badly to keep Geraldine, but giving her to Lance was the best thing she could do for her. Nothing she could do would help Geraldine.

Finding herself at an empty clearing, she was alone. Alone with her sadness. She tried to see the positives of her decision, but her sorrow took hold over everything. Here she was in an empty clearing. Good, she could scream and cry as loud as she wanted, let all her feelings out, and nobody would be around to be annoyed or tell her to shut up or get over it or look at her weird.

Once again, Julia cried until she could cry no more, pouring out all the sadness her heart had accumulated.

"Goodbye, Geraldine...I'll miss you…"

* * *

 **Happy Memorial Day!...for those who celebrate it, that is.**

 **Yeah, I did the unthinkable: I had Julia give up one of her Pokemon, namely because I wanted to prevent her from becoming a Mary Sue who gets everything handed to her when she shouldn't, and because I actually had a similar experience involving a pet cat. Sometimes, even if you shower someone or something with all the love you have in your heart, it may not be enough, and sometimes someone or something with a lot of mental and psychological problems requires more support and professional help than the regular person is capable of giving. If left unchecked, a lot of trouble or chaos could ensue and nobody would be happy. I've read stories in books or saw documentaries on TV about parents who tried adopting kids from abusive, neglectful homes, and said kids proved to be extremely hard to handle, coming with their own problems that foster parents were unable to help them with no matter what, sometimes with tragic results.**

 **So sorry to those who voted that she catch Geraldine! I had this planned out from the beginning, so don't feel bad.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Lanturn, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Discharge, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Marius (Girafarig, Male, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Sap Sipper**

 **Attacks: Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Psychic, and Crunch**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**


	43. The Frozen Heart Thaws

Chapter 36: The Frozen Heart Thaws

When the dawn began to adorn its blue and crimson blush, Julia was already awake in her room in the Pokemon Center. She always was an early riser, sometimes waking up before 6:00 AM. She didn't mind this at all, as she found it to be great time to do whatever she wanted. Now, however, her eyes were still weary and blurry, adjusting to her surroundings. Hikaru, Saoirse, and Lucretia slept on her bed, curled up against the wall. Rino and Tokiko were on the other side of the room, sleeping contentedly. Julia smiled, noticing the PokeBalls on the desk. But something about them was off. Julia rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be seeing things. She wasn't, as one PokeBall was missing.

Geraldine's PokeBall.

For a brief moment, the first rush of adrenaline came coursing through her veins. Where was Geraldine? Did someone take her? Then she remembered, stopping herself from thinking the worst: Geraldine was gone. She had handed her over to Lance so he could take her to get help for her problems. Only now did it finally sink in.

No longer would she see the adorable red serpent smile at her when she'd see her in the morning. No more seeing her bright, shiny red scales. Neither she nor the Pokemon would get to ride on her back across great lakes and grand oceans. Geraldine would never experience the joy of traveling to new places, seeing new people and Pokemon, battling other Pokemon for the thrill of the competition, or anything else Julia had planned. She would never brush her scales, give her good food, or shower her with all the love and affection she could give ever again.

Actually, that was a bit of an exaggeration.

' _Stop thinking like that, Julia,'_ She scolded herself for her selfishness. _'This is what's best for Geraldine. She needs help. At least she's not dead or being taken away by bad people. They can help her and handle her better than you can,'_ She tried to see the positives of the situation. She really tried. But the negative thoughts completely overpowered everything.

She thought about her mother's yelling and warnings from the days before. Kassia had been absolutely right. As much as Julia hated to admit it, Kassia predicted things would go wrong, and they did. Julia could have lost everything, and she couldn't handle Geraldine when she went berserk and almost destroyed Mahogany Town. It was good that Geraldine didn't take any lives, but what if she had? Julia had no intention of even thinking about what could have happened. Just that Geraldine was in better hands.

Even so, the anger still simmered. Anger at herself for being so careless, for not being able to take care of her Pokemon. Anger at her mother for being right, even though Julia knew it was wrong to be angry at her mother for that. Still, she was sure that if she were to call her mother again, Kassia would ask about it, and if Julia told the truth, she would probably say, "I told you so," and rub it in her face. By Arceus, she hated it when people told her things she already knew, usually in an angry, condescending manner, like she hardly ever understood what she did wrong.

Growling echoed from the pits of her stomach, pushing thoughts of Kassia out of her mind. "Does the PC still have bananas?" Julia asked herself out loud.

Not wanting to disturb her Pokemon, she changed into her clothes, left a note, grabbed some money, and went into the lobby to see if she could grab some breakfast. Much to her relief, there were bananas, blueberries, and other assorted breakfast foods being served. Not only that, she was the only customer, so everything could be prepared quickly. Julia smiled so big, her mouth stretched past her cheeks. Getting up early definitely had its perks, indeed. She still had a hefty amount of money, so she splurged and ordered bananas, buttered toast on white bread, a bowl of steamed white rice, and water. In some parts of Johto, rice is often served for breakfast, and is an important part of every meal.

It was absolutely perfect. Never before did Julia have such a perfect morning. A good, fulfilling meal, soft music playing on the restaurant speakers at a low, gentle volume, the morning sun painting the sky in different shades of red and purple, everything coming and going without delay, no noise, no crowds, no shouting or yelling, no crying babies. Julia had to wonder why she hadn't done this before.

Too bad her perfect morning ended the moment she left the little restaurant in the lobby.

 _Ring ring ring ring!_

"What in the world?" Julia could hear her PokeGear blaring from her pocket. She took it with her just in case Perrine or Caiseal wanted to know where she was. Thinking it was them, she opened it up. The icons didn't display neither Caiseal or Perrine's images. The phone number itself was one that Julia recognized all too well...and one she didn't want to see.

On impulse, she answered the call despite not wanting to. "Hello?"

" _Hi, Julia. It's your mom."_

Of course. Julia let out an exasperated sigh. What a surprise. "Hi, Mom," Normally, Julia would greet her mother with enthusiasm and cheer. But she was in no mood for being cheery and happy right at the moment. "It's really early. What are you doing up?"

" _You know why. The Pokemon need my attention."_

"Oh. I forgot. Whoops," She mused. _'Come on, Mom. Just say it. Say I told you so. I know you want to,'_ Her mother was sure to mention Geraldine soon. Probably ask whether Julia released her or not. There was no escaping it, so Julia figured her mother might as well just ask.

" _How are you doing?"_

Julia squinted. "Fine. Everything's juuuuust dandy," Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, something Julia didn't think she would even use. This time, she couldn't resist.

" _I take it you-"_

Finally, she was going to say it. However, Julia was quick to cut her off. "Released Geraldine? No. I handed her off to a rehabilitation facility. She needed help, and someone offered to give the help she needs. So yes and no, I both did and didn't release her."

Something unfamiliar began rising in her heart. Her voice had adopted a strangely stern tone to it, one that her parents usually used when they were being firm in scolding their daughters when they did something wrong. Boy, did it feel good to use it on her mother for once.

" _What?!"_ Kassia shouted, completely flabbergasted. The exact reaction Julia predicted. Predictably, she pulled the phone away to keep her mother's voice from blowing her ears off of her head. The fact that her mother was so easily set off finally sunk in. _"Julia! Why didn't you release it?!"_

It. Her mother called Geraldine an it, like she didn't even care that Geraldine was a Pokemon with feelings, wishes, or dreams. Immediately scolding herself for thinking such a thought, Julia tried to think of an answer. Instead of an answer, she found bubbling fury simmering in the depths of her heart. Fury at her mother for acting as though Geraldine was some monster, not even bothering to understand why she was the way she was. Then again, even if Julia did try to tell her, her mother was known for being stubborn as a Ponyta, and wouldn't listen even if she was given answers.

She had to at least try. What else could she do at this point?

Containing her true fury to the best of her abilities, Julia sighed before replying, "Releasing her wasn't going to make her problems go away. This was the best alternative," For once, she found herself surprised. She didn't expect to sound so composed and professional.

Too bad even that answer didn't satiate Kassia's anger. Of course. _"Julia! You have to listen to me! I gave you an order, and it is your responsibility to-"_

Order? The fury she tried hard to contain found cracks in the barriers, and was now leaking right out like a trash bag popped open. Julia narrowed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew her mother wasn't giving her a choice in the matter, but the deed had already been done. Julia was already still struggling with her decision, even now. She didn't need her mother exacerbating it and getting all in a tizzy about it.

"Mom! Do you hear yourself right now?!" There was no stopping her now. Julia was in Mahogany Town, and her mother was still in New Bark Town. She didn't need to hear this. Better yet, she didn't need to just take this. "I just told you why I didn't release her, and you still get mad?! I stand by my decision and I'm sticking with it! Besides, who was it that told me that all Pokemon are important and that it's important to understand them?! You did!"

It was something she had always been taught from day one. Whenever she would see the Pokemon do something she didn't understand, like Meganium banging its head against the wall, Ampharos hitting itself across the face, or others just sitting around crying, she would always ask her parents about it. They always had answers, and told her that Pokemon can feel pain too. It's a good trainer's job to understand them and do whatever they could to at least try to help them out. It wouldn't make their problems go away, but knowing their trainers were there to understand and help them always made Pokemon happy.

It wasn't any different from how her parents raised both their daughters.

" _Don't you get nasty with me, young lady-"_

"See?! This is what I mean!" Julia shouted this time. Both she and Amara always hated it when their mother said things like that. "You always want us to listen to you, but then you say and do stuff that goes against what you taught us before and act like we're the ones being brats when all we're trying to do is tell you stuff and point out when you're wrong! Heck, you still get mad even if we do what you ask!"

" _Please don't start with this attitude-"_

"Mom! Releasing Geraldine back into Lake of Rage wasn't going to solve anything! I just told you that! Why are you acting like I murdered someone?!" If there was anything Julia hated most in the world, it was not being taken seriously, or being told she was being a brat. Why did adults always have to be so...hypocritical? Saying and doing one thing and then saying and doing the opposite when no one's looking. Julia wasn't stupid. She was going to tell her mother how she felt, and nothing was going to stop her this time.

Not this time.

"I hate it when you're like this! You want everything to go your way and then get all stubborn and angry when someone tells you something you don't want to hear, like Dad wanting to take you out to dinner or Amara wanting to go to some rock concert with Debbie and Emily and the others! Or even when I wanted to go to that kid's house back when I was in 5th grade!"

For once, her mother didn't say anything. At this point, Julia didn't want to hear anything else.

"I'm done. I have to go. I want to battle the Mahogany gym leader. Bye," She hung up before her mother could say anything else.

She stomped back to her room in the PC without another word. This time, her Pokemon were wide awake, occupying themselves with conversations or silly jokes. Julia flopped onto the bed, looking right up at the ceiling. She hardly ever talked to her mother like that, and never found the need to before now. But being told to _"not start with the attitude"_ or that she was getting nasty really made her fury come right out. True, in her heart, she knew her mother was just worried, about her and Amara. Both of her daughters were gone, under different circumstances, and for all she knew, Kassia might have gone through days and days of fruitlessly searching for Amara. That might have contributed to her recent snippiness. Still, she hated being told she was being a brat or displaying attitude, when all she was trying to do was either call someone out for their garbage or stick up for herself. Was that so wrong?

Julia had to wonder...was this what Amara had been feeling lately? Was this what drove her to become so argumentative and confrontational about everything?

"Eevui?"

"Snubbull?"

The sweet voices of two of her small friends pulled Julia out of her reverie. Seeing the sad, concerned eyes of her friends melted her heart. With a despondent smile, Julia pulled Lucretia and Saoirse close, with their fur touching her chest. Lucretia inched closer to lick Julia's cheek. She had to admit, Lucretia's tongue was pretty wet with saliva, and the cool sensation made her giggle some.

"Thank you, girls. You're both sweet," Julia told them in a soft, grateful whisper. "But...hugs and kisses aren't going to make everything better this time," She hated having to admit this. As much as she wished that life was easy and not complicated, that wasn't the case. Geraldine was gone, and the red serpent needed help that may go on for possibly months, even years. Hugs and kisses certainly weren't going to satiate Kassia's anger.

Oh well. Julia didn't want to let her mother's moods ruin the rest of her day.

After she put everyone back in their PokeBalls, she met back up with Perrine and Caiseal. They didn't even need to exchange words. They could see that Julia's eyes were red and heavy from a combination of both sleep and crying a lot. The events of last night still lingered in their minds.

"Morning, Jule," Caiseal greeted her gently this time. Nobody expected him to be so calm and discreet, and he was usually very blunt. "How you doing?"

"Fine," That was the only answer Julia felt like giving. Going into details took too much energy out of her a lot of the time.

Thankfully, both of her friends found her response satisfactory. Perrine put a hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "If there's any way we can help, don't be afraid to tell us. I know...this may not mean much, but…" Perrine paused for a brief moment before continuing. "Lance is famous for advocating for Pokemon's rights, and he donates a lot of money to places like these, so Pokemon with problems can be given the care they need. Plus, he works hard to fight the bad reputation that Gyarados have received over the past few years. I don't doubt that he'll be able to give Geraldine all the love and special care in the world."

Julia wanted to believe Perrine so badly. She really did. Perrine was a big fan of Lance, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Lance did tell them that one of his own Pokemon had similar problems and now was completely rehabilitated. That eased some of her worries. Still, Julia wished she could just go there and make sure Lance was true to his word. Having all these empty reassurances from people wasn't going to make all her worries go away. Julia wanted to be absolutely sure that her decision was the right one, and if something terrible were to happen to Geraldine while she was gone...she wasn't sure if she could ever live with herself.

She had already made her decision. There was no turning back or giving up on it.

"Thanks, guys. You're the best," Julia hugged both of her friends. "I'm gonna go battle Pryce. I'm sure you guys want to go to Blackthorn City already, and I don't want to drag you down."

"You're not dragging us down," Caiseal told her without the slightest hint of hesitation. "And we're in no rush to go anywhere. Take all the time you need."

"Yeah, what Caiseal said!" Perrine clasped her hands together. "Plus, there's some stuff I still want to do here anyway, so it'll be perfect!"

Once again, Julia smiled. Where had these two been in the early years of her life?

* * *

After that, Julia made her way to the Mahogany gym without difficulty. The actual gym wasn't particularly noteworthy in terms of its design. It just looked like a regular white building with a round red roof on it and triangular windows going across the front horizontally. Resting just above the triangular windows was a large, light blue emblem shaped like a snowflake. Obviously the standout feature of the entire gym. Julia went inside without hesitation. Since she had on a light purple jacket, she wasn't bothered by the steady decrease in temperature.

Standing before her was a battlefield completely covered in ice, with some large, frozen rocks dotting the arena. In the very center of it was a round cavity filled to the brim with water. Julia's mouth fell agape, in awe of its beauty. She had never seen an icy battlefield before. She was so mesmerized by the arena that she didn't notice an old man approaching her from her left side.

"Are you here for a battle, miss?"

The familiar, raspy voice made Julia jump up at least a foot. She whirled around to find the old man, Pryce, staring right back at her with the same icy scowl. Once again, simmering fury began to take hold. This was the man who almost killed her and Geraldine. She knew the police were likely still investigating the situation, but the fact that he was right in front of her was enough to completely sour her mood. But she reminded herself that she was not here to relive that memory.

"Umm...hello, Mr. Snow!" Julia greeted. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to have a battle with you."

Pryce tapped his cane onto the ground once. "I have some business to take care of, so I only have time for a one-on-one battle. Is that alright?"

"Yes, sir!"

One on one. Julia had expected a three on three battle, since he had three Pokemon. Oh well. It was better than nothing, so Julia had to make do. Then again, if she won this single battle, she could win a badge easy. But she reminded herself not to get overconfident. Pryce was far older than she was, and he probably had much more battling experience under his belt. Once they took their positions on their sides of the battlefield, they took out their PokeBalls.

"Go, Hikaru! Let's win this together!" As Hikaru materialized from white light, her whole body sparkled as her tiny paws landed on the battlefield.

"Pikachuuu!"

Pryce scowled at the electric mouse. "Dewgong. Teach this girl a lesson," Out from the PokeBall came a large, snow white sea lion, with a tiny horn protruding from its head. The Dewgong held itself up in a proud stance, and the ice beneath its body and fins didn't bother it one bit.

"Deeeewgong!"

Although she had seen Dewgong before, Julia pulled out her PokeDex to get better information on it. _"Dewgong, the sea lion Pokemon. Dewgong loves to snooze on bitterly cold ice. The sight of this Pokémon sleeping on a glacier was mistakenly thought to be a mermaid by a mariner long ago. Dewgong can store thermal energy inside their pure white, fur covered bodies, and can swim in frigid water at eight knots, using their tails to change direction quickly. During winter, its body can blend in with the white snow, obscuring it from predators. However, long ago, hunters would hunt Dewgong for their pelts, almost driving them to extinction within the past century. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated Pokemon conservationists, Dewgong have since repopulated and are off the endangered Pokemon list."_

"Pika!" At one point, Hikaru almost slipped on the ice. She managed to regain her footing and stay on all fours, but the ice bit at every single toe and finger in her body, sending chills all throughout.

"You okay, Hikaru?" Julia asked.

"Pikapi!" Hikaru nodded reassuringly.

"Alrighty then!" At this point, both parties considered the battle to have begun. There was no referee, so they began without one. "Hikaru, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachuuuuuu!" Hikaru began by unleashing a barrage of thunderbolts, sending them sparking all over the battlefield.

Pryce kept his arms crossed, scowling at the attack. "Dewgong, slide on the ice to dodge, then use Headbutt," He told it in a low but firm voice.

True to its ice typing, Dewgong used its body to slide across the ice. Steadily building momentum with every move, Dewgong slid all across the field, going from one frozen rock to the other, with no intention to stop. Hikaru tried to drop some thunderbolts on the sea lion, but its erratic movements prevented any of them from striking. Then, Dewgong slid right toward Hikaru, with its horn ready to attack.

"Hikaru, dodge it!" Julia commanded.

It would have been easy to dodge. However, the ice beneath Hikaru's feet was too cold and slippery. Hikaru stood up to jump, but one of her feet slipped, and she fell face first on the ice, rendering her immobile for just a moment. Just enough time for Dewgong's horn to meet its target. "Pikapiiiii!" The horn managed to slam right into Hikaru's fur, sending her skidding across the ice. Since the ice was so cold and slippery, nothing that Hikaru could grip was enough to stop herself from sliding. Thankfully, she did slow down and got back on her feet.

"You okay, girl?"

"Pikachu!" Hikaru gave another reassuring nod.

"Aurora Beam," Pryce commanded.

Swishing its fins upward, the sea lion Pokemon opened its big mouth, firing a thin, rainbow hued beam of light heading right toward Hikaru. Julia ordered another Thunderbolt, and the electric mouse blocked it with the electricity, managing to keep it from striking her. Rainbow colored lights spread all over from the point of impact. Some of them managed to break some of the frozen rocks into smithereens.

Pryce followed up with, "Ice Beam this time."

Dewgong didn't even give Hikaru time to dodge before firing a much stronger, light blue ray at the electric mouse. Hikaru staggered in a futile attempt to slide away from the situation, but the beam came too fast. Hikaru's whole body turned numb, and she found herself completely unable to move. The scenery in front of her turned blue.

"Hikaru!" Julia's hands almost flew to her mouth.

Frozen on her side of the battlefield was a helpless Hikaru, completely encased in a block of ice. Hikaru's mouth and eyes were wide open with fright, as were Julia's.

"Headbutt again."

"Deeeeeeewgooong!" Not stopping to rest, Dewgong slid across the battlefield on its stomach, ramming right into the frozen mouse. Despite its small horn, Dewgong managed to slam right into the block of ice, smashing it to pieces, freeing Hikaru from her icy prison.

"Pika!" Hikaru bounced on the ice, only stopping in front of another small rock.

"Hikaru! Are you okay?"

Again, Hikaru got back on her feet. But Julia could tell from the way Hikaru's legs were shaking and her weakening gait that she wasn't going to last much longer. Still, they couldn't give up.

"Use Disarming Voice!"

"Pikaaaaaaaa!" A wave of pink circular shapes fired right at the sea lion Pokemon.

"Ice Beam!" Pryce commanded.

Much to Julia and Hikaru's horror, the beam went right through the attack, managing to strike Hikaru once more. It came so fast, neither of them could think of dodging. This time, Hikaru wasn't imprisoned in a block of ice. However, Hikaru fell down to the ground, unable to pick herself back up. Her tiny body was numb and limp.

"Hikaru!" Julia ran over to the field, taking care not to slip and fall on the ice, and scooped her fallen friend in her arms.

"Pikapi…"

Julia smiled. Hikaru was still okay. "Don't worry. You did great. I'll take you to the PokeCenter right after this."

But the scene unfolding before Pryce did not thaw his frozen heart. He kept his icy scowl as he recalled Dewgong. "You lost because of your childish naivete and idealism," Pryce's voice had a subtle venom to it. "Friendship and kindness do not ensure victory in battle, and it's useless to rely on such childish sentiments to get through life."

The trainer clutched Hikaru in her arms. It wasn't childish or useless. None of it was. As much as she wanted to keep her mouth shut, as he was far older than she was, her body didn't listen to her heart.

"You're wrong," Julia told him, keeping her voice cool and calm. "I don't know what made you think that, but...that's not true. My Pokemon and I have been through a lot together, and it's because of them that I'm the person that I am...and how I managed to survive up to this point."

For a brief moment, Pryce found himself speechless. He had expected something like that from an old timer like himself, only less jaded. But a young child? One who had yet to experience life's difficulties? Pryce had no words. Still, he averted his gaze, not once laying eyes on the girl. With that, Julia left the building.

* * *

"Man. You lost? On a one-on-one battle?" Caiseal was the first to ask about Julia's gym battle once she handed Hikaru to Nurse Joy. She wasted no time telling him and Perrine all about it. "Jeez, that sucks."

"I'm kinda surprised you guys had a one-on-one battle," Perrine noted as she brushed her orange hair. "We had three-on-three battles with him."

Lucretia sat on Julia's lap, curled into a Q shape. Julia stroke her furry friend's brown and cream fur with one hand, keeping it at a steady, unchanging rhythm. "He said he only had time for one-on-one, and you guys are right. He is a sourpuss!" Julia exclaimed. "After the battle, he yammered on about how Pokemon and humans aren't meant to be friends."

"Told ya," Caiseal said. "You gonna try and battle him again?"

"Of course! I'm not gonna give up now."

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Hikaru to get healed, and the two friends were reunited at the counter moments later. After that, Julia spent the whole day training with her friends for the next battle with Pryce. She figured maybe she could battle him again the next day. He said he only had time for one battle, which meant that he would probably be busy all day. Oh well. There's always tomorrow.

Unfortunately, there wasn't going to be another battle.

"What?!" The first thing Julia did upon finishing breakfast the next morning was go to the gym. However, it was completely closed. There was a sign on it that said, _'Closed until further notice,'_ Julia groaned. "Awww, man! I want to get a badge already!"

"Eevui…" Lucretia agreed, her ears arching backward.

"Oh well. Guess we better try again later," Julia scooped Lucretia in her arms and decided to leave.

...Or she was about to, but rumbling underneath her feet made her freeze dead in her tracks. The ground was trembling, stopping and then starting again every second. Everything around her seemed to be jumping up and down, and the shock jolted her whole being from the toes up. What was going on?

"Yeeek!" Julia yelped.

Lucretia's ears twitched. Since her ears were longer, she could make out the source of the noise. Large feet stamping against the ground, coming from the left. "Eevui!" Lucretia relayed her information to her trainer. Gradually, the stomping sounds grew louder with every step. Julia turned to her left, scared out of her wits, but more out of not knowing what was making that noise than the actual event.

Gradually, a brown shape came into view. As it hopped closer, Julia could make out a big hump of brown fur, a pink nose, and white tusks. With every step the creature took, its large feet made the ground tremble, prompting it's floppy ears flying in erratic circular motions in tune with every movement. Julia tried to get herself to move, but she found herself frozen. Everything around her froze her in place, and now she was imprisoned by fear, namely her mind coming up with scenarios for her potential death.

Thankfully, Lucretia wasn't paralyzed by fear. The little brown feline leaped out of Julia's arms with a determined expression. "Eevee eevee!" She let out some shrill cries, hoping to get the creature's attention. But the big hunk of fur paid no heed as it came closer and closer, about to stomp right over them. However, as soon as it got close, it ran right past them before stopping right in front of the gym's doors.

Her body finally relaxed, and Julia turned around to see what was coming right at them. There it was, a large Pokemon rubbing its large feet across the door, making deep whining noises. The Pokemon was just a foot taller than she, and it kept looking up at the door, whining, "Muuuuuu!"

"Whoa! Where the heck did this Piloswine come from?" Julia asked out loud, pulling her PokeDex out on impulse.

" _Piloswine, the swine Pokemon._ _Piloswine's entire body is covered with fur, which makes it hard to see, so it uses its nose to sense its environment instead. If it charges at an enemy, the hairs on its back stand up straight. It is very sensitive to sound. Piloswine's furry coat allows it to endure even the harshest of blizzards and freezing cold. It uses its tusks and it's very sensitive sense of smell to dig up food that has been buried under ice. Although its legs are short, its rugged hooves prevent it from slipping, even on icy ground. If it charges at an enemy, the hairs on its back stand up straight. Because its ears are long and floppy, it is very sensitive to sound,"_ A male sign appeared in the bottom left hand corner of the PokeDex.

"Muuuuu!" Piloswine released a drawn out moan, as if he was looking for something...or someone.

Lucretia looked up at her trainer. "Eevee eevuiiii?" ( _"What the heck just happened?"_ )

"Beats me," Julia was just as confused as Lucretia was.

"Piloswine!" A womanly voice thick with a Southern drawl made both trainer and Pokemon whip their heads around. Charging toward them was a large woman with a head full of curly chocolate brown hair that bounced with every step, and her matching eyes were overcome with surprise. The woman was wearing a pair of blue overalls over a yellow shirt, brown cowboy boots, and a purple cardigan. "There you are!" She stopped right next to Piloswine, putting both hands on her hips and giving it a stern glare. "You shouldn't go runnin' off like that! You had me worried!"

The Piloswine ignored her, continuing to claw at the door.

"Ummm…" Julia raised one of her hands up to get the woman's attention. "Is this your Piloswine?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, miss!" The woman apologized. "He didn't run you over, did he?"

"Nope."

The woman crossed her arms. "Sorry he scared you. This is the first time he's behaved like this. I'm just here on business, but the moment I told him we were going to Mahogany Town, he just went nuts. Oh! I'm Bess, by the way."

"Julia," She looked over at Piloswine. From the way he kept moaning and clawing at the gym's front doors, Julia was sure there was a reason he wanted to go in there. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? "Umm...if you don't mind, I can find out why he's doing this."

Bess's eyes widened. "You can? How? You're just a trainer, right?"

Ignoring the woman's concerns, Julia walked right up to the Piloswine. "Excuse me, Piloswine? Can I ask why you want to go in there?"

Finally, Piloswine stopped clawing at the doors. He got back on all fours and began moaning, "Muuuuu muuuuu!" Julia kept nodding with every drawn out "Muuuu!" sound. Bess found herself scratching her head. The two were very deep in conversation, like they were old pals. But the thing that stuck out to her the most was that Piloswine was smiling the whole time, like he was happy to have someone to talk to. Perhaps he was happy he was being heard. Whatever was going on, Bess wondered if any good would come out of this.

"WHAT?!" A sudden yelp from Julia pulled Bess out of her reverie. "Pryce Snow is your trainer?!"

Not even Bess could prevent her jaw from dropping. Piloswine nodded vigorously, his floppy ears swaying with every nod. "Muuuu!" Bess's hand flew to her mouth. How did this girl come to that conclusion? But from the way Piloswine was nodding, he behaved as though Julia was right. How she figured that out was beyond her. All of a sudden, Piloswine lowered himself to the ground, using his snout to sniff at the ground.

"Mumuu!" Piloswine gestured for both Bess and Julia to follow him. Keeping a slow, steady pace, Piloswine began walking away from the gym.

"He wants us to follow him," Julia told Bess.

"My oh my," Bess didn't protest and followed, but the whole situation was still so baffling. "I haven't seen Piloswine act this way at all. But he probably has his reasons."

Piloswine led the way as he followed Pryce's scent, keeping his nose up and alert, refusing to let that aroma escape his nostrils. Julia and Bess stayed quiet, wondering just what was going on. Everything happened so fast, neither girl had much time to really let it all sink in. They found themselves away from the gym and heading into some woods. The trees were spaced out, so sunlight came down onto the area. Some Hoothoot and Pidgey flew across the sky above them.

"So, uhh…" Julia began, wondering where to start with this. "...I take it Piloswine isn't really your Pokemon?"

"Sort of," Bess told her. "Last year I found him in a forest injured and near death. I took him to the Pokemon Center in my area and they nursed him back to health," She explained. "Nobody could find his trainer, or even confirm he had one, so I took him in," She flashed a smile. "He's a mighty sweet Pokemon. Always helpful and considerate, and never causes any trouble. He's always helpin' me with my work. But he doesn't always know his own strength. He loves people but tends to almost squish them when he tries to hug them or kiss them."

Julia averted her eyes. _'I can imagine,'_ She wondered if maybe Piloswine caught Pryce's scent and ran to the gym to find him. That was the only plausible explanation she could think of for Piloswine almost running her over before.

"You're a Pokemon trainer, right?" Bess asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to battle Mr. Snow again, but he wasn't at the gym."

"I see. Sorry Piloswine almost ran you over."

"It's okay! So...you say you don't live here?"

"Naw. I'm just here for a job, but I have some free time on my hands. I live in Olivine City, and I work for a furniture company. I help gather materials for furniture and ship them out to places all over Johto."

"Like leather and velvet?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Sounds cool."

"By the way...I don't mean to be rude, but...how'd you come to the conclusion that Pryce Snow is this Piloswine's trainer?"

As much as she wanted to explain, telling people she could talk to Pokemon didn't always go well sometimes. How could she explain it without coming off as either a deluded freak or a little liar? She tensed up, but she kept a steady pace. She had no other way of explaining, and she figured she wasn't going to see Bess again after this, so whether she believed her or not wouldn't matter. Plus, Piloswine knew who his trainer was, so why not?

"I know this sounds hard to believe, but...I can understand what Pokemon are saying," She told her. "He told me Pryce is his trainer."

There was no initial reaction from Bess. She just continued to walk, looking up at the sky like she was thinking about something. "That is hard to believe…" She muttered.

"Muumuuu!" Piloswine suddenly moaned before dashing off.

"Wait, Piloswine!" Julia was the first to chase after him. "Slow down!" Bess followed suit.

Finally, after a long walk, they made it to a house that was completely isolated from everything else. The thick trees surrounding it could easily obscure it from an aerial perspective. But that didn't matter to Piloswine. He just kept jumping up and down, his floppy ears flying in circular motions with every leap. As Julia finally caught up, she noticed something hanging from one of Piloswine's tusks. It appeared to be an old, silver locket on a chain, with the front having an intricate, snowflake design carved into it. Julia couldn't believe she never noticed it before.

"Is this...Mr. Snow's house?"

"Mumuuu!" Piloswine nodded affirmatively.

"Boy howdy…" Bess panted and put both hands on her knees once she caught up. "You sure can move fast, Piloswine!"

Julia knocked on Pryce's door eight times, hoping the sound would get his attention. For a moment, there was no response. Then the door creaked open, and Pryce stayed inside his house, glaring at the two women on his porch.

"What do you want?" He asked in a venomous tone. "How did you find my house?"

"Uhhh...I think this is your Piloswine," Julia extended her hand in Piloswine's direction. Pryce met the hidden eyes of the swine Pokemon before him.

All Piloswine did was let out a "Muuuuuu!"

"What makes you think this Pokemon belongs to me?" Pryce asked, not convinced.

Piloswine was prepared. He lifted one of his paws to pull the locket off of his tusk, then holding it out for Pryce. The old man took the locket out of his hands and opened it. For the first time, Julia saw a drastic change in his expression, as his pupils shrunk and his mouth fell open. Pryce was flabbergasted. Inside the locket was a small, faded picture of a lovely woman with curly grey hair and brown eyes obscured by round, coke-bottle glasses. Her smile was warm and welcoming.

"...Clida…" Pryce muttered, his normally gruff voice suddenly turning soft, trembling. "...This is my wife…"

"Oh!" Bess's hands flew to her cheeks. "That's your wife?! No wonder Piloswine kept holding onto that locket!"

"Has he always had it?" Julia asked.

Bess replied, "Piloswine's hung onto it before I rescued him."

"...Piloswine?" Pryce's voice caught in his throat. "...Is that really you?"

The swine Pokemon nodded without a grunt or a moan.

"My stars...I thought you abandoned me…where have you been all this time…?" This time, the tears finally flowed.

"Wait!" Julia exclaimed. "Abandoned you? What happened?"

Pryce took it on himself to explain everything. He and Piloswine had been together since they were children. They battled trainers everywhere, spending many years together training, becoming stronger, and strengthening their bond, whether it be going through harsh blizzards or raging oceans. The two had always loved each other and had gone undefeated for years. However, two years ago, Pryce had lost a battle against a trainer, and he and Piloswine wound up getting injured as a result. It wasn't completely serious, but he couldn't battle for a while, nor leave his house. Then, two weeks later, his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and she died later on, very suddenly, too.

After the funeral, Pryce lost the locket she bought for him the year before. He looked everywhere for it, but it never turned up. Then, one night, when a harsh blizzard made him and Piloswine stay inside his house, the latter suddenly up and went out the front door. No reason at all, and without a word. Piloswine just left the house, and never came back. Pryce couldn't believe it. First he lost a battle, then Clida died, and now his Piloswine left. He was too distraught to ask why, as his mind came to one conclusion at that very moment.

Piloswine abandoned him.

To this day, Pryce could still remember the last words he spoke.

" _Piloswine! You're abandoning me?! Leaving me here?! After all we've gone through and everything we've shared?! I...I can't believe...you'd betray me like thiiiiiiiis!"_

"Oh wow," Julia mused when Pryce finished telling his story. Not even Bess could hold back tears.

"Everything happening back to back to back all at once really destroyed me," Pryce continued on, making no attempt to hold back his tears. "It was then I tried to make myself as stiff, cold, and unfeeling as possible. I just wanted to just get through the rest of my life, and I wound up becoming bitter."

"Muuumuuuuu!" Piloswine groaned.

"Piloswine didn't abandon you, Mr. Snow," Julia explained. "He left so he could search for your locket. But when he found it, the cliff underneath him broke and he fell so far down that he almost died. Bess here saved him," She pointed to the woman next to her.

Once again, Pryce was flabbergasted. That was what happened? He convinced himself that Piloswine, his first Pokemon and best friend for decades, had abandoned him...and all this time, he was just with Bess, and had gone to look for his locket. Piloswine must have known how important Clida was to him, and he might have gone out to search, knowing that he needed something to remind him of the happy life they shared. To think that was what happened...Pryce couldn't contain himself. The ice around his frozen heart finally thawed, and everything was soft and warm now. He didn't even ask how Julia managed to come to that conclusion.

The happiness that swept over him was so strong, not even he could stand up to it. Actually, his cup of happiness finally burst, overflowing in every direction...By Arceus, did it feel good to finally smile again.

"Piloswine...Piloswine!" He wrapped his arms around the swine Pokemon's thick coat, smiling for the first time in a whole year. "You're back! You're alright! I missed you so much!"

"I'm mighty sorry, Pryce," Bess apologized. "I had no idea Piloswine here was yours. I looked everywhere for a trainer but I had no luck. I can't understand Pokemon talk, so of course I didn't know," A realization struck her like a lightning bolt. Piloswine was anxious to come to Mahogany Town because this was his home, and where his precious trainer was. Bess thanked her lucky stars that she decided to come here, even if it was on business. She didn't want to imagine what might have happened had she said no to going.

All they could do now was smile. Pryce and Piloswine were back together again. Julia had never seen Pryce look so happy. She wondered if maybe...this was what Pryce was really like. Just a nice old man that was squashed by the hardship he had to go through, who resorted to being bitter and callous just to survive future tragedies in whatever was left of his possibly short life. Now, his frozen heart was warmed by Piloswine's return. True, Julia wasn't going to let him off the hook for commanding his Cloyster to attack her, but she kept quiet. They didn't need someone ruining their happy reunion.

Julia turned around to leave, but stopped when Pryce called her. "Wait!" He stood up and approached her. Julia turned back around to face him, but again, she didn't meet his eyes. "Now that you're here...I...I want to say I'm sorry...for what I did to you before. You know, commanding my Cloyster to attack you. That was wrong of me, and I should never have...put you and the Gyarados in danger like that."

"Hmph!" Julia crossed her arms, unable to resist poking at him some. "Yes, you shouldn't have!" Even if he was reunited with his friend, she figured she could do this much. But she could hear the remorse in his voice, probably from the crying he did just now. Well, at least he was honest about it. "But...I am glad you're owning up to it, so I guess I can forgive you."

"I also...want to apologize for the things I said to you. About Pokemon and humans not being meant to be friends. I...I never believed it. I grew up with Pokemon, like you did. But I was so sad and bitter that I convinced myself to never be friendly toward another Pokemon again," Pryce explained. "Still...that doesn't excuse anything. You...reminded me of why I shouldn't behave the way I have been."

His voice caught in his throat again. Julia uncrossed her arms, smiling at Piloswine, who looked absolutely radiant. "I won't be here in the next three days, as I have to go perform court-mandated community service. But I'll come back to the gym, and we can battle again if you wish."

Even though she forgave Pryce, Julia couldn't resist the allure of defeating him in battle. She pumped her fist, smiled, and shouted, "Great! I accept your challenge!"

She had to admit, Pryce was far different from Amara. Even though he was sad and made bad decisions because of it, Pryce owned up to them, choosing to heal and atone for his actions, knowing it was the right thing to do, for both himself and the people and Pokemon around him. Julia had to wonder if Amara would ever do the same in the future. She wished she would, as she didn't like seeing Amara become the person she had become. However, considering how stubborn she could be, Julia had some doubts.

She still had some hope for her sister. In her heart, she hoped Amara would be safe, and that she would see the error of her ways.

* * *

" _You don't want to heal! You just want to wallow in your self-pity and make Chanel's death all about you!"_

Debbie's razor sharp words continued to rip through Amara's heart, and no matter what she tried, they refused to stop echoing in her ears. Not even a nice, refreshing shower in the Pokemon Center helped. Buying new clothes with the money she won from Pokemon battles didn't help, and walking around the premises wearing a thick orange hoodie didn't help either. Frigid air bit at every skin cell in her body, and even with her new, thick clothes protecting her against the autumn breeze, the anger in her heart continued to simmer, and as of now, all of the rage and fury was dying to come right out.

She had to admit, she had no idea she had this much anger in her. Where did all this anger come from? Actually, she knew the answer for that. She cultivated it herself, spending so much time in her room, grieving so much that her grief morphed into a kind of crazed anger that colored her view of everything. She tried to get over Chanel's death. She really tried. But in her mind, moving on meant forgetting about Chanel. Wouldn't moving on with her life mean that Chanel meant nothing to her? Chanel didn't deserve to get killed by a random Gyarados.

In her mind, everyone in the world was her enemy. Even her family, who tried so hard to help her through this in every way they could. No, she refused to accept their so-called "help." In her mind, they were more concerned about appearances and doing everything for convenience than anything. There was no one to tell her otherwise, and even if someone did, Amara would rather eat needles than listen to that garbage. However, that wasn't what hurt the most.

The worst thing about this...everything Debbie said was absolutely right.

Amara knew that Debbie was always honest to a fault, sometimes bordering on confrontational and argumentative when she wanted to be. Debbie was the type of girl who didn't want anyone walking all over her, and would gladly call someone out on their garbage if she saw fit, her friends being no exception. In Debbie's mind, it was better to tell a harsh truth than a kind lie. That was just how she was. Sure, Debbie and Chanel weren't exactly besties, like she and Amara were, but they usually got along just fine, and Amara knew Debbie had nothing against Chanel. Chanel was Amara's friend, and as far as she knew, Debbie didn't mind.

But everything else...it was too much. Once she was done with her shower, Amara went on the computers in the Pokemon Center. She was sure her school didn't hold a vigil for Chanel. If they had, they would have let her know about it. The minute she pulled up an article about her death, everything Amara thought she knew fell to pieces.

The first picture she saw was a gathering of people on the school's football field, all holding lit candles, standing before a small, framed picture of Chanel. Amara's mouth fell open. Debbie was right. How could she not have known about this? Actually, she knew the answer to that. All she wanted to do was stay in her room and cry. She did exactly that, and for a while, too. Even as her parents tried to gently coax her out, she would always yell at them. In fact...they tried to tell her about it. Multiple times.

" _Amara? The vigil is today. Do you want to come pay your respects?"_

" _Go away, Mom! I want to be alone!"_

" _I know you're sad. We all are. But won't you think about coming with us? If just for a little while? I honestly think this might be good for-"_

" _Just shut up! You're so freakin' annoying!"_

" _Amara! Don't get all-"_

" _Kassia. If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't want to. Let's leave her be. She can pay her respects in her own way on her own time."_

She had no idea she had blocked that memory out, and for so long for that matter. It was here that everything hit Amara like a freight train. She finally realized it. Just like Debbie said, she didn't want to heal at all. She wanted to spend her life blaming someone for Chanel's death. Someone, anyone, anything...basically everyone around her. Her parents for not thinking about Chanel 24/7. Julia for always having everything handed to her while they could have done things for Chanel and Amara. Her friends for moving on from the tragedy and not catering to Amara's whims. All Pokemon for being the very things that killed Chanel in the first place.

"Excuse me?" A little boy gently pulled at the bottom of Amara's new hoodie. "Can I use the computer please?"

Hearing the child's voice made something in Amara snap. She whipped around and smacked the boy's hand so hard she left a scratch on his skin. The boy froze when he met Amara's eyes. They were full of uncontained rage. Not even small children were spared Amara's wrath.

Amara's only response was, "Get your filthy hands off my hoodie! I paid twenty bucks for this, you spoiled brat! Get outta my sight!"

Only it was Amara getting out of the boy's sight. She didn't even bother to stop and think about her actions, even as she heard the boy crying as she left the Pokemon Center. Her subconscious scolded her quite severely. _'Amara! How could you say that to a little kid? He wasn't even doing anything to you! That was completely rude and unnecessary!'_ Her rational side exclaimed.

' _Shut up!'_ Her irrational side snapped. _'I hate everyone and everything, and I wish everyone would just die! My pain is the only thing that matters!'_

Amara let all of her Pokemon out of their PokeBalls as she stopped in a clearing. She sat down on a stump to snack on some food she bought. Not much in the way of healthy stuff, just some cans of soda, convenience store subs, and a bag of potato chips. As she gulped down her soda, the sound of steel clashing against rock caught her ears. She turned around, watching as Umbreon slammed against a big rock with his tail. Just watching the black feline do that sent pangs of irritation all throughout her being.

In fact, ever since she caught Umbreon, that was all he had done: slam his tail against a rock. True, Umbreon was only minding his business, but even that seemed to make Amara perturbed. Each time Umbreon's tail made contact with the rocks, Amara tensed up, even as she finished her soda. Couldn't that black feline do something that didn't annoy her? All he was doing was training by himself. Then again, it was very easy for Amara to be annoyed by just about everything, even her own Pokemon playing amongst themselves. This didn't annoy her before.

Just as she took a bite out of her sandwich... _CRASH!_ Cold steel penetrated the big rock nearby, smashing it to pieces. The impact made the clearing around them tremble, and the sub slipped right out of Amara's hands.

"Awwwww nooooo!" Amara wailed as the salad, meat, bread, and condiments fell right onto the dirt, becoming permanently contaminated. Her short moment of grief immediately morphed right back into anger as she whirled around to find the culprit.

Umbreon smiled as his tail glowed in a silver sheen, just like iron. The black feline's fur was soaked to the roots with sweat, but he didn't mind. He was just happy that he finally managed to master that one attack. Beedrill simply clapped his stingers together, rejoicing in Umbreon's victory. Too bad they were the only ones celebrating. All the other Pokemon hid in the bushes as Amara stomped right over to them.

"You piece of garbage!" Amara yelled. "You made me drop a whole sandwich!"

"Umbreon bree," Umbreon told her in a sharp, deadpan tone. It was a good thing that Amara didn't understand Pokemon speech like Julia did, as she would have learned that Umbreon said, _"So what? It's just food. Just eat it off the floor, human scum."_

"Bzzzzzt!" ( _"Stop! Don't make her mad!"_ ) Beedrill buzzed frantically, waving his stingers around in an erratic fashion.

"Umbreon umbreon breee!" ( _"I don't see why I can't!"_ )

It didn't take much for Amara to construe that as a display of defiance. She raised her hand upward, intent on beating some sense into that annoying little black feline. "This is your fault, you little-"

She didn't get to finish, as Umbreon beat her to the punch. Or rather, ram. Umbreon leaped off the ground, ramming himself right into Amara's abdomen as though he were using a headbutt attack, sending her rolling across the dirt. Beedrill covered his eyes with his stingers, as did Weepinbell with his leafy arms. For a moment, Amara found herself unable to breathe, and a strange burning sensation didn't help matters.

Wait...burning? She looked down. A strange liquid was eating away at her hoodie, exposing the yellow shirt underneath.

"What?! What the freak?!" Amara yelled even louder this time. She fixated her hateful gaze onto the black feline, who sent the same glare right back at her. "I spent twenty bucks on this hoodie, you trash!"

Umbreon's ears pointed to his tail, and his back arched upward as he let out a screeching hiss. This dark Pokemon was not going to be a slave to this human. He was done with her. Too bad Amara wasn't done with him just yet.

"You're gonna regret ever attacking me-"

Once again, Umbreon took the initiative. The slender dark type suddenly leaped into the air, sinking his teeth into Amara's wrist. "Owww!" Not once had she ever been bitten by a Pokemon before, and Umbreon's teeth were sharper and more slender than human teeth, so the bite left a far deeper, more painful wound. Once he rendered Amara helpless, Umbreon rummaged through the bag and pulled out a PokeBall.

His PokeBall.

Even though she was hardly ever the brightest light in the room, she figured it out immediately. Umbreon sat the PokeBall down in front of himself, as though he were daring Amara to come after him.

"Don't you dare do this to me!"

Umbreon's tail glowed once more, boldly ignoring her empty threats.

"I'm gonna kill you if you do that!"

Umbreon kicked the PokeBall into the air.

"I'm warning you!"

Umbreon leaped after it. A glowing tail of cold steel came flying down.

 _Slash!_

The PokeBall was cut to ribbons. To be more specific, it was smashed to pieces. Metallic shards, white and red, scattered along the dirt. Amara's blue eyes were wide like saucers, and even she couldn't prevent the ungraceful dropping of her jaw. Even the other Pokemon found themselves frozen in silence. Umbreon glared at the human, making his decision very clear.

Amara loved Pokemon at one point, and her favorite was Umbreon. She had one...and now that Umbreon completely tossed her aside. Then again, it was justified from Umbreon's view, and definitely would be in society's eyes. Amara wished this whole thing was a dream, a cruel prank in which she was the victim.

Once again, anger took hold.

"FINE! Leave then! Go away!" Amara screamed, helplessly picking balls of dirt out from the ground and throwing them at Umbreon. "You're nothing but trash! I always hated your guts anyway! You're the reason Chanel's dead and nobody cares about meeeeeeee!"

Umbreon grunted. Then took his leave, disappearing into the bushes. Boy, was he glad to be free of that colossal brat they called a human. The human who always reacted disproportionately to just about everything, even polite kids kindly asking her to do something. Always blaming Pokemon for any bad thing that happened to her, refusing to acknowledge that she brought most of this on herself. He had prepared for this escape for months, and it was a roaring success. He was free. Free to roam around wherever he pleased.

He didn't look back even as he leaped into the night.

All of the other Pokemon could only watch as Amara banged her fist on the dirt. _Bam! Bam! Bam!_ She didn't care if her fist would end up getting hurt. She was too angry to care about anything else around her. It seemed to be all she felt as of now. Nothing else mattered.

' _You brought this on yourself, you know,'_ Her consciousness told her without any hint of mercy. _'You wonder why your Pokemon hate you, because you use them as punching bags. None of them deserve what you do to them. They did nothing to you,'_ Amara's rational side was right. None of her own Pokemon did anything to deserve her beatings, her anger, her wrath. But for Amara, just the fact that they were even there, existing, flaunting their innocence and happiness while she was in pain, was tantamount to committing a crime worthy of the death sentence.

Why should they be happy? The thought of everyone around her being happy was too much for Amara to handle. In fact, nobody around her deserved to be happy. Nobody but her and her alone. Why couldn't Amara be allowed to be happy? She hated seeing everyone happy. They were happy and she wasn't. By Arceus, she wanted to rip those callous smiles off of everyone's faces and make them pay for having lives that didn't revolve around Chanel or Amara. Why couldn't anyone pay attention to Amara and her pain and suffering?

"Bzzzt?" ( _"You okay?"_ ) Cautiously, Beedrill came buzzing toward Amara, offering one of his stingers out. Amara held her head up, glaring at the concerned bee. Beedrill buzzed and recoiled. Even looking at Amara was too much for the little bee. "Bzzzzzzz…" ( _"Do...Do you need a hug?"_ )

"Go kill yourself, you trash!" Amara roared before sending a fist flying into Beedrill's thorax. The blow was enough to send the poor Beedrill flying backward. Haunter flew right toward Beedrill, using his detached hands to catch the bee in the nick of time. But Beedrill bent over, clutching his thorax with his stingers, unable to breathe.

All of Amara's Pokemon had become used to having insults and threats thrown at them so flippantly. But what could they do? Even if Amara could understand them, she would never listen to their pleas anyway. What was the point? Weepinbell found himself crying in Feraligatr's chest, and Granbull and Fearow didn't make any kind of eye contact with her. The fury in Amara's eyes was always too much for them to deal with.

' _Amara. You can't continue on like this,'_ Her consciousness told her once more. _'Just go home. Mom and Dad are worried sick about you. They want their daughter back.'_

"No they don't!" She screamed. "They only care about themselves!"

' _If they only cared about themselves, why would there be milk cartons with your picture on them all over Johto? Why would they put missing posters everywhere? Why would they even tell the police to go find you in the first place?'_

"They want to send me to jail!"

' _Considering you've abused Pokemon, stole one of them, and used them to assault people on the street, and assaulting random people yourself, that's kind of a given. You can't deny that. But that's not the real reason why they want you to go back home.'_

"I'm not going back! I have to fulfill my dream...Chanel's dream…"

' _You're not doing Chanel any favors by hurting your Pokemon and lashing out at everyone around you.'_

Alas, Amara didn't listen to her heart. No, she was going to fulfill the promise she made to Chanel or die trying. It was what Chanel wanted.

Right?

* * *

 **Phew! It took me a while, but I finally finished chapter 36! I intended to get this done earlier, too. But stuff got in the way. There was going to be a filler chapter after this, but I realized it didn't add anything to the story so I'm cutting it out. But Julia won't battle Pryce for another short while yet, so you may need to wait on that. Another reason I haven't been here is...Harvest Moon. Bought the first two games on 3DS Virtual Console recently and...I love it! It's so relaxing and soothing! I'm already considering getting more games. I hear Friends of Mineral Town and Island of Happiness are good, so I might get those if I have the money or the time.**

 **Still haven't found a job, though! Man, I don't know why I haven't landed one yet, and I really want to have a job soooooo bad!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Trump Card, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Luminita (Lanturn, Female, Naive Nature)**

 **Ability: Water Absorb**

 **Attacks: Supersonic, Discharge, BubbleBeam, and Electro Ball**

 **Marius (Girafarig, Male, Mild Nature)**

 **Ability: Sap Sipper**

 **Attacks: Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Psychic, and Crunch**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Stacey (Pinsir, Female, Serious Nature)**

 **Ability: Hyper Cutter**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Seismic Toss, and Double Hit**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Geo (Golem, Male, Brave Nature)**

 **Ability: Sturdy**

 **Attacks: Steamroller, Rock Slide, Heavy Slam, and Magnitude**

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Feraligatr (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Hydro Pump, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Superpower**

 **Weepinbell (Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Slam, and Sleep Powder**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Poison Jab, Fury Attack, Fell Stinger, and Pin Missile**

 **Granbull (Female, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Run Away**

 **Attacks: Fire Fang, Play Rough, Lick, and Thunderbolt**

 **Fearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Drill Peck, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Leer**

 **Haunter (Male, Impish Nature)**

 **Ability: Levitate**

 **Attacks: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, and Poison Jab**


	44. My Little Ponyta

Chapter 37: My Little Ponyta

Thirty days in jail would seem like a long time for some. For Julia, Caiseal, and Perrine, it certainly would be a long time. Thankfully, there was a lot to do in Mahogany Town, so they weren't completely bored. Plus, the Pokemon League was still a long ways away, so they had all the time in the world. Time tends to go by rather fast when people are having fun, so sticking around wouldn't be a waste of time. A lot could happen in thirty days. Perrine swapped Marius and Luminita for Fuwari and Chirin, and Caiseal swapped Geo and Stacey for Ravenclaw and Flippy. Seeing their old friends immediately brightened their day, and Julia found herself happy for them.

But that morning, there wasn't time to be made for happy reunions. This was a time for practice battling, and Julia and Caiseal were already piling on the heat.

"Saoirse, use Ice Fang!" Julia cried.

Saoirse, the little pink bulldog, opened her large maw, commanding her teeth to be consumed by ice as she raced toward the black raven Pokemon. Her stubby legs, short as they were, were still strong enough to help her run swiftly.

"Ravenclaw, dodge and use Steel Wing!" Caiseal commanded. Right as Saoirse leaped toward Ravenclaw, the darkness Pokemon flapped her wings once, ascending to the sky and avoiding the attack. Once Saoirse landed on the ground, Ravenclaw let out a cawing noise before her wings glowed in a bright, silvery sheen, turning into steel.

"Murkroooooow!" With a resolve to win stronger than steel, Ravenclaw descended to Saoirse's level, slamming her with her steel wings. The force was strong enough that Saoirse was sent rolling across the battlefield, right into Julia's arms. It was a good thing Saoirse wasn't wearing her pretty dress and ribbons, as that would have gotten both her and her dress dirty.

"Saoirse!" Julia managed to catch the pink bulldog in the nick of time. "You okay, girl?" She could tell from Saoirse's sad expression and the marks on her body that she was in no condition to battle any further.

"Snubbull snubbull…" Saoirse croaked.

Julia smiled, holding the small Pokemon close to her heart. "It's okay! You did your best, and that's all that matters."

"Good job, girl!" Caiseal praised as the proud, victorious Ravenclaw perched on his arm.

"Murkrow murkrow!" ( _"It feels so good to learn new moves!"_ ) The darkness Pokemon boasted, striking a pose as she relished in her victory. "Murkrow kroooow!" ( _"I oughta use Steel Wing more often!"_ )

Julia wasted no time handing Saoirse an Oran berry. It must be confessed that Saoirse didn't quite take kindly to the Oran berry's hard, dry taste. It had almost no flavor to it, like any taste it had was sucked out of it by a vacuum cleaner. But she knew they were good for getting her strength back, so she ate the berry without complaint, like she always did.

"Hey, Jule!" Caiseal ran over to his friend, prompting Julia to stand back up. "Sorry about that defeat. Is Saoirse okay?"

"She's fine," Julia told him reassuringly.

Even Ravenclaw couldn't help but feel a little guilty about having defeated someone as sweet as Saoirse in a battle. Ravenclaw flew over to the pink bulldog and cawed, "Murkrow kroww?"

Good thing Saoirse got her strength back, as she simply smiled and flashed a thumb's up. "Snubbull snub snubbull!" Ravenclaw smiled and returned to perching on Caiseal's shoulder, happy that the battle didn't completely knock the wind out of her. Still, the taste of victory was oh so delicious, especially after spending a long while at Caiseal's house.

"You guys are doing great," Perrine complimented as she set Baloo down to play with the other Pokemon. Ravenclaw and Saoirse wasted no time following their friend and engaging in play. "Hey Jule, you're so ready to battle Pryce. It's a shame he's not here, though."

"That's alright! I've done some research over the past week, and I think we have a good strategy for how we can beat him," Julia explained.

"I'm gonna go get some new shoes," Perrine showed her friends the brown shoes she had worn since she first met Julia. To say they were in tatters would be an understatement. The soles had grown completely grey from exposure to the elements. The front of Perrine's left shoe had a huge hole in it, resulting in her big toe sticking right out, even if it was covered by her white tights. Her right shoe still bore dirt and water marks, and one part of the soles had been ripped right off. "These have clearly seen better days."

"So true," Caiseal mused, looking down at his own sneakers. Similar to Perrine's, his white ones had turned greyish brown, also from exposure to the elements and the earth beneath his feet. But they weren't in terrible condition like Perrine's were. With that in mind, they let Perrine run to the local shoe store to get some new ones.

Although the autumn air around them was frigid and had an icy, biting taste to it, Caiseal and Julia found some time to buy jackets and dress warmly, and for the most part, it was still nice out, so it wasn't so bad. Caiseal sat down on a big tree stump to brush Mallow's hide. Julia was close by, keeping an eye on the Pokemon, making sure they weren't causing trouble or fighting amongst themselves. Being the restless girl she was, however, standing around in the cold was not something Julia liked doing, and the breeze's barbed caress was enough to make her wish she had stayed inside.

In that moment, she turned toward Caiseal, who gingerly brushed his bonekeeper friend's fur with a smile on his face. A memory popped right back into her head: When he and Perrine first visited her at the hospital, Caiseal had mentioned that his mother hated and abandoned him. He had let it slip out, and nobody dared to bring it up since then. But it had probed at Julia's mind for quite a while. That was when she realized she hardly knew anything about Caiseal. Well, she knew what he liked and didn't like, his overall personality, and that he had changed since they first met. His family life, on the other hand, was something he always seemed intent on keeping secret. Sure, she knew he had adoptive parents, which was good.

Spurred by an innate curiosity, Julia found herself walking toward the stump he sat on. As much as Julia wanted to respect his wishes and privacy, however, the thirst for knowledge seized her.

"Hey, Caiseal?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Ummm…" Julia found herself pausing as both Caiseal and Mallow turned her way. How could she ask it, and in a way that wouldn't make her come off as weird, intrusive, or creepy? She wished asking questions wouldn't be so hard. But she had to try. He knew her enough to know that she never meant any harm or had malicious intent for just about anything. Surely, he would understand. "Do you remember when you and Perrine first visited me in the hospital?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I…I…I know...you don't like talking about this, and I completely understand…" Already, Julia found herself shifting around, keeping her hands in a tight hold. "But...you had mentioned that your...your real mother...abandoned you. Is...is that true?"

It took only seconds for a dark look to come down on Caiseal's face. Not so dark that he looked dead serious, but enough to make Julia immediately regret asking it. Did she unknowingly push a button she shouldn't have? The last thing she wanted to do was make anyone mad, especially her friends. "S-S-Sorry! I just-"

"It's alright," Strangely, Caiseal's voice was calm. "I get it. You're just curious, right?"

"Marowak?" Mallow put in his two cents also.

"Yeah," Julia took in a deep breath before exhaling. Relax. Calm down. He understands. Steeling herself to go on, Julia continued. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I get it, and I know...I should always respect people's privacy and not pry into their lives, but...I just...I kind of want to understand you better. I mean...we are friends after all, and...I recently realized that even though we've been traveling together since we met at Goldenrod...I don't really know much of anything about you, but you know a lot about Perrine and I and where we came from."

Not once did Caiseal get angry, lose himself in his emotions, or interrupt Julia as she talked. He just kept a calm silence about him and listened as his shy friend expressed herself. In a way, she was right. He never told either girl about his life before meeting them. It wasn't their business, and all he wanted was to put it all behind him, never to take it back out again. Too bad once Julia battled Pryce, they'd have to go to Blackthorn City, his hometown. Plus, what good would it do for them to know about his past? They didn't know anything, and telling them wouldn't do anything in the long run.

"Marowak?" Mallow put a hand on Caiseal's, giving a reassuring nod, as if he was telling him it was okay to open up. She was his friend, and she only wanted to understand him better. Caiseal smiled, grateful for his faithful friend's reassurance. This gave him the nudge he needed to finally answer her.

"Yeah. It's true. Before I met you guys, my life...wasn't exactly ideal," Caiseal began. Julia sat down next to him, staying quiet so she could listen. "I don't feel like boring you with all the details. But...let's just say...my real mom...never liked me."

Julia cringed. She couldn't imagine a mother not loving her child. Growing up, her parents always showered her and Amara with all the love in the world. She remembered one time when an old lady was talking bad about her and Amara, and her mother told her off rather spectacularly. How old was she when that happened? Seven or eight? She wasn't sure. She made a mental note to ask Kassia about it later. Not only that, she had seen plenty of documentaries and movies about kids who didn't have ideal home lives. Chanel's own father frequently beat her. Good thing Kassia and Amara helped her out and called the police on him back then.

"My adoptive mother, Yvette, was actually my elementary school teacher," Caiseal explained. "She just seemed to know that something was up with me, and always treated me like I was her own…"

"That's nice," Julia piped in. "What's she like?"

Caiseal cracked a smile. "You'd like her. She's super nice. She loves Pokemon and taught me everything I know about them. She's more of a mother to me than my real one ever was. For one, she cared about whether I was happy, upset, or angry, and never acted like me or my feelings didn't matter, and she didn't treat me like-"

"Hm?"

"...like…" Caiseal suddenly found himself unable to continue. His voice steadily grew lower, but Julia's hypersensitive ears could still make out some words. One of them was, "...a monster."

"What?"

All of a sudden, Caiseal stood up. "You know what? Just forget it. This isn't worth it-"

Before he could finish, a loud, piercing scream pulled everyone out of their reveries. Off into the distance, Caiseal and Julia could make out a small figure and a light blue elephant shaped Pokemon running across a meadow. Upon closer inspection, it was a boy, and he was shouting, "Heeeeeelp! It's trying to kill meeeeeee!"

"Phanpyyyyyy!" The little light blue Pokemon raced to keep up, but its short legs could barely carry it any longer.

It didn't take much for them to figure out that the boy was in danger. But what was trying to kill him? The answer galloped right out of a thicket, in hot pursuit of the frightened child. A cream colored horse with dark, raging eyes and a flaming red mane and tail sprinted across the meadow, letting out harsh neighs as its hooves stomped the grass beneath it. Flaming red embers shot out from its mouth, almost hitting the boy, had he not managed to dodge them all in the nick of time.

"Hey! It's a Ponyta!" Caiseal exclaimed, pulling out his PokeDex.

" _Ponyta, the fire horse Pokemon._ _About an hour after birth, its fiery mane and tail grow out, giving it an impressive appearance._ _When it is first born, it is very weak, can barely stand, and cannot run. It gradually becomes faster and its legs grow stronger through chasing its parents and jumping over grass every day. Because it constantly trains by jumping over obstacles, it has become known as a world-class jumper, so much so that it can jump over the Kalos Prism Tower in a single leap, and its hooves are ten times harder than diamond, sturdy enough to absorb the impact of landing, and its body is light enough to withstand any fall. They can kick anything, and can trample over anything, making it flat in no time at all,"_ A female sign appeared in the corner of the screen.

Both trainers had seen Ponyta before. But never before had they seen one actually chase someone before, and looking like they were about to murder someone for that matter. This Ponyta kept on chasing the young boy with every ounce of strength its legs had in her. It didn't necessarily help that the Ponyta didn't even give the boy time to escape, let alone stop and take a break. All Julia and Caiseal knew was that the boy was in danger, and they needed to do something.

This Ponyta was intent to kill that boy by any means necessary.

Julia, Caiseal, and the Pokemon were in hot pursuit of the Ponyta. The first thing they needed to do was make sure it didn't hurt the boy. Could they distract it? They had many options, and if they went with that idea, the boy could stop and hide somewhere. But on impulse, Julia found herself pulling out one of the Luxury Balls she bought earlier in the month. Now proved to be a good time to use them. Without a word, she threw that black PokeBall at the Ponyta with a great throw. The ball bounced off of the fire horse's back, turning her into red light before sucking her right into the PokeBall.

"Whoa! Nice one!" For once, Caiseal was impressed. Finally, the boy and his Pokemon stopped to take a breath.

At first, she had no idea why she suddenly threw that Luxury Ball at Ponyta. Upon further reflection, maybe she figured that would be the fastest way to distract it. The Luxury Ball wobbled back and forth, back and forth. Caiseal ran over to the kid and his Phanpy, both of whom were on their knees, gasping for breath like they had been running a marathon.

"Hey there. Are you okay?" Caiseal asked.

"Yeah...I think...oh lord...everything hurts…" The boy, slightly younger than they, panted with every word he spoke. "Thanks...name's...Mikey…"

Just when relief was about to wash over little Mikey, the Luxury Ball was forced open, and a white light came spiraling out from the ball, materializing back into the Ponyta. Once the fire horse was out of the PokeBall, she turned right toward Julia, shooting a glare right in her direction. If looks could kill, Julia would certainly be dead upon seeing the sheer hate in the fire horse's eyes. How dare this random human attempt to capture it!

"Saoirse, use Headbutt!" Julia commanded.

"Snubbull!" Her original tiredness having faded, Saoirse raced toward the horse and rammed her head on Ponyta's body. She would have sent the horse rolling to the ground, had Ponyta not managed to dig her hooves into the ground and keep herself from falling over. All of a sudden, the horse let out a neigh before her body was suddenly trapped in a ball of fire. It didn't bother her one bit, and Ponyta charged right at the pink bulldog.

"Dodge and use Scary Face!"

Saoirse attempted to dodge, but the fire horse was just too fast. The Flame Wheel attack struck Saoirse once more, sending her flying. Julia quickly called the bulldog back to her PokeBall within seconds, not wanting to risk her friend getting hurt again.

"Come on!" Caiseal took Mikey by the arm and hoisted him up. "This way. It's safe here," He escorted the boy and his Phanpy away from the battle.

"Lucretia, use Shadow Ball!" Julia commanded again.

"Eevui!" The furry feline bounded down onto the scene, firing a black sphere of energy right at Ponyta. Even though the sphere exploded upon contact, the Ponyta was barely fazed. Before long, the enraged fire horse began stomping her hooves down onto the ground with clear intent on squashing Lucretia like a bug. Good thing Lucretia dodged every single Stomp attack, being the agile little feline that she was.

All of a sudden, the flaming mare's eyes began to glow in an eerie purple light. Then, with a mighty neigh, she stomped her hooves down into the ground and fired purple beams of light at Lucretia. "Eevui!" Lucretia did a quick backflip, dodging every attack the angry mare fired at her. But what was that attack?

"What the-?!" Even Caiseal and Mikey found themselves completely dumbfounded. Never before had they seen a Ponyta display that attack before. "What attack was that?!"

When in doubt, consult the PokeDex. Julia pulled hers out to check the Ponyta's attacks. "Flame Wheel, Stomp…" Her pupils shrunk upon reading the last two attacks. "Solarbeam?! And Hypnosis?!"

Caiseal heard her even though he was ten feet away. All the color seemed to seep out of his face. "It's kidding, right?!"

"Look out!" Mikey suddenly cried.

"Eevuuuuuuui!" One of Ponyta's hooves struck Lucretia across her abdomen, sending her to the ground. Not so hard that she broke any bones or was unable to battle, but both trainers could tell that this Ponyta was clearly out for blood.

"Don't give up, Lulu! Knock it out with Quick Attack!" Julia cried, hoping to get things back in her favor. Shaking off the pain of that Stomp, Lucretia's body glowed white as she sprinted toward the flaming mare. This time, she was the one that landed the hit. Ponyta fell to the ground, surprised at the mighty strength the tiny ball of fur suddenly displayed.

Julia pulled out another Luxury Ball and threw it right at the fallen mare. Caiseal's pupils shrunk as the red light pulled Ponyta into the ball. "Julia, are you crazy?! Don't try to catch it anymore! You'll get yourself hurt or even killed!" His fear was justified. Usually, Julia was a lot smarter than this. Maybe she had some kind of plan she didn't want to tell him about. Ignoring him, Julia crossed her fingers, watching the Luxury Ball wobble back and forth, the light on the ball blinking, until…

 _Crack!_ Went the capsule as it popped open once more, and Ponyta let out a piercing neigh upon its materialization. Thundering hooves crashed onto the ground, and the flames on her mane and back danced with rage, blazing so much that the air around it shimmered.

"Come on, Julia! Let's get out of here!" Caiseal screamed, wishing she'd listen to him this time. This Ponyta was out for blood.

Ignoring him, Julia kept her eyes focused on the mare. Something inside her was stirring, some kind of crazed energy that she was determined to let erupt. Seeing this Ponyta break out of the Luxury Ball twice told her that this flaming mare was quite strong. Stronger than any other Ponyta she had seen or met. Normally, she would be smart enough to know that she and most of her other Pokemon facing off against this fierce, dangerous Pokemon was not a favorable matchup.

Oddly enough, the vibe coming from this Ponyta did not deter her from catching it, nor was it bad. In fact, she found herself liking this horse's ferocity and obstinate personality. Plus, she realized she hadn't caught a fire type as of yet. Now was her chance to try and make a new friend.

"Eevui?" Lucretia got back on her feet, giving her trainer a grin full of courage, like she seemed to sense Julia's feelings. The Soothe Bell around her neck gave off a gentle ring.

"Think you can go on?"

"Vee!" Lucretia nodded.

Seeing that her opponents weren't going to give up, the Ponyta neighed once more, surrounding herself in flames. Lucretia's ears twitched as the ball of fire came charging right at her. On Julia's command, the evolution Pokemon leaped backward, firing a Shadow Ball right at Ponyta's face, managing to dispel the flames. All of a sudden, white rectangles of energy suddenly materialized, surrounding Lucretia before flying right onto Ponyta's body.

"Whoa! What was that attack?!" Julia yanked her PokeDex out for a third time, looking over Lucretia's attacks. One of them she didn't recognize. "...Trump Card?"

"Pikapi!" ( _"Now's your chance!"_ ) Hikaru suddenly piped in, pointing at both Lucretia and the flaming Ponyta.

Julia understood, nodding in Hikaru's direction before shouting, "Lucretia! Use Trump Card again!"

"Veeeee!" Once again, Lucretia fired shining, card-shaped rectangles at the Ponyta. The mare valiantly attempted another Flame Wheel, but she couldn't call forth her flames in time. Soon, she was on the ground.

"Luxury Ball, go! And catch her this time!" Julia threw yet another Luxury Ball, watching as Ponyta was sucked in a third time. Everyone held their breath, even Mikey, as they watched the ball wobble back and forth, with the light blinking.

Then... _click!_ The Luxury Ball became dormant, and the light stopped blinking. "Wow! You actually caught it!" Mikey shouted out of the blue, relieved that the mare would no longer pursue him.

"Eevui!" Lucretia came bounding down the meadow, snuggling up against Julia's leg as soon as her trainer picked up the ball.

"Good job, girl. You were awesome," Julia returned the gesture by stroking her furry friend's head.

Finally, Caiseal and Mikey breathed sighs of relief. "Thanks for saving me back there," Mikey told them. Once they were calm, the two older kids got a better look at Mikey. Sweat poured down his dark skin, dampening his bright red shirt, and his blue jean pants had brown muddy spots all over them. His bushy black hair also had a lot of grass and dirt in it.

"You're welcome!" Caiseal exclaimed. "What happened, anyway?"

Mikey scratched his bushy black hair, laughing ruefully. "It was kinda my fault. Phanpy and I were trying to catch a Pokemon we saw."

"Phanpy phan!" The light blue long nose Pokemon chirruped with a big smile.

"I was trying to get through a bush but I stepped on something hard, and it turned out to be that Ponyta's leg," He explained further. "I had no idea it was even there. Phanpy was no match for it, and it just kept chasing us and firing Ember at us like it wanted to turn us into roast beef!"

"Glad we found you when we did, then!" Julia piped in, looking down at the Luxury Ball in her hand, smiling proudly. She saved a kid from getting seriously hurt and made a new friend at the same time. Her heart grew warm, and the excitement still lingered. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Mikey looked all around himself. He could see a couple scabs on his elbows, but nothing that would require going to a hospital. "Doesn't look like it. Aww, I gotta go! My mom'll flip out if I'm not back by lunch! Thanks again!"

"Phanpyyy!" With that, little Mikey and his faithful Phanpy bounded away, racing toward town.

It was right then that he happened to run past a confused Perrine. "What was that all about? You make a new friend?" She asked as soon as she approached them.

The kids wasted no time telling her what happened. By the end, Perrine's mouth had fallen wide open. "WHAT?! You're kidding, right?! I leave to get new shoes for a few minutes and you almost get yourselves killed by a freaking Ponyta?!" Her shock was justified, though she sounded more worried and concerned than angry.

"Don't worry!" Julia exclaimed. "Everything worked out fine in the end! We saved that kid and I caught a new Pokemon!" She showed Perrine the Luxury Ball containing Ponyta. "Wanna see?"

Perrine raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You're still recovering from sending Geraldine away, and from what you've told me, it sounds like this Ponyta is pretty wild," By wild, she meant dangerous, explosive, and quick to attack. "Are you gonna be able to handle her?"

Julia grimaced. She hated being reminded of that. She knew Perrine was right, though. Geraldine and the memory of sending her away still weighed heavy on her mind. But this was not the time to wallow over her friend. She felt this would be a good way to move on. Plus, that man said that Luxury Balls make it easier for Pokemon and trainers to become friends. She had to take a chance, right?

"If I can't, then I can't," Julia answered. "But I want to see what she's like first. I don't want to give up before I even tried to connect with her. Go, Ponyta!" She threw the Luxury Ball into the air, releasing Ponyta from the capsule.

The first thing the mare did was neigh and shake her head upon being released from the ball. As soon as she laid eyes on the three children, two of which were the ones who tried to attack her with their Pokemon, she immediately glared and adopted a battle stance. All three of them shivered. They had never seen a Ponyta look so angry.

"It's okay! Don't be afraid!" Julia told her in a calm, dulcet voice. "We're not here to hurt you. We want to be friends with you," Julia didn't dare approach the flaming mare. Many Pokemon books she read told her that a Ponyta's mane was red hot, and if she touched them, she would suffer severe second or third degree burns. They wouldn't do so if they actually became friends, but Julia could tell that this mare didn't seem intent on becoming friends.

"Hreeeeee!" ( _"I have no intention of being friends with anyone, especially not you!"_ ) Ponyta let out a harsh, indignant neigh. She couldn't believe it. How could this weak little girl manage to capture her? But just because she did, Ponyta thought that didn't give this girl any right to just claim her as her own. As far as Ponyta knew, she was a free, feral Pokemon, and the last thing she wanted to do was obey a stupid human's orders.

"She...doesn't look too happy," Perrine mused.

Julia turned to face Perrine. "I can see that," Turning back to face the angry mare, Julia continued on. "I'm sorry for startling you back there...and for commanding my Pokemon to attack you. You were chasing that little boy. He didn't mean to step on your foot. It was an accident," She explained as calmly and coolly as possible.

Too bad the mare still wasn't convinced. "Hreeeeehhh!" ( _"Don't try to trick me! They all do that to me on purpose! You humans are always out to get me!"_ ) All of a sudden, she fired small red flames right at the kids. With a yelp, all three of them managed to leap out of the way, evading the tiny flames.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Perrine scolded, waving her fist up and down.

It was here that Caiseal finally saw it. "Whoa! Girls, look at that!" He pointed to one of Ponyta's legs.

The girls looked where he was pointing, and their mouths fell open. Ponyta's front right leg...was completely artificial. Gauze covered the mare's leg just above her knee, with a black metallic prosthesis covering what was left of it from the stump to just below the knee. Protruding from the bottom of the black splint was a silver metal rod with a flat, round circle at the end, serving as her hoof.

To say the kids were flabbergasted would be a colossal understatement. Julia and Caiseal, especially. This Ponyta, the same one who gave them and Mikey a hard time, broke out of a Luxury Ball twice, completely wiped the floor with some of Julia's Pokemon, and wouldn't give anyone a break with her wild temper and strong attacks, had a prosthetic leg. Yet, she went into battle, putting herself and her prosthetic leg in danger. Julia had never seen a Pokemon with a prosthetic limb before. She had heard some stories, like on the internet or on the news, but none of them said anything about a Ponyta having an artificial leg. That was almost unheard of.

Oddly enough, Julia found herself even more impressed upon learning this. Ponyta was strong, there was no denying that. But knowing that this Ponyta didn't let this handicap stop her from battling only made Julia see a different kind of strength in that flaming mare.

"Hrrrgh!" The Ponyta grunted before neighing once more. Julia translated it as, _"Of course you're looking at my leg. You humans are responsible for this!"_

"You...really don't like humans, do you?" Julia asked.

Ponyta gave her another glare that she could read as saying, _"Do you even need to ask?!"_

"Ponytaaaaaaa!" A female voice suddenly called out in the distance, echoing. Ponyta looked over her back, pointing her long face in the direction of the Pokemon Center. "Ponyta, where are you?!" Out came a Nurse Joy, dressed in her normal nurse attire. As soon as she turned around, Nurse Joy finally met eyes with the Ponyta. "Oh, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The kids could hear the relief and worry in her voice.

Wait a minute...did this Nurse Joy and Ponyta know each other?

Ponyta's face softened, but she didn't try to come close to Nurse Joy. All of a sudden, Nurse Joy turned around, meeting eyes with the three children. "Oh. I didn't see you three there," She mused. "Thanks for finding her for me."

The kids exchanged confused looks. How were they going to explain this to her?

Julia spoke. "...You know this Ponyta? Because...I caught her."

As with Perrine and Caiseal, Nurse Joy yelped, "What?! You did?!"

* * *

Since the Pokemon Center was close by, Nurse Joy decided to take the kids back there so they could explain everything in detail in a more private place. At first, Nurse Joy couldn't quite comprehend that a child caught one of the most stubborn and uncooperative Pokemon she had in her care. But seeing Julia put the fire horse in the Luxury Ball confirmed it, so she found herself able to accept it. She escorted them to a fenced off part of the Pokemon Center very few had access to.

A large piece of meadow was trapped within sturdy white picket fences, and Pokemon of all shapes and sizes frolicked to and fro. The kids were able to recognize many of them: Pikachu, Flaaffy, Phanpy, Chikorita, Houndour, Nidoran, Beedrill, Bellossom, Meowth, Marill, Pidgey, etc. There were also a few that the kids didn't recognize, such as a purplish pink flying scorpion that kept flying from tree to tree.

"What's this?" Perrine asked.

"This is where I place orphaned or abandoned Pokemon," Nurse Joy explained. "Pokemon Centers can also function as orphanages for Pokemon who were either abandoned by their trainers or unable to live out in the wild. This is where Ponyta is from."

"Wait, what?!" Julia suddenly yelped. She actually caught a Pokemon from Nurse Joy's makeshift orphanage. Something about it didn't make sense. "Does that mean...Ponyta is yours?!"

"No, not exactly," Nurse Joy clarified. "Even though these Pokemon are under my care, by law, they're technically classified as wild Pokemon, so trainers can still catch them."

Julia watched as the Pokemon played to their heart's content. She had no idea Ponyta lived here. Had she known, she might have considered taking her back. Then again, considering what happened, Ponyta might have either refused to go back or gave the kids a hard time in doing so. She could tell Nurse Joy knew the fire horse Pokemon better than she did, and perhaps she could provide some answers.

"So...what exactly happened?" Caiseal asked. "We saw her chasing this little kid like she wanted to murder him."

The kids explained what happened in detail, about how Mikey stepped on one of her good legs by accident, and how Ponyta construed the act as deliberate. They ended at the point where Julia managed to successfully catch her. Julia looked down at the Luxury Ball where Ponyta resided. Nurse Joy watched and listened with a solemn yet sympathetic expression. Julia kept her eyes focused on her round, dark pink hair, wondering how she could possibly keep those pigtails in a circular shape. She assumed that maybe she made hair bands that kept them perfectly in place.

"So that's what happened," Nurse Joy mused. "This morning, she had wandered off to do some training by herself. She must have gone past the fence."

They could feel Ponyta's heated, fierce gaze sizing them all up from a distance. They were sure they could feel flames heating them from the toes up the moment the fire horse turned her head in their direction. As Julia looked back, once again, she took notice of Ponyta's artificial limb. A perfect conversation starter.

"What happened to her leg?" Julia didn't mean to be rude when asking this. Innocent curiosity seized her, and a need to consume knowledge of the origins behind Ponyta's disability took hold before her subconscious could scold her otherwise.

Nurse Joy began the tale by explaining that at first, she had heard from her relatives that trainers they came across were being cruel to a Ponyta. The fire horse had been passed around from trainer to trainer, but none of them treated the horse kindly. It was all word of mouth, and Nurse Joy wasn't sure if their stories were true or not. Still, the stories always gnawed at her mind. One day, Nurse Joy found a Ponyta drenched in blood and near death, with her leg having almost been ripped off, hanging on by a stretch of skin. There had been reports of Ursaring attacks in the wild, and Nurse Joy was quick to take the mare to safety.

Unfortunately, even though Nurse Joy saved the horse from death, her leg was beyond help. It had become infected from days of a combination of exposure, blood loss, and other factors. It was shredded to the point that repair was absolutely impossible, so Nurse Joy had to amputate it. Her relatives told her to euthanize it, but Nurse Joy refused. Over the course of a few weeks, she saw that that stubborn Ponyta had a strong desire to survive. Ponyta would run around the meadow on three legs, managing to run despite stumbling along the way, always getting back on her hooves. Nothing would keep her down, not even wild Pokemon breaking into the premises and attacking them.

Eventually, Nurse Joy found someone who specialized in making prosthetic limbs, and paid them to make one for Ponyta. At first, the doctor was reluctant, as making an artificial leg for a Pokemon like Ponyta wasn't a common practice. But seeing the fire horse bleat and gallop and act as though the loss of a leg was merely a blight on her skin convinced him to go through with it. It wasn't without trial and error: Ponyta was, for the most part, uncooperative. She would sometimes fire Ember at anyone who attempted to so much as go near her, and would often kick and bite. They were lucky she didn't bite someone's fingers off or break a few bones with her hooves.

Still, they managed to get the prosthetic leg on her. Ponyta had adjusted to it rather quickly, like she had never lost a leg. But this gesture didn't endear her to humans much, even though she did eventually learn to let them take care of her, especially when it came to making sure she didn't get any infections on what was left of her leg.

"Oh wow. That's some story," Perrine mused once Nurse Joy finished.

Hearing Ponyta's tale of woe only deepened the girl's respect for the fire horse. Even though she was subjected to cruelty and lost a part of her, Ponyta was still so determined to live and be as strong as she could be. Julia respected that kind of determination, and in a way, a pang of envy shot through her. She wished she could be as strong, fierce, stubborn, brave, and determined as the fire horse. Even without her leg, she was still a Ponyta, through and through. The battle they had only cemented that fact.

But Ponyta's hatred of humans...that was another thing entirely.

' _What can I do?'_ Julia asked herself. Considering what happened to Ponyta, she had every right to hate humans. Who wouldn't hate people after going through what she did? But she caught Ponyta before learning this piece of information. She could plainly see that Ponyta had no desire to interact with any human. How could she possibly be friends with her.

Or maybe...they were not meant to be friends?

Julia shook her head. _'No! I'm sure she just needs to be shown a little kindness. Maybe she'll understand in due time!'_ Julia told herself. She had seen her mother tame even wild beasts like Ursaring and Pinsir. Julia herself managed to bond with a Gyarados. It didn't quite work out, but surely it could work with a Ponyta, right?

The kids decided to hang out at the Pokemon Center for the time being. Their Pokemon needed some TLC. Julia and her Pokemon stayed in the fenced off area, watching the orphaned Pokemon frolic and play...but her eyes still fixated on the lonely mare, who stood by herself, grazing and chomping on grass. A flame burned in Julia's heart. Mustering her courage, she walked right up to the fire horse.

"Umm...hello!" Julia greeted her warmly. Ponyta looked up, giving her a heated glare that made her freeze in place.

"Pfffft!" Ponyta neighed. Julia translated it as, _"What do you want, human? Can't you see I'm replenishing my strength?!"_

"I...I'm sorry to bother you…"

" _Well, you ARE bothering me!"_ Ponyta neighed in a harsh tone. Julia could feel the metaphorical arrow pierce right through her heart. Wow, this Ponyta was harsh. A little too harsh. Julia figured Ponyta's experiences hardened her and she felt the need to become harsh and volatile just to survive.

Still, she felt like she needed to reach out. Somehow. "Nurse Joy told me about what happened to you."

"Pfffft!" ( _"I figured. She always does that. Why bother? There's no point in constantly bringing it up."_ )

"Those people who caught you before...they had no right to treat you the way they did. You deserve better than that," Julia told the mare, her heart aching from recalling Nurse Joy's story of her past.

For a brief moment, Ponyta fell silent, turning her attention to this girl. She was downright speechless. No human had ever said that to her, and in such a kind tone and manner, for that matter. Could this girl be...different? She shook her head. No. It had to be a trick, she convinced herself. For all she knew, this girl might be planning something devious, like using her for her own ends. She was not going to be used by anyone. Not anymore.

"Pffffft!" ( _"Yeah. I don't deserve that. Isn't it obvious?"_ )

"Ummm...I brought some food for you!" Julia rummaged through her bag to pull out some Pokemon treats she had bought. "They're really good! Would you like some?"

Ponyta's immediate response was to shoot an ember at her. With a yelp, Julia leaped out of the way by two feet, and the flame disappeared in the air. "Hey!" Julia screamed once she comprehended what happened. "I was just trying to be nice!"

" _No you weren't!"_ Ponyta neighed indignantly. _"You're trying to poison me with that crap, aren't you?! You humans always put weird stuff in food to make me do your bidding!"_

As hurt as she was about the mare constantly comparing her to Pokemon abusers, she didn't want to let her emotions get the better of her. If she did something stupid, everything would be ruined. "This isn't poisoned. I don't even know how to poison stuff, and it's not right to put weird stuff in food. Even I know that." She answered.

"Eevui!" Lucretia picked a piece of food out of Julia's hand and threw it in her mouth. She flashed a big smile the moment she swallowed it. Ponyta raised an eyebrow, giving the evolution Pokemon a quizzical look. Her poison theory was immediately debunked.

"I'll just leave this here for you," Julia slowly crouched down to place the food in front of her. "Feel free to have some if you're hungry. I'll...see you later," She figured Ponyta needed her space, so the girl left with her Pokemon by her side. She decided against putting her back in the Luxury Ball. Something inside her told her that Ponyta might not want to spend time with her at the moment, that she needed time to adjust to her new situation.

However, the mare saw this situation differently. Just because that human caught her, in Ponyta's mind, that didn't give her any right to claim Ponyta as her own. As far as Ponyta was concerned, she was her own horse with her own dreams and ambitions. No way was she going to let yet another stupid human use, abuse, and break her for their own convenience and amusement. There was no room for making friends in her heart. She had hardened it long ago.

But even hardened hearts, trapped in ice, can thaw with enough warmth.

Julia and her friends stayed at the Pokemon Center sometimes, or would camp out when needed, over the next couple weeks. However, Julia always visited the fenced off area where the orphaned Pokemon played, always coming to visit Ponyta. Sure, Ponyta was legally hers, and she could easily force her back into the Luxury Ball, but Julia wanted to respect the horse's wishes. One of them, however, would completely throw her a curveball.

About fifteen days after Julia caught Ponyta, the former had visited her first thing in the morning, once again. The moment Ponyta saw the girl come through the gate, she groaned to herself. Why did this girl keep visiting her? Ponyta was sure the girl only had malice and ulterior motive swirling in her heart. In all her life, no humans ever wanted anything to do with her unless they were using her for their own ends. What was this girl trying to pull? Ponyta had enough. She was going to set the girl straight and finally stand on her own four feet. No more horsing around.

"Hi there!" Once again, Julia greeted the horse warmly. "I bought this stuff called PokePuffs," She opened a grey box, revealing six round treats in varying colors. "My PokeDex says you like spicy stuff, so they're all perfectly hot and spicy."

"Hreeeeh!" Ponyta neighed, once again indignantly, getting the girl's attention. Julia closed the box, seeing that the horse was in no mood for food. Her smile faded instantly.

The mare tapped the ground beneath her with one hoof. _"I am going to explain three simple things to you,"_ Ponyta whinnied, tapping the ground once more. _"One: I refuse to be friends with you. I know what you humans are like. You put up these elaborate facades and then turn vicious and cruel when we Pokemon don't listen to you. I'm not falling for it,"_ After that, she tapped the ground twice. _"Two: You may have caught me, but you have no right to call yourself my trainer. I don't intend to listen to a word you say to me. I'm solely using you to make myself stronger. There will be no relationship between us but that."_

Everything seemed to stop the moment Julia heard that. She knew Ponyta was stubborn and cynical, considering her past, but...using her? Using a trainer for her own ends? Assuming the absolute worst in her without even getting to know her? Julia couldn't believe it. She had met people who had done these things. None of the Pokemon she met were like this. No Pokemon she ever met hated humans so much that they'd use them for their own purposes. To say it completely destroyed her view of Pokemon would be an understatement.

By Arceus, she had spent most of her life with Pokemon because most people she met couldn't or didn't want to understand her. How could Pokemon be the same way?

" _And three, most importantly of all,"_ Ponyta whinnied, striking the ground with her hoof three times. _"I. Don't. Like. You."_

Julia gnashed her teeth. She had heard enough. She yanked out the Luxury Ball and recalled Ponyta without a word. Her heart had been shattered once again, and by a Pokemon, no less, the being that she always loved, relied on, and worshipped with her heart, soul, and life. Immediately, Geraldine flashed through her mind again. How was she doing now? Was she happy? Was she doing well? Julia didn't know. She couldn't handle her.

Already, she was regretting having caught Ponyta.

"Hey, Jule!" Caiseal bounded to where she was. "The PokeCenter has a basketball court! Perrine and I are gonna shoot some hoops in there. Do you want to join us?"

His voice had come so suddenly that Julia yelped, jumping backward just a bit. Caiseal's merry smile immediately morphed into a surprise frown. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"No no. It's okay," Julia apologized sheepishly, her cheeks turning red from the cold. "And no thanks. I kind of want some time to myself for a while."

Caiseal raised an eyebrow. That was new. Usually, Julia would never let go of an opportunity to hang out with him and Perrine, especially now that he and Julia were getting along so well now. But he figured she had her reasons and didn't want to press further. He just smiled and said, "Sure. That's fine. If anything's bothering you, don't be afraid to tell me or Perrine about it. Okay?"

"Sure. Thanks."

With that, Caiseal left the girl alone. Julia looked down at the Luxury Ball in her hands, wondering and agonizing over what to do.

* * *

It was a tough decision, but one that Julia managed to come to rather quickly. When the sun began to slowly set, painting the sky with a beautiful orange hue, Julia returned to the spot where she had first met Ponyta, still holding the ball in her hands. She looked down, ruminating. All she ever wanted in life were true friends. Friends who would understand her, play with her, hang out with her, listen to her, comfort her when she was sad, celebrate when she was happy, and never ignore her, be mean to her, tell her to shut up, etc. Pokemon had fulfilled those wishes tenfold, but meeting Perrine and Caiseal only multiplied them.

Ponyta was nothing like that. Just from a few short days, Julia learned that Ponyta absolutely hated humans, and refused to be friends with her. That was fine. But...Ponyta's second decree was the thing that really made her blood boil. Julia had been used by many people. Mrs. Amoretto used her as a scapegoat for her anger and scoldings because she couldn't handle her nor understand her. The bullies she met in fourth and fifth grade used her to make themselves feel superior or make Julia feel as though she was a terrible person for not being like them, as most bullies usually did. Now the fire horse she caught wanted to use her for her own ends.

She couldn't forgive that. At the same time, however, she wanted to respect Ponyta's wishes. If she hated humans, then why force her to travel with a human? Plus, should she try to, she was sure Ponyta would lash out in ways that she wouldn't be able to handle on her own.

She already made that mistake with Geraldine. No way was she going to go through that again. For both her sake and Ponyta's. A good trainer would respect her Pokemon's wishes and do what's best for them.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex, pressing some buttons.

" _Do you wish to release this Pokemon?"_ The PokeDex asked in a robotic voice. Before it could elaborate, Julia pressed a large button. The Luxury Ball in her hand glowed in a faint blue light for just a brief moment. _"This Pokemon is no longer registered in your name."_

In that instant, Julia let Ponyta out. Instead of a white light coming out of the ball, a blue light had appeared before materializing into Ponyta. As soon as the mare turned to face the human behind her, she immediately noticed the extremely dark look on the human's face. It was enough to render her speechless. Dark, yet vulnerable, like she was trying really hard to keep herself from crying.

"Ponyta...I'm sorry I caught you," Julia began, her small voice trembling. "I didn't realize you hated humans until recently, so...you're free now. I'm no longer your trainer."

Did she hear that right? For a moment, Ponyta thought her ears were playing tricks on her. Could this be another facade or a trick? It had to be. But somehow...something inside her told her what Julia was saying was genuine. Not only that, no longer did she feel bound to this human. It was like...she had been freed.

She continued on. "You made it very clear that you hate humans, so I won't force you to come along with me. That would be cruel. But...I want you to know…" Ponyta could hear the girl's voice trembling louder. "Not all humans are cruel. All I wanted was to be your friend and shower you with love, something I'm sure your other trainers didn't give you."

This new bit of information did nothing to assuage the surprise that completely overtook the mare. Stunned, incredulous silence came right along with it. She was right. The other trainers who caught her didn't show her any love or affection. They all wanted to use her either as a scapegoat or just something they could show off to their friends, like some kind of museum exhibit.

"I also want you to know this!" Julia suddenly exclaimed, her once small voice rising an octave. "All I want are true friends! I cannot accept your rules, and I refuse to be involved in a fake friendship all based on lies and hatred and...and disrespect! Like you, I don't want to be used by other people for their own personal gain!" Tears surfaced.

Finally, she took a breath and calmed down. "Sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. Basically, you're free now. I'm sorry for not respecting your wishes and decisions. I hope that...you live a happy life. But...Nurse Joy cares for you. She really does. It's okay to hate humans, me, life, or whatever, she's done a lot for you. Will you at least...be good to her? If she didn't care for you, she wouldn't have helped you the way she did."

Ponyta could barely neigh. She made a good point.

"So...goodbye!" With that, Julia ran from the clearing, leaving the still stunned Ponyta all alone.

* * *

 **Man, I haven't updated for a long time. I feel kinda bad for leaving you all in the dust like that. I was originally intending to post this on my birthday (June 25th. I'm 23 now, though I think I'm still going on 12 in my mind…), but lack of motivation and inspiration stopped me from doing so. Also...three words: Story of Seasons. I freaking love this game. Where has Harvest Moon been all my life?!**

 **And...this chapter got long, so expect another 0.5 chapter soon. Hopefully the next update won't take nearly as long...but that'll depend on whether my body wants to write or not. Sorry, guys! I know you're eagerly waiting for the battle with Pryce, but it'll come soon! Promise!**

 **By the way, has anyone seen the new Sun and Moon Pokemon yet?! I absolutely adore Cutiefly and Togedemaru! But man, coming up with nicknames for them is hard!**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Anticipation**

 **Attacks: Quick Attack, Trump Card, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Sting, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Perrine's Part y** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Bounce, Giga Drain, Fairy Wind, and Energy Ball**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Cotton Guard, Power Gem, Signal Beam**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Dark Pulse, and Roost**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**


	45. The Lighting of Friendship's Fire

Chapter 37.5: The Lighting of Friendship's Fire

A black shadow darted across thickets and meadows blanketed by the night. Umbreon's pitch black fur blended in with the darkness around it, save for the yellow circles on his body. They glowed in a faint light, so anyone who saw them would think he was a monster and run away in fear. Good. That was exactly what he wanted. Evolution truly had its benefits.

Night was nothing but gentle mercy for him. All the nights he had to spend with that Amara human were pure torture. Now, he no longer had to listen to her whining and yelling, witness her beating the other Pokemon over the slightest provocation, or even be subject to them himself. Everything around him was silent. Some Ledyba flew across the sky, migrating to their sleeping quarters. The red eyes of Hoothoot could be seen from atop various tree branches, glowing. Grass rustling underneath his paws.

Perfect. Just the way he liked it. Now he could sleep in peace. Umbreon dug a hole in a nearby thicket, marveling at the spaciousness of it all. No thicket he ever saw was this perfect. However, sleep would not come easily to the moonlight Pokemon. Images of an Eevee flashed through his mind.

The same Eevee he left with that young human girl in Ecruteak City.

' _Eevee...dear friend…'_ He found himself more worried than he'd like to admit. ' _I sincerely hope you're doing well…'_ If he found that the human treated his friend the same way Amara treated him, he would be sure to make them his first kill. Humans could hurt him all they wanted for all he cared. But his friend? That would be a crime in which there would be no room for any kind of clemency or forgiveness.

No way would he let his friend receive that kind of treatment. She was always so fragile, so sweet and innocent. Incapable of any wrongdoing in his eyes. She was like his sister to him. No, they weren't siblings, but they had grown up together as friends, and he had always looked out for her. To think they were brother and sister wouldn't be such an uncommon thought.

Once again, sleep evaded him. "Goodness...I wonder if some Pokemon switched my ability to Insomnia or something…" He mused to himself jokingly, making light of his inability to fall asleep.

Then, his long ears suddenly twitched. A patch of grass nearby rustled in a whispery but erratic rhythm. Umbreon stood on all fours, up and alert, his long ears flying upward. What was that? Perhaps an enemy? Immediately, Umbreon leaped out of the thicket, taking on a guarded battle stance.

"Hey! Do you really think it's a good idea to find Pokemon this late in the night?" The voice of a young human boy asked. Umbreon could hear the subtle fear in his voice.

"Quit being such a baby! All the coolest Pokemon usually come out at night, so suck it up!" Another boy scolded rather harshly.

Umbreon rolled his eyes. Oh great. More humans. Just what he needed. Then again...perhaps a battle would help tire him out enough to make him sleep. That didn't sound like a bad idea in his mind. Nimbly and quickly, Umbreon leaped out from the thicket, with the yellow circles on his body glowing. He greeted the two humanoid silhouettes with a hiss. The darkness of the night obscured their bodies, making them resemble moving shadows. Being nocturnal, Umbreon could see that they were children, just a little taller than he.

"Umbreon!" He hissed.

"Whoa! It's an Umbreon!" The first boy exclaimed.

"No way! Awesome! I am SO catching it!" The second boy pulled out a PokeBall without hesitation. "Told you we'd find a cool Pokemon at night! Go, Yanma!"

A small red dragonfly with clear wings and large, green, goggle-like skin surrounding its eyes materialized from the PokeBall. "Yaaaan yaaaan yan yan!" The Yanma buzzed, its wings fluttering at a million miles per second.

"Breee!" ( _"A weakling. This'll be easy."_ ) Umbreon mused to himself. He had battled plenty of Yanma before this. All of them he managed to defeat without trouble.

"Use Signal Beam!"

"Yayaaaaan!" A blue and red beam of light shot out from Yanma's large eyes, heading right toward Umbreon. Being the agile feline that he was, Umbreon managed to dodge every attack without difficulty. It helped that he could see his enemies in the dark, and even if he didn't, his long ears could make out the whirring of Yanma's wings.

"Breoooon!" Umbreon spat out a black sphere, sending it right at the dragonfly. Like him, Yanma was also agile and dodged it without difficulty simply by flying upward.

"Come on, Yanma! Use Supersonic!" The boy commanded.

"Yaaaaaaan!" A loud screech echoed throughout the forest. Umbreon was quick to cover his ears with his paws. Even so, the piercing wails still wracked at his ear drums. Gradually, his mind grew disoriented, and his vision began to blur.

"Alright!"

"Come on, Robby. Let's get outta here."

"No way! I'm catching it and that's final!" The boy named Robby snapped. "Yanma, knock it out with-"

Another screech. Umbreon intended to shoot another Shadow Ball attack. Instead, a series of black and purple circles suddenly shot out from his mouth, striking the red dragonfly before Robby could give an attack order. Yanma fell to the ground, the whirring of his wings having ceased, and his tiny body weakened from the force of the attack.

"Yanma! Get up, come on! Yanma!" Robby pleaded.

"Let's go! It's too strong for us!" The other boy begged.

"No way, Gavin!" Robby snapped once more. "We can still catch it!"

But even Robby could feel fear and frustration making his skin itch. Umbreon stood over the now immobile Yanma, his red eyes glowing eerily. The sight of the dark figure sent shivers down the spines of both boys. Robby did manage to find it in him to call Yanma back to his PokeBall.

"Let's get outta heeeere!" Gavin cried. With that, both boys found themselves sprinting away from the meadow with their non-existent tails between their legs. All Umbreon did was sigh.

"Umbreon…" His long ears drooped downward. He had wanted to battle with them some more. Gradually, the temporary confusion that plagued his mind finally faded. However, his mind was still fuzzy, and he found himself unable to keep his eyes open. Returning to the thicket, he plopped right down, like all the energy had been sapped right out of him. Finally, unable to resist the alluring embrace of sleep, his eyes closed, and his mind made its way to dreamland.

* * *

Sleep evaded Ponyta at every turn. Every time she would even try to sleep, it wouldn't come. She would toss and turn, the grass scratching her fiery back, but her body refused to just go to dreamland with her. All she could think about was Julia. Or rather, the fact that Julia released her and set her free. She had been released before, and none of it bothered her much. This time, it was different.

Of all the trainers Ponyta had been captured by, this strange girl, Julia, was different from the rest. Not once did she expect Ponyta to do things she didn't want to, nor did she order her around or make her into some machine whose only purpose was to obey orders, nothing more. Julia never hit her, demeaned her, forced her to obey her, or made Ponyta feel as though she was merely an object to satisfy someone at their amusement or convenience. But that wasn't what surprised her beyond her wildest dreams.

All of her life, Ponyta had known hardship. She never chose that kind of life, nor the trainers who captured her. Years of being used and abused by humans made Ponyta harden her heart to everything and everyone. If they weren't going to treat her like she was a Pokemon with hopes, dreams, fears, and strengths, only as an object or a scapegoat to be used, then why should she treat humans the same way? If that was how they would treat her, then why not try to use them? That was what Ponyta had wanted to do for a long time. Use their tricks and tactics against them. After all, in her mind, they were the enemy. All she wanted to do was survive and be strong.

That was it. What surprised Ponyta was that Julia...respected her decisions. She realized that Ponyta hated humans and released her, knowing that forcing her to be with a human wouldn't benefit the fire horse. Ponyta couldn't believe she had met such a human. A human who treated her and her choices like they mattered. Better yet...Julia treated Ponyta like an individual, and not once did she try to force her agenda on her.

Ponyta could see that she was genuine the moment Julia released her.

" _All I want are true friends! I refuse to be involved in a fake friendship all based on lies and hatred and...and disrespect! Like you, I don't want to be used by other people for their own personal gain!"_

Julia's statement echoed throughout Ponyta's mind. Like a broken record player, she couldn't turn it off. They just kept playing in her head. She had convinced herself that all humans were the enemy. But...was it possible? Were there good humans out there? Sure, she knew Nurse Joy was kind, but Ponyta didn't bond with her. She was too focused on getting stronger to really notice her. Julia...she acknowledged Ponyta's individuality and didn't see it as a flaw to be fixed.

The thought of that made Ponyta feel like she wanted to cry. How she had yearned to meet someone like that! Now she had. For a brief moment, Ponyta wondered if maybe the girl was right. Maybe there are nice humans in the world. Still, she couldn't just blindly put her guard down. For all she knew, they could easily change into someone completely different at any moment.

Still, hope had come into her heart. Something she had given up on long ago.

Her small ears caught the sound of nearby laughter. She trotted into some bushes, sticking her head out the other side. There was Julia, sitting on the grass, watching her Pokemon frolic and run all over the place. In her hand was a sketchbook, and Julia was drawing in it with a mechanical pencil. Ponyta found herself creeping closer, taking note of the PokePuffs from yesterday sitting by Julia's feet. One of them still exuded the singy scent of spice.

On impulse, Ponyta found herself walking closer. Her hooves crunched the grass beneath her, and the sound was subtle, but still loud enough for Julia to turn around. Upon seeing the horse, Julia gasped.

"Whoa! What are you...doing here…?"

All Ponyta did was look at her. Julia's mind was overwhelmed with questions. What was Ponyta doing here? Shouldn't she be running free, happy to be released from a trainer's PokeBall? Why did she come back? Then she looked down at the PokePuffs, and the realization struck like lightning.

"You want one of these?"

Ponyta nodded. Julia simply held the PokePuff out. The fire horse took care to use her teeth to take it out, making sure she didn't bite Julia's hand or fingers off. Julia smiled.

"You like it?"

The fire horse nodded.

"That's good. Umm...can I ask what you're doing here? You said you don't like humans."

At first, there was no response. In a way, Ponyta still felt conflicted about opening her heart to her. But she had to try. Hope won over doubt, and Ponyta winnied. _"I don't like them. But...you've shown me that you're different from the ones I dealt with. You...respected my decisions. Why did you do that?"_ It was her turn to ask a question this time.

And it was Julia's turn to answer. "Because everyone around me taught me that all Pokemon deserve to be treated with love, affection, and respect. They're living creatures too, with feelings, hopes, dreams, strengths, weaknesses…" Julia answered loftily. "They can feel and hurt and be happy and get angry...just like humans do. I believe it with my whole heart, since I can understand what Pokemon are saying and other people can't."

Understand what Pokemon were saying? Ponyta hadn't noticed. It gradually dawned on her that Julia did understand what she said all throughout the little time they spent together. She was honestly surprised that she never noticed before. Then again, she barely noticed because she was too busy shutting them out and refusing to even try to let them near her.

"I know you don't like humans, so I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to," Julia explained. "Besides, I know you have your reasons for not liking humans and for why you're the way you are. I don't want to make you feel bad for being you."

For the very first time, Ponyta smiled and whinnied, _"Thank you...for your understanding. Can I...hang out with you? Just for a while?"_

Julia smiled again. "Anytime."

Right after that, Saoirse came bounding in front of the two, holding a small bundle of blue and yellow flowers. Without hesitation, Saoirse pulled a yellow flower out of the makeshift bouquet and held it right in front of Ponyta. Both Julia and Ponyta found themselves bewildered. Sure, Julia knew Saoirse was sweet and kind, but going up to random Pokemon and handing them flowers? That was a new one.

"Snubbull snubbull," ( _"You can eat this if you want."_ ) Saoirse told her.

So the flower was for eating, Julia remembered. That made sense. Ponyta usually grazed and ate plants or other shrubbery. Ponyta lowered her head, sniffing the flower with her large muzzle before taking it into her mouth. Julia smiled once more, and so did Saoirse. Perhaps Ponyta hadn't completely hardened her heart after all.

Even so, Julia still kept her distance. As happy as she was about Ponyta slowly opening up, that didn't mean the mare would want to go with her. Julia thanked her lucky stars that she showed enough restraint to refrain from both touching her fiery mane and giving her a name. It just didn't feel right to give a name to a Pokemon who made it clear that she didn't want to associate with humans in any way. By the time she thought that, Hikaru and Saoirse were riding on Ponyta's back, and the latter carried them around, walking slowly to make sure they didn't fall.

Hikaru and Saoirse were laughing. Ponyta's mane didn't burn them one bit.

Perrine happened to stop by at that moment, finding herself flabbergasted at the sight.

"Uhh...Jule? Are you seeing this?"

"Yep. I'm just as surprised as you are."

Surprised, but oddly enough, happy. Perrine could see the very subtle joy on Julia's face as she watched Ponyta engage in play with the other Pokemon. She still couldn't believe that this was the same Ponyta that was out for their blood just the day before. For now, everything was fine, so Perrine just left it at that.

With every day that passed, Ponyta's shell would chip off piece by piece. Two days afterward, Ponyta allowed Julia to stroke her cream colored fur. Just a little bit, though. After a third day, Ponyta would share meals with her. On the fourth day, she even let Perrine and Caiseal get close. Both were still somewhat guarded, Perrine and Caiseal especially. They didn't dare touch her, but held their hands out enough to let her sniff them. Gradually, Ponyta's senses told her that these humans had no malice in their hearts.

Deep in her heart, however, she hoped all this was a dream. A cruel dream that was intent to show her fake beauty before sweeping it right out from underneath her, unveiling a nightmare. With every day that passed, she hoped and hoped that she would wake up from this dream already. It had to be a dream, or an elaborate illusion at best.

She would soon learn that it wouldn't be an illusion or a dream.

* * *

The day had passed once more. When the morning blue was welcoming the first twilight, Ponyta was already up. Ponyta had always woken up before the sun would, and she did what she always did: go to the meadow, graze for a bit, then train all by herself. She ran across the meadow in circles multiple times, gaining speed with every circle she made, her hooves and artificial leg growing stronger with every beat they made on the ground. Then, she would find nearby rocks or trees and ram her legs into them. Back legs or front, she would pound on them until they were either knocked down or completely blown to smithereens.

At one point, after much kicking with her back legs, Ponyta smashed one particularly large rock, with remnants and fragments scattering all around her. No rock was hard enough for Ponyta to not be able to smash through. When she turned around, facing the defeated boulder, she smiled with pride. Truly, she was growing stronger by the day. Then again, that was what she wanted: to be strong, so no one could take advantage of her. She was done being used and abused by others.

"Whew! That was a good workout," Ponyta found herself falling to the ground, tucking her legs underneath herself. Her body was tired, but she still yearned to do more. She wished there were some other Pokemon around to battle with. She had battled with Pokemon at the orphanage multiple times, but they were easy to defeat, and others outright refused to battle. That was alright, though. She didn't mind. She preferred having a challenge anyway.

All of a sudden, the subtle rustling of grass leaves caught Ponyta's ears. Immediately, she stood back on her hooves, adopting a battle stance. Out from a thicket came a Pokemon she hadn't seen before. A black one just smaller than she, with long ears, red eyes, and yellow rings on its body. As soon as their eyes met, the black feline held his tail up.

"Who are you?" The moonlight Pokemon hissed.

"Just a Pokemon who loves battling and getting stronger," Ponyta answered. "You seem strong. Want to battle?"

Umbreon smirked, already liking the idea. "Think you can defeat me?"

Ponyta didn't even answer. She was already charging at him, firing several Ember attacks at him. Umbreon leaped into the air before using Iron Tail on the embers, knocking them all into nothing. Soon, he slammed his steely tail onto Ponyta's side. The force of the attack wasn't enough to even so much as make Ponyta budge. Once Umbreon leaped to a safe distance, Ponyta charged at him again before jumping high in the air. Umbreon rolled out of the way before her hooves dredged right into the ground.

Right then, Umbreon fired a stream of black rings. Ponyta attempted to dodge, but the black rings struck her on her side, temporarily sending her sprawling to the ground. Years of training, battling, and subjecting herself to harsh brawls helped strengthen herself, so even though she reeled from the pain, she got back on her hooves right away. With a hoarse whinny, Ponyta encased herself in fire as she sprinted right toward the moonlight Pokemon. Like before, Umbreon leaped out of the way, evading the flaming attack every chance he got.

"Stay still!" Ponyta whinnied, growing more frustrated by the second.

"You're not fast enough!" Umbreon taunted her by waggling his butt and tail, daring her to try and attack him.

Of course, being the hot tempered mare she was, she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. The flames on her mane and tail danced as she fired more Ember attacks at the Umbreon. Instead of dodging them, Umbreon fired black rings at them, holding off the attacks. The two found themselves locked in battle for quite a while, with dodging and jumping and attacking non-stop.

'This Umbreon's strong!' Ponyta thought to herself. He kept using the same attack over and over again. Finally, Ponyta saw an opening. His tail wasn't guarded. Ponyta leaped over the unassuming Pokemon and fired an Ember on his tail.

"Breeeeee!" Umbreon howled when the flames singed the very tip of his tail. Blowing on it didn't work, but it also left him wide open for attack. This was Ponyta's chance. Finally, she fired another Ember attack. The tiny flames flew right in Umbreon's direction…

Only Umbreon's long ears twitched, alerting him to the incoming flames. Putting his pain aside, Umbreon leaped out of the way.

The flames landed on some bushes, right in front of a large tree. Gradually, they grew larger, consuming the bushes at an alarming rate. Before Ponyta could process what was going on, the flames were climbing up the tree, intent on swallowing it whole. Already, clouds of black and grey smoke billowed right out of it. Even Umbreon found himself speechless, watching the flames grow.

But Umbreon didn't waste any time bolting away from the scene. At this point, Ponyta didn't care about him. One of her attacks caused a fire, and if left unchecked, it could destroy everything! She couldn't let that happen. With a desperate whinny, she stomped on the source of the fire with both of her front legs, even her prosthetic one. Of course, that didn't work. Good thing Nurse Joy made her artificial leg resistant to attacks. She turned around and began kicking dirt onto the flames. That didn't work either.

Anxiety grew exponentially. This was all her fault, she thought. What could she do? At this rate, people could get hurt or even die. Already, wild Pokemon were running past her. Small bird Pokemon flew away from the trees in packs, ascending into the sky, safe from any harm. Ponyta silently chastised herself from letting this happen, and for not being able to do anything about it.

Wait a minute...the kids! They could help! Ponyta could hear their voices coming from nearby. The fire horse galloped away from the burning tree, her hooves generating loud thuds with every step. Once the kids were in her sight, Ponyta whinnied as loud as she could, loud enough to get anyone's attention, galloping in their direction.

"Whoa!" Perrine backed up the moment the mare suddenly appeared before them. "What the heck?! You almost ran into us!"

"Hreeeeh! Hreeeehhh!" Ponyta neighed in a hoarse voice.

"What?!" Julia heard everything the mare said. "Guys! Ponyta says there's a fire!"

"Look!" Caiseal pointed to a cloud of smoke that was billowing into the sky. The kids ran to the scene. The fire made the air around it simmer, and the kids couldn't get close, as the heat was far too oppressive for them to go near the tree.

"I'll go get help!" Perrine turned around and made a beeline for the Pokemon Center.

"Go, Flippy!" Caiseal called his Quagsire out for assistance. "Use Water Gun on that fire!"

Flippy fired a blast of water at the blaze without hesitation. Julia called Lucretia, Rina, and Saoirse out, and they contributed via using their legs to kick the dirt into the raging fire. Ponyta did the same. Caiseal sent Mallow out as well, and he carried clumps of mud and threw them into the blaze. Gradually, the smoke began to die out, but the fire, although subdued, was still blazing. The flames danced wildly, even as some of them were being blown into oxygen thanks to Flippy's Water Gun attack.

"Everyone!" Nurse Joy and Perrine both came bounding down the meadow, accompanied by some water-type Pokemon like Marill, Wooper, Slowpoke, and Krabby.

"Chirin, come on out and use Cotton Spore!" Perrine called her fluffy friend out of his PokeBall.

"Flaaffy!" Chirin bellowed as he called forth a myriad of cotton balls, throwing them on top of the fire.

"Everyone, Water Gun and BubbleBeam!" Nurse Joy pointed to the fire, and all of the water Pokemon she had with her fired a barrage of water and bubbles at the blaze.

Gradually, the flames finally died down. Thanks to the combined efforts of the kids and some of Nurse Joy's Pokemon, the flames ceased. Nobody was seriously hurt, and all that was left was a dead tree painted black from being burned and charred. However, instead of feeling proud, Ponyta found herself completely consumed by guilt. Step by step, she inched herself away from the happy group, her eyes clouded with upcoming tears.

Shame, frustration, and guilt overwhelmed her. The fire was her fault, and people and Pokemon could have died because of her. That was not what she wanted at all. Voices from the past echoed in her mind. Angry voices, scolding her for either doing something she shouldn't have, or not doing what they asked.

" _We lost because of you!"_

" _You're pathetic!"_

" _First you're defective and now you almost try to get me killed?! What's wrong with you?!"_

Emotional wounds resurfaced. Already, she could picture cruel scenarios playing in her mind. Julia and the others hating her, casting her away, thinking her to be a terrible Pokemon, claiming she set the fire on purpose to hurt them. She had been hurt before. This, on the other hand, was a pain too great to handle. She actually wanted to be friends with them. But she completely ruined it. Tears instantly formed. With a soft whinny, Ponyta galloped deep into the forest.

"Ponyta?" Julia's hypersensitive ears heard the thundering hooves, turning in their direction. A white and red blur made a beeline for the woods, disappearing in the sea of trees. "Hey, wait!" It was Julia's turn to run into the forest. "Ponyta, come back!"

"Julia, wait!" Nurse Joy tried to call her back. The girl didn't hear or pay any heed, as she was already in the woods by the time Nurse Joy could notice she had run off. Perrine and Caiseal exchanged confused glances.

"What just happened?" Caiseal asked.

"I have no idea," Nurse Joy replied. "This is the first time I've seen Ponyta do this."

Perrine gazed at the sea of trees. "I'm sure they'll work things out. Let's give them some space."

* * *

Huge leaves, large and thick, formed a warm, protective barrier around the forest, blocking off most of the sunlight. The forest was dim, but not so dark that people and Pokemon couldn't trek through it. Sunny spots danced across the grass and the dirt, like they were fairies having a fun dance party. It was the perfect environment for forest Pokemon to gather. Pidgey liked to make their nests here, and Rattata and Nidoran hid in the tall grass, their ears and eyes ready for action, should any intruders come. Mareep and Flaaffy hid in large thickets, curled up in balls, happy to be in their homes.

Ponyta found a gathering of bushes and threw herself into them, falling flat on her stomach like she was taking cover. Covering her face with her legs, Ponyta wheezed and sobbed, letting the tears flow and drop onto the grass beneath her. Guilt, shame, and frustration weighed down on her like someone had put a pile of bricks on her. All strength in her legs was gone at this point. All she could do now was cry, and cry she did. Wheezing and neighing, Ponyta didn't move an inch.

She couldn't believe things had gone so terribly wrong, all because she wanted to battle some stupid Umbreon. Finally, she thought she had finally managed to push back some of her hatred for humans. She had actually wanted to bond with Julia. What would she even say if she found out that Ponyta caused the fire? Would she believe her? Blame her for it? Abandon her? Or would she call her defective and pathetic, like others did? Or would she mistreat her? Ponyta buried her face in her front legs even deeper. Of all things, Ponyta did not want to feel like she was nothing but a pathetic, defective horse. She wanted to be strong. Stronger than any other Pokemon in the world. She would never be called weak again.

Before, she was proud to have survived up to this point. Now, she wished she could die from embarrassment. All the hope she had disappeared just like that.

"Ponyta?"

There it was, Julia's sweet, concerned voice. Ponyta didn't even move. She could feel the girl's presence, and Julia was right behind her. Ponyta's flaming tail stuck out from the bushes, making it easy to find her. Already, Ponyta was humiliated beyond help.

"Hreeeeh!" ( _"Just yell at me already!"_ ) Ponyta neighed. It was so despondent, Julia could hear her heart break. _"I know you think I'm pathetic and defective and a murderous monster, so just get it over with!"_ Never before had she cared about what others thought about her. Even Ponyta knew this was very unlike her. But as of now, what she felt didn't matter.

She could see it coming. Would there be a slap? Or maybe some kicking or punching? Yelling? Ponyta braced herself for impact.

Instead, slender fingers gently stroke her cream colored back.

"Can you...tell me what happened?"

Ponyta's head shot up. What? What was this? She expected to see Julia's face become the picture of rage, or at the very least a disapproving gaze, only she was met with...a kind, soft, sympathetic smile? Ponyta found herself speechless. Outright flabbergasted.

"I won't get mad. I promise," Julia told the mare reassuringly.

Was she dreaming? Ponyta used her artificial leg to poke her regular one. No, she wasn't dreaming. In fact, if this were a dream, Ponyta didn't want to wake up. She mustered her courage and told Julia everything, how she battled a wild Umbreon and accidentally set a tree on fire. She tried to put it out, but nothing worked. Not once did Julia turn volatile, interrupt her, or make any attempt to let Ponyta know that she didn't care. In fact, Julia listened attentively, and seemed interested, too.

What Julia said and did next would absolutely throw Ponyta for a loop.

Julia stroke Ponyta's ear and said, "I'm glad you're not hurt. It's okay."

Never before had the fire horse ever heard anything so heavenly. It was like music to her flat ears. None of the humans who owned her before Nurse Joy had ever been so kind and understanding. Before, Ponyta kept her heart hard and cold as ice just so she could just survive. That way, any tragedy that might have happened wouldn't make her sad or emotional. Now, everything had become melted and soft the moment Julia said those angelic words. Tears sprung forth once more, but this time, they were tears of joy. With yet another whinny, Ponyta buried her face into Julia's chest, crying into her shirt. Julia almost jumped a little, flabbergasted by the drastic change in this normally sullen and moody Ponyta's demeanor.

Something else caught her eye as well.

One of her hands was on Ponyta's flaming mane.

It didn't burn or feel hot. Her mane was soft and warm, and her hand and arm didn't sustain any third degree burns.

All of that told her one thing: Ponyta accepted her.

With a warm smile spreading across her face, Julia wrapped her other arm around the wailing horse, stroking her fur and mane gently. She hoped this would tell Ponyta that everything would be alright. The two of them stayed there for what seemed to be a few minutes. Ponyta had to admit, being embraced by this trainer felt good in a way she had never experienced before. The girl's hands and arms were so warm, gentle, and kind. She wondered if she had made a mistake in hardening her heart to the rest of the world around her. Shutting her out certainly didn't work. She wondered where this girl had been all her life.

"Eevui!" Lucretia came bounding into the thicket, interrupting the moment. Nobody minded, of course. "Eevee?" The furry friend looked up at her trainer with concerned eyes.

"It's okay, Lulu! Everything's fine!" Julia extended an arm out, allowing the fluffy feline to leap right into it. Relieved that they were both alright, Lucretia nuzzled herself against both Julia's chest and Ponyta's nose. Her fur was warm to the touch, and although it tickled Ponyta's nose, the horse didn't mind.

Julia looked down at the mare. "Do you want to come out with us, Ponyta? I'm sure Nurse Joy will understand if we tell her what happened."

The mare's shame, guilt, and remorse had completely dissipated by this point, so she simply nodded in agreement. With that, they left the thicket. Caiseal, Perrine, and Nurse Joy came bounding into the woods. Once caught up, Julia took the time to explain what happened.

"I see. I had no idea," Nurse Joy exhaled a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you all managed to put it out, and no one was hurt, so everything's fine for now," She shot a sympathetic look at Ponyta. "I know it was an accident, but do try to be careful next time. I won't deny that you can be rather brash and reckless."

Ponyta didn't deny anything. She just silently accepted the responsibility with grace. No hoarse whinnying, neighing, kicking, or spitting, like she normally did. The fact that they were being so nice and civil about it was what convinced Ponyta to concede defeat, and for once, she didn't mind.

Everyone found themselves in good spirits. The fire was put out, no one was hurt, and Ponyta was okay. However, Lucretia caught the subtle whiff of a familiar scent. What was it? It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. But she definitely knew it from somewhere. But where? She lowered herself to the ground, her tiny black nose wrinkling with every whiff.

Perrine looked down, noticing the Eevee's tail wagging. "Hey, Lulu? What's up?"

The kids immediately turned around to face Lucretia afterward. What was Lucretia doing? Did she smell something?

"Eevui!" On impulse, Lucretia suddenly bounded deeper into the woods, leaving Ponyta and the other humans behind.

"Hey! Lucretia! What the-?!" Julia's mouth formed an O shape, and her green eyes were wide with confusion. What was Lucretia doing, and where was she going? All she heard her say was, _"It's close!"_ but that provided no answers or context for her friend's behavior. The desire to go after her friend and make sure she was safe seized her. "Wait up!"

The others got the message, and followed Julia without another word. Lucretia was already far ahead of them, running as fast as her tiny feet could carry her. With every step she took, the scent that assailed her nostrils grew stronger. Once she leaped over a big log without difficulty, the aroma made an image appear in her mind. Another Eevee, just like her.

Was it...her friend?

She hadn't seen him in months, not since Ecruteak. Thoughts of her dear friend hardly ever left her mind. As much as she loved and appreciated Julia's kindness, she still missed her friend dearly, often wondering if he was dead or alive. Now, this scent was proof that he was alive. Lucretia wouldn't mistake it for anything else. She moved like her body had a mind of its own, and she was completely at it's mercy. She didn't mind. In fact, she wanted so badly to find the source of the aroma.

It had to be him. It just had to be.

"Lucretia! Don't go too far!" Her long ears caught wind of Julia's worried voice. Not even that stopped her from going deeper into the forest. "Wild Pokemon might attack you!" Once again, Lucretia paid her trainer no heed.

It didn't take long for Lucretia to stop in her tracks as her large eyes fixated upon a black figure with yellow rings on its body. She stood still as a statue, as did it. Finally, Julia and the others caught up with her. All four of them stopped to catch their breath, their legs burning from doing so much running, their lungs and throats dry from inhaling and exhaling so much air.

"Lulu, don't just wander off like that-" An attempt to scold her little friend was immediately ceased when Julia saw what Lucretia was staring at.

"An Umbreon!" Caiseal exclaimed, forgetting to lower his voice.

His shouting awoke the Umbreon from its slumber. It's red eyes gazed upon the humans. Humans automatically registered as danger in its mind. Entering fight mode, the Umbreon's back arched upward, his ears folding back, and he let out an angry hiss. Before anyone could do anything, Umbreon suddenly turned white and rammed himself right onto Caiseal.

"Owwww!" Caiseal fell to the ground upon impact. Umbreon did a backflip, returning to his sleeping quarters. But it wasn't the attack or the fall that injured Caiseal. A strange, acidic, burning sensation coursed throughout his abdomen.

"Cash!" Perrine was quick to pull him back up. Her blue eyes widened with fright when she looked down. The bottom of Caiseal's shirt was corroding, being eaten up by some kind of strange purple liquid.

"Oh my God!" Caiseal shrieked. "What's happening?!"

Nurse Joy immediately yanked his shirt off, preventing the strange substance from making contact with the rest of Caiseal's body. Umbreon's tail began to shine in a bright silver light. Julia froze. He was readying an Iron Tail. She had seen other Pokemon use it on TV before.

"Eeveeeeee!" Lucretia shrieked loud enough to make everyone freeze in place.

Umbreon's tail stopped shining, and his body relaxed. His red eyes fixated on the fluffy feline standing before him. So innocent and vulnerable. Just like his friend.

Wait…

He looked up at the kids. Julia in particular. It hit him right then and there. She was the girl he entrusted his friend to.

And here she was, standing before him, and said Eevee was right in front of him!

"...Umbreon?" A smile replaced the guarded frown he had displayed earlier.

Lucretia's eyes sparkled. No wonder she recognized the scent so well. It was her friend. True, he was an Eevee when he left, but here he was, evolved into a strong Umbreon, just like he wanted. She wanted to burst into song. More than that, she was just plain overjoyed.

"Vuuuuiiiii!" Her joy completely bubbled over as she ran over to the once fearsome Umbreon. Once their fur made contact, Lucretia wasted no time nuzzling in her friend's pitch black fur.

"Lulu! He sweats poison!" Julia warned aloud. After seeing what Umbreon just did to Caiseal, of course she'd be worried about her friend. Upon closer inspection, she was sure she could see hearts fluttering from her fluffy friend. Lucretia squealed and mewed happily, nuzzling her older friend like he had come back from the dead. No pain, and no poisonous sweat, either. All worry left Julia's being, and her frown flipped into a smile.

"Eeveeee." ( _"I missed you."_ )

"Umbreon." ( _"Me too."_ )

Like with her trainer, all worries and feelings of guilt were completely gone the moment Lucretia nuzzled Umbreon's fur. Her friend was back, and was alive and well! To think she had been scared that he might have gotten seriously hurt or died. Now, Lucretia felt as though she were the happiest Eevee alive. She had a trainer, great friends, saw many new things, and now her friend was back. She knew she wasn't dreaming, and even if this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

The Soothe Bell around her neck gave a soft, gentle ring.

In her happiness, Lucretia let out a chirrup before she was suddenly enveloped by a harsh white light. It was so blinding that even Umbreon had to back away. Gradually, Lucretia changed shape and grew taller. Her fluffy tail suddenly turned very thin, splitting into two at the end. Her long ears became fuller, with extra tufts of fur popping out from underneath. Her legs grew longer, more slender. Soon after, the light faded, revealing a lavender colored mammalian creature, with long ears, gentle, violet eyes, a sleek body, and a small red orb resting on her forehead.

Even Lucretia seemed to be in awe of her transformation. She looked down, seeing not brown paws, but long, graceful, purple legs. "...Espeon?"

The kids and Nurse Joy were all smiles, their mouths wide open in awe.

"Lucretia! You evolved!" Julia clapped her hands once. Her hands stung, but she didn't mind. Her joy trumped any subtle pain.

The psychic Pokemon looked closer at her body. Her forked tail, her long legs, her sleek body...the moment she turned to face Umbreon, she saw something she never thought she'd see on his face: a smile. Umbreon gazed upon his newly reborn friend with a look of pride.

"Umbreon umbreon." ( _"You look absolutely stunning."_ )

"Peoooon!" It was as though Lucretia was on cloud nine. With a loud but joyful mew, Lucretia began hopping all over the place, celebrating her new transformation.

"Man, that is so cool!" Caiseal exclaimed.

"I know, right?" Perrine pulled out her PokeDex.

" _Espeon, the sun Pokemon,"_ The PokeDex began.

Sun Pokemon? Julia winced at the classification. Espeon was not a sun. A sun was a big ball of fire that shined in the sky, millions of miles from Earth. Espeon looked absolutely nothing like that. Julia wondered why the PokeDex didn't call it the psychic cat Pokemon, or even just the psychic Pokemon. The PokeDex continued on. _"_ _Espeon are able to read air currents allowing it to predict the future as well as its opponents' next moves using the fine hairs on its body and its forked tail, which quivers when predicting an enemy's movements. Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm. Its fur has the look and feel of velvet, and it's so sensitive that it can even sense minute shifts in the air and predict the weather. The orb on its forehead glows when it uses its psychic powers."_

"Good job, girl!" Julia wrapped her arms around the sun Pokemon. "You look amazing!"

"Espeon espee!" The purple feline nuzzled her trainer's fur. The Soothe Bell she was wearing hung off of her slender neck, bordering on almost falling right off. The two girls were just too overjoyed to notice anything. Not even Ponyta gently rubbing her nose against Julia's back.

"Hreeeeh!" It took a loud whinny to pull Julia and Lucretia back down to Earth.

"What is it?"

Ponyta neighed. "What?!" Julia yelped. "That's the Umbreon you said you battled earlier?!" Everyone's mouths fell open once more, this time with utter disbelief.

"Peon?"

After that shock, Nurse Joy took the kids Pokemon Center to get a change of clothes for Caiseal and other medical items. Umbreon went along with them, feeling guilty about everything. Lucretia wasted no time palavering on about her adventures with Julia since Ecruteak. The kids could plainly see that Umbreon attentively listened without a word. It was clear to everyone that he was just as overjoyed to not only see his friend again, but to witness her evolution. Once Nurse Joy finished tending to Caiseal's mild burns, she gave him a plain grey shirt to wear, since his old one had been completely eaten up by Umbreon's poisonous sweat. Thankfully, Caiseal himself wasn't poisoned, as his shirt was thick enough to prevent the poison from doing much damage to his skin.

"Umbreon?" The black feline approached Julia at one point, when the kids sat on a bench in front of the Pokemon Center. Julia looked down at Lucretia's friend, looking somewhat confused.

"What is it?"

"Bree umbreon bree," He told her. Julia understood everything he said, translating it as, _"Thank you for taking good care of her."_

She smiled once more. "You're welcome."

"Espeon!" Lucretia bounded over to her friend once more, nuzzling him again. Umbreon relished in the warmth and comfort his friend showered him. It was so heavenly.

"So...what are you doing here?" Julia asked. "Last I checked, you left when we saw you in Ecruteak City."

"Umbreon," The black feline nodded before telling his story.

After their encounter in Ecruteak, Umbreon had traveled throughout most of Johto on his own. He wanted to become stronger. At one point, he was in Cianwood City before he was captured by Amara. He could already tell she was not a human he was going to like, but after months of being subject to her abuse, he wasn't going to take it anymore. He broke the PokeBall she used to catch him and left.

Another shock. "Amara caught you?!" Julia yelped again.

Umbreon nodded grimly. Memories of the girl came rushing back, and he had tried so hard to put her behind him, too.

"Man, your sister really gets around," Perrine mused. "How has she even managed to avoid the police all this time? She's not much older than you, right?"

"Yeah, really," Caiseal agreed. How a thirteen year old managed to go this long without being found was beyond them. No one could come up with a plausible answer. But they knew this much for sure: Amara was still out there. Julia was sure her parents were still searching for her, so worried sick that if worry was a sickness, they might have died from it already.

On the bright side, Umbreon seemed okay, and he didn't look hurt, so Julia was happy he managed to get away from her. Lucretia got to reunite with him, so they were happy. At least...until later that evening, just as the sky turned orange and pink.

"What?!" Julia cried. "You're leaving?!"

"Espeon!" Lucretia pleaded.

Umbreon stood on a dirt path, facing the woods with a solemn but determined expression. He and Lucretia began palavering in their Pokemon language. The more the sun Pokemon heard, the more tears sprang forth.

"What are they saying?" Caiseal asked.

Julia translated.

" _Why are you leaving?! We just met again! You can come with us!"_

" _I have no desire to be with humans. I want to get stronger on my own. But thank you for your kindness. Seeing that you are well is good enough for me."_

The sun Pokemon held her head down, avoiding eye contact. She had just reunited with him moments ago, and now he was leaving again. A new kind of sadness seized her. How could Umbreon do this? She knew he was always very independent and strong willed, always wanting to do things himself. But this was too sudden. There was so much more she wanted to tell him about. So many stories she wanted to share. It was all too much.

"Peon…" All she could do was mew sadly. She knew no amount of begging or pleading would convince him to stay. Once he set his mind to something, he would never go back on it.

Seeing her despair, Umbreon licked the fur on her head gently. _"You'll be fine. I know you will. You've grown up so much, and you've gotten stronger."_

Even in the midst of her despair, Lucretia still cracked a smile. He was right. She had gotten stronger, and it was thanks to Julia and her friends. If she hadn't met them...well, she didn't want to think about such awful thoughts. With a final goodbye, Umbreon leaped into the woods, disappearing into an ocean of bushes and thickets.

Julia kneeled down next to her friend, gently stroking her back. "Don't worry, Lulu. We'll see him again."

The sun Pokemon nodded in agreement as she wiped some tears away with one hand. "Espeon."

But there was one other Pokemon who was still with them. One that Julia and the other kids never expected to still be with them after all this time. Ponyta stood behind them with a soft gaze, like she was waiting for something. Julia knew what it was.

"Ponyta...would you like to come with us?" Julia asked in a soft voice. "I want you to have a choice. We'd love it if you came with us, but we'll understand if you don't want to."

Ponyta thought long and hard about it. These past few days with the kids were nothing like the fire horse had experience. All she had known were hatred and cruelty since her early years. Julia had shown her kindness, discipline, and friendship. True, Ponyta knew she wasn't going to completely get over her hatred of humans that easily. Emotional wounds like that didn't just heal within a day. But...Julia might just be the end to that seemingly never ending cycle of cruelty and woe that was her life before Nurse Joy's intervention. Not only that, Julia generally had no obligation or reason to be nice to her, but treated her kindly anyway.

That was more than enough to make this decision easy as pie.

The fire horse gave a subtle nod before gesturing toward one of Julia's Luxury Balls. With her artificial leg, no less.

Julia pulled it out. "You're absolutely positively sure?"

The fire horse nodded vigorously.

"Awesome! I hope we can be great friends!" Julia cried jubilantly. "Hey! Would you like a name?"

A name? Ponyta cocked her head to one side. Then she remembered Julia referred to her other Pokemon by names. The Pikachu was Hikaru, and her Espeon was Lucretia. No other Pokemon she knew were referred to that way. But in a way, Ponyta found herself endeared to the idea. She could have a new name and start a brand new life. With a new name, should she become famous, she would be the most well known Ponyta in the world. She wanted to become stronger. Maybe having a new name would help her reach that goal.

Having made her decision, Ponyta nodded a third time.

"I know the perfect name for you: Twilight!"

Caiseal and Perrine turned to face their friend. "...Twilight?"

"Yeah! Like the sky right now!"

She was right. The sky above them was a beautiful ocean of deep blue, with the horizon welcoming a blaze of vermilion orange and rose pink hues. In that sunset, Ponyta's mane could look orange, even a little bit pink or red if one looked hard enough.

Twilight...the name sounded elegant but strong. Like a passionately burning flame. Ponyta liked it. "Hreeeh!" This time, she voiced her pleasure with a happy whinny.

"Welcome to the team, Twilight!" With that, Julia gently tapped Twilight's nose with the Luxury Ball. The capsule opened once Twilight morphed into red light, sucking her right in. This time, Twilight didn't resist. She looked forward to what the future would hold for her.

But most of all, she prayed with all her heart that this experience would be a good one.

* * *

 **Alrighty! Chapter 37.5 is FINALLY done! Next chapter will be the long awaited Julia vs Pryce gym battle! Thanks for being so patient with stupid little me and my unpredictable update times, awesome readers. I can only hope that I'm not addicted to Harvest Moon and can actually bang out some chapters, because I am going to finish this story no matter what!...though I have five sequels planned for it.**

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Espeon, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Magic Bounce  
**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Trump Card, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks:** Double Kick, Poison Jab, Peck, and Horn Attack

 **Twilight (Ponyta, Female, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Solar Beam, Hypnosis, and Stomp**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Bounce, Giga Drain, Fairy Wind, and Energy Ball**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Cotton Guard, Power Gem, Signal Beam**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Dark Pulse, and Roost**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**


	46. Bonus 2: How Perrine Met Baloo

Bonus Chapter 2: How Perrine Met Baloo

The dying days of the last winter draped across Goldenrod City in a vivid splash of colors. A spectrum of bright vermilion orange and rose pink, standing out among a completely midnight blue sky, the coming of a brand new morning. Truly, the colorful skies were a marvelous sight to behold. Spring was just around the corner, anxiously waiting for the last of winter to finally leave and get it's long overdue rest.

Then again, the metropolis witnessing the beautiful birth of a new morning wasn't named Goldenrod City for nothing. Skyscrapers reaching far into the sky, almost touching the heavens, reflected the vermilion sunrise, becoming huge rectangles of shining golden luster. The radio tower stood the tallest among all the infrastructures, as if to boast that it was closer to heaven than the rest of the buildings below. Yellow brick ground and stone pavements lined the city, worn and torn from myriads of people stepping over them. If seen from above, many of the houses would look as though they were squished together, their gold and silver roofings coming together to create a mosaic.

None of that mattered to Perrine Innocenti, however. Today was her big day. The day she intended to leave that mansion and become what she always wanted to be: a Pokemon trainer.

Before the sun could fully bask Goldenrod City in its golden luster, Perrine was already dressed, with some of her wavy orange hair tied back with a black ribbon. A long sleeved white shirt, a long brown skirt, and a maroon vest weren't typical Pokemon trainer clothes, but at this point, Perrine had no time to doubt her clothing choices. With a Vulpix by her side, the two of them walked down to the lowest level of the mansion, the basement.

It wasn't anything particularly noteworthy in Perrine's eyes. The left wing of the basement was an entertainment room with a big TV, soft leather couches, plenty of DVDs and movies to watch, a black and white piano small enough for Perrine to use, among other odds and ends. The right wing was where the laundry room was, along with a small, private bathroom hardly anyone used and a small room where various gardening tools were stored. Just past that room was a door that led right into the backyard.

Perrine made a beeline for the door, undoing both locks before pushing it right out. The morning sky was like a piercing flash, making Perrine squint in the darkness as she stumbled right out. One of her shoes got caught on the concrete porch and came right off.

"Whoa!"

"Vulpix!" Kitsune cried before taking the shoe into her mouth. Once Perrine stopped, on one foot no less, the fox Pokemon scurried over to her trainer.

"Thanks, Kitsune," With a smile, she took the shoe and put it back on before closing the door behind her. "Let's not waste any time."

Kitsune understood, nodding in agreement. "Vul!" With that, Perrine and Kitsune ran from the Innocenti mansion.

It wouldn't be easy leaving Goldenrod City. The town was a modern metropolis painted in gold, and by morning, there would be a steady flow of crowds and people filling the city's channels. Enough to make Perrine blend in with the crowd, but it would hinder her chances of leaving the city before the end of the day. When the crowds would get big, there would be so little space to matriculate through that Perrine would end up being stuck in a sea of people before she even had a Haunter of a chance of getting to her intended destination. She didn't mind, though. She had intended to go to the department store anyway.

"Alright, Kitsune," Perrine and her fox friend stopped in front of the store as she put on a round hat to hide her hair. "We need to go inside and get some things, because it'll take us a long while to get to New Bark Town, and we'll need to be prepared," Perrine found herself reciting the required items out loud, counting them on her fingers. "Let's see, we'll need...a sleeping bag, some Pokemon food for you, food for me that won't rot, repels, potions, we don't need towels, soap, or shampoo since I already have them with me...gauze, band-aids, antidotes for in case one of us gets poisoned, full heals...did I even bring enough money for those?"

"Vulpix vul!" Kitsune reminded her.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm rich and here I am worrying about money," Perrine pulled out a navy blue wallet with leather shuriken sewn into it. "Good. I have enough."

Perrine wasted no time trying to get everything she needed. She was gonna go in there, get what she needed, and get out. No dawdling. If she so much as lingered even for a moment, her parents might notice she was missing and send the police out to find her. Some items were easy to find, such as antidotes, full heals, Pokemon food, repels, and potions. Others such as food that didn't rot weren't exactly easy to find, and being an eleven year old girl, Perrine wasn't exactly sure which foods would rot and which ones didn't. But for now, she simply grabbed a box of crackers, fruit cups, cereal bars, applesauce, some bottles of water, and anything that didn't need to be cooked or microwaved.

Kitsune stayed by her side the whole time, never straying, even as a steady trickle of people began to fill the department store. But being outside of her PokeBall did cause people to look in Kitsune's direction. As Perrine paid for all of the items she bought, people of all ages stopped to look at the Vulpix. A rare sight in Goldenrod City, as Vulpix were usually seen living near flower meadows or volcanoes. One little girl's eyes glimmered right as she laid eyes on the fox Pokemon.

"Look, Mama!" The girl with the black braids pointed her index finger at Kitsune. "Izzat a Vulpix?"

The girl's voice was so loud that it caused Perrine to turn around in alarm. But the older girl's shoulders relaxed when she saw it was just a child that made the noise. Kitsune simply smiled in her sweet manner, shaking her curling tails.

"Can I pet it, Mama? Can I pet it please?" The little girl begged, tugging on her mother's jeans.

"Let's ask first, sweetie," Her mother advised.

Good point. Since Vulpix are fire types, it would be easy to accidentally make it angry and spit fire. Thankfully, Perrine knew from experience that Kitsune wouldn't frighten easily or attack someone. Perrine told the girl, "You can pet her. She loves attention. But just be gentle, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Vulpix!" Kitsune sat down, her tails resting on the cold, hard floor as the girl stroke the tuft of fur on her head. Soft to the touch, and perfectly plush, too. Kitsune's smile grew, and the little girl giggled as she stroke the fox's fur. Not only that, at one point, Kitsune crept closer to give the girl a kiss on the cheek.

"She really likes you," Perrine said.

"Thank you, big trainer!" The little girl chirruped before she and her mother went to another part of the store. "Bye bye, pretty Vulpix!"

Perrine waved right back, but her smile curled into a frown the moment the girl was out of sight. _'I can't draw so much attention,'_ She scolded herself for letting her guard down. She and Kitsune needed to leave, and right now.

By the time Perrine left the department store, the sun was already high in the sky, shining her light down on the golden metropolis. Since said metropolis was so huge, it took almost three whole hours for Perrine to get to Route 34 on foot. Once she got there, her feet were throbbing, like they had turned to human hearts that were pumping too much blood.

"Ugh...I need to sit down right now…" Perrine croaked, panting with every step, her body becoming heavy. All the walking had gradually sapped the energy out of her. Then again, Perrine had never walked so far or so long, and since she never felt the need to do so before, of course she would get tired. Any child would.

"Vul vul!" Kitsune cried, pointing her nose upward. Perrine looked up, seeing a large path before her surrounded by meadows of tall grass that stretched onto the horizon. But right nearby was a big, wooden bench, worn and faded from years of having travelers use it. Perfect.

Using the last of her energy, Perrine made a beeline for the bench and plopped-not sat, plopped-right down. Kitsune hopped right next to her. "Finally...we can sit for a while…"

"Vul? Vulpix?"

Perrine could see the concern on her fox friend's face. Touched, the orange haired girl stroke Kitsune's fur with one hand. "It's okay, girl. I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while. We humans aren't like you Pokemon. You can probably walk much farther than I can, and I'll bet you don't tire that easily, either," She pulled her rucksack out. "Alright, I'm starving. Are you?"

"Vulpix!" Kitsune's stomach let out a roar, begging for food, as did Perrine. Neither of them paid much mind, as the girl pulled some Pokemon food out for Kitsune, and some water, a fruit cup, some applesauce, and granola bars for herself. She found time to buy plastic utensils before they left, so Perrine was proud that she managed to prepare for this.

They were just outside the city, and for all Perrine knew, her parents might have figured out she was missing by now. She kept her hat on, just in case anyone who could recognize her wouldn't be able to make her out. As much as she wanted to sit back and relax, she knew she couldn't stay here for very long. At the same time, she wasn't sure what would be ahead. Sure, she knew she had to go through Ilex Forest, Azalea Town, Union Cave, Violet City, and Cherrygrove to get to New Bark Town, but Arceus only knew how long that would take. Plus, for all she knew, the Pokemon she might encounter might be strong. Perrine and Kitsune both needed to grow as both Pokemon and trainer.

Kitsune did need battle experience, and sitting around at home was of no help. Maybe this could work.

"Rattata!" All of a sudden, a purple and white rat with large red eyes suddenly leaped out from the tall grass. Baring its fangs, the rat Pokemon sent a deadly glare in Kitsune's way. Undeterred, the fox Pokemon simply adopted her own battle stance.

Seeing this, Perrine leaped off the bench once she finished her granola bar. "Kitsune, use Ember!" She pointed right at the Rattata with her index finger.

"Vuuuul!" With a howl, the fox Pokemon spat out a barrage of tiny red flames. The purple and white rat Pokemon made a dash for the grass, managing to evade the attacks.

"Don't let it get away! Use Quick Attack!"

Kitsune's body became engulfed with white light as she made a beeline for Rattata. Interestingly enough, Rattata also dashed out from the grass, also glowing in a harsh white light. The two of them found themselves headbutting each other. Neither force was stronger than the other, so the small, quadrupled Pokemon were even in strength. But the minute Kitsune landed back on the ground, Rattata charged at her, baring its fangs. Before she could even try to dodge, Rattata suddenly leaped on her and dredged its large fangs onto her abdomen.

The helpless fox Pokemon let out a piercing, agonizing screech that would make anyone cover their ears. It certainly made Perrine cover hers. Kitsune howled and struggled, flailing her legs in all directions. None of them came close to forcing the rat Pokemon off of her, and it didn't help that the rat's sharp teeth seemed to dig deeper into her fur. It was like Rattata had hooked itself onto her, refusing to let her go.

' _Oh no! What do I do?!'_ Perrine panicked. She had no idea Rattata could be so persistent and volatile. Kitsune just kept on howling and roaring in pain.

Roaring...Roar...that's it! Perrine snapped her fingers. "Use Roar!"

"VUUUUUL!" With every ounce of strength she had, Kitsune let out a screech stronger than ever before. It made Rattata leap off of her in alarm, it was so startled. So startled, in fact, that it stumbled backward and tripped on its tail. Kitsune got back on her feet, barely noticing the blood trickling from her fur.

"Now use Ember again!"

"Piiiiix!" Once again, Kitsune sent balls of fire in Rattata's direction. This time, they managed to strike the rat Pokemon on its side. Its purple fur singed, and Rattata itself let out agonized yelps before running off into the tall grass. No way was it going to become someone's roasted meat dinner. With that, the battle was over.

Perrine ran over to her friend, taking a better look at the wound. The bite mark had gone past her fur, and fresh blood began to stain her silky locks. "Goodness. That Rattata really did a number on you."

"Vuuul…"

"It's okay," She rummaged through her rucksack, pulling out a potion and some bandages. "This'll help."

Normally, Kitsune didn't want to deal with more pain. But knowing those potions were needed to heal her wounds, she simply set Perrine spray it on her. Thankfully, she didn't notice the stinging sensation that the potion sent through her wound. A subtle, pink light flashing just ten feet away, behind a big rock, happened to catch her attention. The light was small, just smaller than she, but it kept flashing like a siren. Perrine didn't notice, as her blue eyes were locked onto Kitsune's wound once she put a big bandage on it.

"There! That should do it!"

"Vulpix vul!" Kitsune squealed, using one of her front paws to point in the direction where she saw the light. Then she got up and leaped toward the big rock in question.

"You see something?" Perrine walked right behind her friend, wondering what she wanted her to see.

The minute the two of them stopped behind the big rock, their breath had been taken away. Sitting behind the big rock was a large egg. It was small enough to fit into both of Perrine's hands, but bigger than the eggs she'd find in the grocery stores. Light pink like cotton candy, with some swirls dotting the surface in a darker shade. Perrine found herself squealing, clasping her hands together.

"Oh my gosh! Is that a real Pokemon egg?!" She yelped, her blue eyes glimmering with joy. "It's gotta be! Oh man! I never thought I'd see an actual Pokemon egg in person!"

"Vulpix?" Kitsune inched closer to the egg, gently tapping it with her paw. There was no reaction.

On impulse, Perrine kneeled down and cradled the egg in her arms. "This is so cool! I wonder if it'll hatch, and what it'll hatch into!"

"Vulpix…" The fox Pokemon raised an eyebrow. She couldn't believe Perrine was going ga-ga over a Pokemon egg of all things. No human she ever met had ever gotten so excited about seeing a Pokemon egg before. But she had to admit, with the way Perrine's cheeks turned rosy pink and her bright, innocent smile, she couldn't help but find Perrine's child-like joy to be kind of cute.

Right then, the egg suddenly glowed in a pink light. It was bright enough that it made the two of them squeeze their eyes shut. But Perrine had an idea of what was happening, and it didn't make her any less surprised.

"Whoa! Is it hatching already?!" She yelped. "Oh man! What do I do?"

"Vul?!" Even Kitsune found herself perplexed. Neither of them had seen a Pokemon egg hatch before. Of course they wouldn't have experience with something like this.

Thankfully, the egg continued to glow. It very slowly increased in size, and a set of what appeared to be fingerless and toeless hands and feet sprouted outward from the sides and bottom of the egg. A tuft of hair suddenly popped out from the top of the egg as well. Finally, the pink light dissipated, revealing a very small, light pink Pokemon with a small black swirl on its forehead, closed eyes, and a tiny mouth.

"Buuuuuff…" The tiny pink Pokemon let out a huge yawn, opening its mouth wide, unknowingly making a squeaky, high pitched chirp in the process. Both Perrine and Kitsune raised their eyebrows. Soon, the Pokemon opened its eyes. They were a bright, cherry red color.

The tiny Pokemon saw both an orange haired human and an orange red fox staring right back at her. All the Pokemon could do was smile. They must be her parents, she thought.

"Iggwybuuuuff!" The pink Pokemon squealed again.

Perrine found herself completely overloaded with cuteness. The urge to squeal like an adoring mother and fawn over the adorable pink ball of cuteness personified seized her. "Awwwww! An Igglybuff! Sooooo cuuuuuute!" Perrine held the Igglybuff to her cheek. Igglybuff's body was, strangely enough, squeezably plush and soft, like a marshmallow.

"Iggwy iggwy!" Nobody expected Igglybuff to flash such a happy expression, laughing and giggling, waving her tiny arms around joyfully. Perrine found herself melting into a puddle of love.

"Hello! I'm Perrine, and this is Kitsune, my Vulpix friend!"

"Vul vul!" Kitsune greeted the tiny Pokemon with some chirps.

Looking down to get a look at Kitsune, the Igglybuff began reaching her arms outward. "Iggwybuuuuff!" Her stubby arms and legs waggled up and down.

"Oh! You want to say hi to Kit? Here you go," Perrine set the tiny Pokemon down on the grass.

Instead of walking to the fox Pokemon, Igglybuff actually hopped over to her, like she was a bouncing ball. Kitsune examined the Pokemon closely, sniffling the little pink ball of cuteness with her nose crinkling up and down. She didn't smell anything dangerous. Better yet, Igglybuff was strangely warm and soft, like those plushy marshmallows that Perrine gave her sometimes. Kitsune hated marshmallows, even roasted ones, as they were far too hard to chew. Thankfully, Igglybuff didn't look scared of Kitsune at all. She just simply smiled and bounced around her new friend, as joyful as can be.

As Kitsune and Igglybuff hopped around, playing amongst themselves, Perrine was lost in thought. "I wish I had a PokeDex so I could figure out what moves it has. Since Igglybuff is a balloon Pokemon, I wonder what I should name it? Hmmm…" Many names popped in her mind, but none of them really fit.

Bouncy? No, too obvious. Pink? No, too simple. Peach? Maybe, but it didn't really describe Igglybuff. Marshmallow? Too long. How about Baloo? Perrine nodded. That sounded much better.

"Iggwybuff?" Igglybuff bounced right in front of Perrine, her cherry red eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Hello, cutie pie!" She couldn't resist calling her new friend that. "Can I call you Baloo from now on?"

"Iggwyyy!" Igglybuff-now Baloo-raised her arms up with a cheerful yelp. Baloo sounded so cute. Immediately, the balloon Pokemon took to the name.

Perrine smiled. Already, she found herself a second Pokemon! She couldn't believe something this good happened to her right in the beginning of her journey. But she knew she couldn't stay here much longer. "Alright, guys!" She stood back up. "We can't stay here anymore. We need to get going."

Without complaint, the two Pokemon followed Perrine further down Route 34. Instead of walking, Baloo kept bouncing up and down like she was a ball, her feet barely touching the ground sometimes. Perrine didn't mind. The sight of her new friend enjoying herself was cute. They found themselves passing by a large, yellow building with a pink roof. Perrine had heard about a daycare center for Pokemon being around here, figuring that was it. But she had already taken time to rest. She didn't need to stop there.

Before long, Perrine and her two Pokemon found themselves at the entrance to a massive sea of trees. Said trees were large, with big leaves that didn't look as though they left much room for sunlight to come in. It didn't help that they all looked densely packed together. Perrine put a hand on her chin, losing herself to rumination.

"So this is Ilex Forest...it's gonna be tricky going through here," She mused aloud. "But there's no other way we can get to Azalea Town at this point."

"Vulpix?" Kitsune didn't like the look of that forest. Did they really need to go in there?

"Sorry, girl. We just gotta get through it," Perrine stroke her friend's fur reassuringly. As much as she wanted to be brave, however, she had never been into a deep, dark forest like this before. Scolding herself for being doubtful, Perrine marched right inside. "Stay close, girls. We don't want to get lost."

The moment they went inside, the daylight had vanished. It wasn't so dark that none of them could see, but the inside of the forest definitely looked as though it was trapped in perpetual night. Not even the tiniest sunbeam was there to dance across the soil and grass. Regardless, Perrine walked on. This would be the perfect place to hide in, should her father or his guards and coworkers come looking for her. Bushes and thickets surrounding them would provide the perfect cover. Plus, she had already come this far. There was no turning back now.

It was easy to forget that Perrine was only a child, and children could only do so much in unfamiliar places. At one point, Perrine stopped in her tracks, looking all around in the sea of trees. Had she come through this area before? She wasn't sure. She went back to walking.

...Only for her foot to suddenly plop into water, and since there was nothing to hold her foot up, Perrine came tumbling down right with it.

"Whaaaah!" Before she knew it, Perrine was soaked from head to toe. Water dripped from her bangs, and her clothes darkened from absorbing the water. "Uuuugh! I don't believe this!" Perrine stood up, pulling herself out of what appeared to be a small pond. Good thing it was shallow.

"Vulpix?"

"Iggly?" Both Kitsune and Baloo looked up at their soaking wet trainer with concern.

"I-I-I'm fine, guys. Don't worry," Perrine coiled her hands around her hair, using as much strength as she could to wring the water out of her hair.

Kitsune and Baloo exchanged disbelieving but concerned glances. She didn't sound fine. Not to them, anyway. They were right to be worried. As Perrine attempted to walk again, she felt something wet trickle down one of her legs. But it was warm, not bitingly cold like the pond water. Still, when she moved, it stung.

"Ugh!" She looked down. Part of her white tights had been ripped, enough to leave a thin, twig-like hole, and mingling with said tights was fresh blood. "Awww, man! How did I get this?!" Upon further rumination, she did feel something like a stick or a sharp rock run through her leg as she fell. That was the only plausible explanation for it.

Whatever it was, boy did it hurt! She thanked her lucky stars that she packed some band-aids. But when she pulled them out, a disappointed expression appeared. The band-aids were too small, and the wound on her leg was just a couple inches longer than them. Nevertheless, she felt she could make do. This was no time to complain. She simply put three of them on the wound vertically, making sure the white absorbent parts covered the wound.

"Igglybuff iggly!" Baloo warbled, waving her arms up and down.

Perrine smiled at her little friend's display. She picked the little Pokemon up and held her close. "Thanks, Baloo. You're sweet."

"Buuuuff!" Baloo crooned once more, basking in the warmth of Perrine's touch.

That was only the beginning of what would be a very rocky trek through Ilex Forest. No matter how much Perrine, Kitsune, and Baloo walked, or in Baloo's case bounced, they never seemed to be anywhere near an exit. At one point, Perrine intentionally dropped a coin in front of a large stump. The trio found themselves going right past that same stump exactly three times.

"Uuuugh! Are we ever gonna get out of here?!" Perrine complained, her legs burning from all the walking. She plopped right down on that same stump.

She would have enjoyed sitting on that stump and having a little break if it weren't for fluttering wings making her jolt upright. A blue bat Pokemon suddenly hissed, popping right out from some bushes, flying right past her.

"Yeeeek!" With a yelp, Perrine flailed her arms around, hoping to swat that bat Pokemon away. Fortunately, the bat Pokemon didn't stop to do anything else, as it flew away. "Freaking Zubat!"

"Vul!"

"Iggly!"

Once the Zubat was out of sight, Perrine pulled her PokeGear out to check the time. "What?! It's 8:30 already?!" Seven thirty at night. Perrine and Kitsune had been on their journey since before the sun came up. The orange haired girl could only assume that she and her friends had been stuck in this forest for several hours, maybe more. Being lost could certainly make time just fly right by. Perrine exhaled a despondent sigh. "Alright, I'm gonna go change out of these wet clothes, and I'll get dinner ready for you guys."

"Vulpix!" Kitsune chirruped. Baloo didn't pay attention, as she kept looking around at all the big bushes and thickets surrounding them.

Perrine's clothes were still wet, with lack of sun keeping them so, so she was quite happy to pull them right off and change into the spare pajamas she brought with her. But she lamented the fact that she didn't bring any extra clothes except for clean underwear and pajamas. Good thing nobody else was around. Changing her clothes in a dark forest was embarrassing enough.

Kitsune and Baloo kept themselves occupied. Kitsune stayed close by, should any wild Pokemon come to attack them. On the other hand, Baloo saw a little white tail stick out from some bushes. "Buuuuff!" Curiosity seized her, and Baloo waddled over to the tail. It wiggled and waggled, and Baloo took her stubby hand and tapped it. All it did was wiggle. Then, Baloo used both arms to pull on it.

"Weedle!" It wasn't so strong that it'd pull the tail's owner out, but the Pokemon in question yelped before popping out on its own. The Weedle turned around, eyeing the innocent culprit before narrowing its beady eyes into odious slits. "Weeeeeedleeeeee…"

"Igglybuff?" Immediately, Baloo regretted pulling on its tail.

"WEEEEE!" The horn on Weedle's head glowed in an eerie purple light as the hairy bug Pokemon scurried toward the balloon Pokemon. Thankfully, Baloo was quick to bounce out of its way. But the bug Pokemon refused to give up, continuing to try and jab at the balloon Pokemon.

"Vul?!" Kitsune rose to her feet, witnessing the scene unfold. At one point, Baloo stood her ground, managing to slap the hairy bug Pokemon across its face at least three times. But Kitsune knew she wouldn't be able to hold her own much longer. Baloo was still just a baby. "VULPIIIX!" Kitsune cried.

"What the?!" Perrine, fully dressed in pajamas, spun around, hearing the cry for help. Baloo was bouncing in her direction in another attempt to get away from the Weedle. Perrine's brain scrambled for into about Baloo's attacks. What attacks did Igglybuff know?

By the time she thought of one, it was too late. "BUUUUFF!" The pesky Weedle had managed to dredge its horn into Baloo's skin, sending her to the ground. A purple hole appeared on Baloo's side as she reeled back, crying in pain.

"Baloo!" Perrine cried. This couldn't go on. "Kitsune, use Ember and drive it away!"

"Vuuuuuul!" The fox Pokemon fired a barrage of tiny embers at the Weedle. The hairy bug Pokemon managed to evade them, just barely. One of the embers singed its tail.

"Weeeeeedle!" Reeling from the pain, screeching in the loudest voice it could muster, Weedle conceded defeat before scurrying away. No way was it going to become someone's meal!

But they weren't out of the woods yet. Literally. Perrine kneeled down, her heart breaking from seeing the now poisoned Baloo wincing in pain. "Baloo! Oh no!" She scooped the balloon Pokemon in her arms. Baloo's breathing was hoarse, and her face was turning pale.

Then it hit Perrine. "Antidotes!" She put Baloo down gently before running to her rucksack, rummaging through it. "Antidotes...antidotes...antidotes…" There weren't any antidotes in sight. "Come on! They've gotta be around here somewhere!" She screamed, her voice rising several octaves. Kitsune tensed up, the worry in Perrine's voice frightened her some. She had never seen her trainer look so desperate.

Finally, she pulled out a yellow medicinal bottle. "Got it!" She opened the cap and held the nozzle to Baloo's mouth. "It's okay. Drink this. I'll make the poison go away," She crooned in a soothing, reassuring voice. "It might taste yucky, though."

At this point, Baloo didn't care if the antidote's taste was yucky. She just wanted her body to stop feeling like it was being set on fire. Baloo wrapped her arms around the bottle and scarfed the orange substance down like a hungry Houndoom. She didn't even take any breaths or try to drink it up slowly. Gradually, the burning sensation dissipated. After a couple short minutes, even the wound on her side didn't burn anymore. The liquid in the antidote was completely gone, and Baloo found herself back on her feet, smiling like she always did.

"Igglybuff igglybuuuuuff!" The joyful balloon Pokemon spun around on her foot, happy to feel better.

"Baloo..." On impulse, Perrine scooped Baloo in her arms, holding her close. "I'm so glad you're all better…" A single tear trickled out from one of her eyes, melting into Baloo's plushy skin.

"Iggwy?"

"Don't wander off or touch strange things again. I don't want you...or Kitsune to get hurt like that…"

To say Baloo learned her lesson would be an understatement. No way was she going to go anywhere near a Weedle ever again, nor so recklessly, at that. But she returned Perrine's hug and allowed herself to be lost in her trainer's embrace. More than anything, she was both happy and tired. They all were.

Ilex Forest became pitch black. Perrine set up a sleeping bag and crawled inside, hoping to get through the night. Unfortunately, sleep evaded her at every turn. Every few minutes, she rolled around in her sleeping bag, tossing and turning. No matter how hard she tried, sleep wouldn't come. Whether it was strange noises coming from the forest, newly acquired insomnia, or her own muddied feelings of fear, anxiety, and frustration, she wasn't sure what was preventing her from sleeping. Kitsune and Baloo stayed together, sleeping right next to Perrine's sleeping bag peacefully. Not a single movement. Lucky for them.

Perrine checked her PokeGear. 11:36 PM. Almost midnight. Why wasn't she asleep. There was no answer. But something completely overwhelmed her at that moment. Her eyes suddenly blurred and turned hot. Everything that happened on her journey suddenly piled onto her like someone had dropped a ton of bricks on her. She buried her face in her arms, and in that instant, tears sprung forth. Before long, she found herself sobbing quietly. Maybe not that quietly, because Baloo was pulled out of dreamland, awakened by the soft crying.

This was a sight she had never seen before. Perrine, her mother and beloved trainer, crying. Why was she crying? Baloo wished she had an answer. How could she help her? All she could do was walk up to her. Kitsune could feel Baloo's stubby legs step on her tail, awakening her. Thankfully, since Baloo's feet were small and soft, it wasn't painful. But once she saw Perrine's face buried in her arms, Kitsune rose to her feet, adopting a concerned expression.

"Igglybuff?" Baloo asked. No answer.

"Vulpix vul?" Kitsune asked. Once again, no answer.

Perrine didn't look up at them. Not once. Finally, she managed to choke out, "I...I want to go home...I can't...do this…"

It was all too much. Walking for hours. Trekking through a dark forest where danger lurked at every corner. Spending the entire day in damp clothes. Being nearly helpless as Baloo was poisoned by a bug Pokemon. Being away from her family. No comfortable bed to sleep in. No seeing her mother and father. No freshly cooked food straight from the oven. No going to school and seeing her friends and ex-friends. Everything overwhelmed her all at once, and all she could do now was cry it all out. She even wondered if going on this journey was a mistake. Kitsune and Baloo exchanged glances before nodding.

"Igglybuff!"

"Vul!"

"Huh?" Perrine finally pulled her head out of her arms, her blue eyes red and puffy from crying. Even her cheeks were red and damp with tears. Kitsune was doing a handstand with her front legs, wobbling left and right, while Baloo was bouncing around and spinning like a ballerina. Both of them were laughing and smiling, the epitome of joy. All of a sudden, Baloo lost her balance and bumped into Kitsune. Before long, the fox and balloon Pokemon were on the ground, their routine ruined.

All sorrow vanished, and Perrine broke into laughter. "Oh, you two! You're funny!" Kitsune and Baloo got back on their feet, undeterred by their failure. Actually, they didn't fail at all. Perrine had already figured it out. Once she stopped laughing, she smiled and said, "...You were trying to cheer me up, weren't you?"

Both Pokemon chirruped joyfully, and that in itself answered her question. Perrine crawled out from her sleeping bag and pulled them both into a hug. "You two have no idea how grateful I am to have met you. I wouldn't have gotten this far without your help."

"Vulpix!"

"Igglybuff!"

"We can go farther. We'll get out of here. I'm not giving up."

She couldn't give up. Not now. She had a dream to fulfill. Even if she was scared of what the future might hold, a good, brave Pokemon trainer would face hardship and jump over those obstacles head-on. But it didn't hurt to have a good cry. Already, she found herself feeling better. Pulling her friends into her sleeping bag, Perrine finally closed her eyes.

This time, sleep came without a hitch. Before long, she was dreaming of becoming the champion of Johto. She'd get there soon. She just needed to get through this. If she could get through a dark forest, then she could do anything she wanted. No giving up.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys, guess what?! It's the one year anniversary of when I began MarJour! I had almost forgotten about it. I know you guys want to see Julia vs Pryce, but I thought I'd give you guys a bonus chapter to thank you all for being such great, patient, and awesome readers. Plus, I have been receiving some concerns that the story seems to be going too fast, even though that's what I'm trying to avoid, and I've seen stories that breeze through stuff in just 30 chapters. I'm gonna try and rectify that however possible, and with future sequels and stories. But don't worry! Next chapter will be Julia vs Pryce! But getting the motivation to actually churn it out is gonna be another hurdle to get over.

I do also have an announcement as well. As you may know, I've been hopelessly addicted to Harvest Moon over the past few months. I even have ideas for a new fan fic that I really want to write. So...after some consideration, once MarJour is finished, I'm going to take a break from writing Pokemon fics to focus on my Harvest Moon fic. Don't worry! The series won't be cancelled! I already have four sequels outlined! I just want to get this Harvest Moon fic out of my brain, and maybe taking a break from writing Pokemon fics will help me develop more motivation to write the sequels, should I ever get to them. It's more about inspiration and having the drive to write them than anything. But you can bet that I'll definitely finish my Pokemon fan fic series, sequels included, so rest assured, I'm not going to give up on it! I'll just be focusing my priorities on something else once MarJour is finished. I hope you don't mind!

Also, have you seen the new Sun and Moon videos?! Alola Raichu is adorable, and so are a lot of the new Pokemon! November 18th, when will you get here?! So...what will be your Sun/Moon teams?

 **Random Fact: Baloo comes from balloon, since Igglybuff and its evolutions are balloon Pokemon. It's also the name of the bear from the Disney movie The Jungle Book and the corresponding series, Tale Spin. I haven't seen the movie or the series, I just heard someone else talk about them.**


	47. A Blizzard of Battles

Chapter 38: A Blizzard of Battles

Roaring, flashing thunderbolts descended from dull, grey clouds that draped across the sky. Flying machines swayed left and right, evading them at every turn. Down below, Raikou sprinted across a deserted mountain, the fur on his back all standing straight up. Undeterred, the flying machines picked up speed, racing right toward the thunderous tiger. A cannon came out from the bottom of the machine, beginning to generate a pinkish grey sphere of light that crackled like the electricity that ran through Raikou's body.

"Target confirmed. Fire!" A middle aged woman's voice spoke through the flying machine. Fully charged, the sphere morphed into a horizontal beam of light that fired right at Raikou. The lightning Pokemon turned around, his sharp eyes gleaming with courage. No way was he going to be turned to stone again.

With a mighty roar, Raikou's body exploded with thunderbolts, all of which charged right at the beam of light. Upon making contact, an explosion of energy and dust blocked any and all visibility. Perfect for Raikou to make a break for it and run. He didn't waste any time leaping away from the chaotic scene.

"J! He's getting away!" A male voice shouted.

"Hurry and catch up to it! We can't let this opportunity slip away!" J exclaimed in an uncharacteristically loud manner. Normally, she always kept her cool. This was not the case now.

Inside one flying machine, Pokemon Hunter J watched from the windows as Raikou ran like the wind. Her goggles could see through the dust cloud that the attacks had generated, so she could see the lightning Pokemon just fine. Not even something like this would prevent her from doing and getting what she wanted. Originally, she had given up on Raikou and his comrades. They didn't have what she wanted, so her desire to catch them was gone.

That is, until recent discoveries convinced her otherwise. Raikou and his comrades didn't have the exact information she wanted, but old records she found in Ecruteak City just last week told her that they might know someone who did. Now, all of her energy was being put into catching not just Raikou, but his other friends. Being a legendary Pokemon, he would not prove to be an easy catch. It was rare for a human to catch a legendary Pokemon. No matter. J had caught him before. She could easily catch him again. This time, she wouldn't use the same tricks.

"Don't let it get away!" J yelled in an authoritative tone, like she was some military officer.

"Yes, sir!" The male Team Rocket grunts at the command post kept their eyes on the machines in front of them.

Finally, Raikou managed to find a large cave, running right inside without hesitation. Raikou wasn't a coward, and normally he would never hide. Previous encounters with J convinced him that sometimes fighting would only put him in more danger. It was better to be safe than sorry. As soon as he ran inside that cave, the light of a large crystal and a flowing purple mane gave him a warm welcome.

"Oh, good," Suicune mused with relief. The north wind Pokemon used his muzzle to stroke his friend's fur gently. "She didn't capture you again. I was getting worried."

"I wish I had come here sooner," Raikou confessed. He looked behind himself, facing the entrance. Good, the coast was clear. No flying machines in sight. Although he relaxed some, he knew he couldn't completely let down his guard.

Suicune shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You know how persistent she is."

When Raikou turned back around, he noticed something was odd. Suicune was the only one here? "Where's Entei?"

The north wind frowned the instant he heard that question. Then again, he knew Raikou would ask. Raikou could see the sudden change in Suicune's expression. That was enough to tell him everything he needed to know...or in this case, didn't want to know. "...She captured him, didn't she?"

"I'm sorry. He tried to take down one of those machines, and he was wide open," Suicune confessed. Cold stabs of guilt gnawed at the north wind Pokemon. "I wasn't able to save him."

"It's alright," Raikou told him reassuringly, with a ready and earnest smile, if somewhat forced, in lieu of their current situation. "She won't kill him. She considers us too important to just sell or kill off. As terrible as that sounds, we can at least take some comfort in that."

It must be confessed that neither of them found such a thing to be comforting. How could it be? Even Raikou felt his attempt at being positive came off in bad taste. He wished he hadn't said that. But in a way, it was true. Raikou had seen first hand what J did to valuable Pokemon, himself included. He could tell that she wanted them for a specific purpose. What purpose, they didn't know. Nonetheless, Suicune nodded in agreement.

"Yes. That's true."

"By the way...why is she chasing us again?" Raikou asked. "I thought she had given up on us."

Suicune's eyes turned to stern slits, showing that he was not going to sugarcoat anything. "She is after Ho-Oh and Lugia," Raikou's eyes widened in alarm. Ho-Oh and Lugia? What could she want with them? "I was able to read her thoughts as she was chasing me. You know how the Kimono Girls of Ecruteak summon Ho-Oh and Lugia to offer them thanks every year?"

"Yes."

"In three days, she intends to catch them right as the Kimono Girls summon them. She plans on using us as blackmail to ensure she gets what she wants from them."

Blackmail? Capture Ho-Oh and Lugia? Anger sparked from within Raikou's entire being, and the electricity charging through his body only made his fury burn hotter. His tail suddenly fluffed up, facing the ceiling, becoming straight like an arrow. It took every ounce of energy he had to not allow his anger to suddenly spill forth. Still, the thought of going after J and ripping her apart piece by piece was tempting. Raikou shook his head. This was not the time to think about mauling someone.

"What does she want with them?!" Raikou roared without meaning to. Then again, anyone would if they had received that kind of information.

Suicune's frown deepened. "I wish I knew," For all they knew, J's compatriots were probably interrogating Entei as they spoke. "They don't know what's happening. Someone has to warn them."

Warn them. Raikou stood up straight this time. He was fast like lightning. Before his conscious could reason with him, Raikou suddenly barked, "I'll do it! I'll get to them before the summoning!"

"Don't underestimate her," Suicune warned. Raikou flinched. The incident in Olivine City flashed through his mind. "She won't stop until she has all three of us in her grasp."

The lightning Pokemon could feel his friend's worry. The energy surrounding Suicune's mane had turned a subtle orange color. Not even the darkness of the cave could darken it. Raikou always knew that if Suicune's mane glowed a light orange, it meant he was truly worried. Touched by his friend's concern, Raikou simply smiled. Yes, Suicune had every right to be worried. They had already lost Entei. Even so, they couldn't just stand here and do nothing.

"I know, Suicune. I'm well aware of the risks. But I want to warn them anyway," Gradually, the hair on his tail thinned out. "They've done so much for us. I'd never be able to forgive myself if they were hurt or killed."

Suicune's frown turned upward into a smile. "I won't stop you. In fact...I knew you would give that answer. How about this?" Suicune suggested. "There's two of us now. You can go find Ho-Oh, since you can travel with lightning. I can dive underwater, so I'll warn Lugia."

He hadn't thought of that. Upon further rumination, he had heard that Suicune had recently learned the Dive attack. Raikou wasn't much of a swimmer, as water conducted electricity. But Suicune's suggestion was the best idea he could come up with. What else could they do at this point?

Satisfied with the suggestion, Raikou gave a solemn nod. "Good idea. I just hope we don't get turned into bronze statues in the process, and I know how indifferent Lugia can be."

To Raikou's surprise, Suicune let out a chuckle. Seeing the north wind Pokemon laugh was a rare sight. "Yes, I won't deny that he doesn't really care much for anything except for himself and Ho-Oh," Within a millisecond, Suicune's expression turned dark. "But I know this is a matter Lugia cannot possibly ignore. Have the machines left yet?"

Raikou poked his head out of the cave entrance. A sphere of light suddenly descended to the ground, generating an explosion of dust and debris. Raikou was quick to fall back, managing to get a glimpse of the flying machines still in the air.

"There's your answer."

"I have an idea. We can get through this."

As much as Raikou didn't want to take any chances, this was no time to just hide. He had to warn them. They both did. They needed to warn them or get petrified trying. Die trying, even. But this was a risk they needed to take. Finally, a geyser of water sent one machine high in the air. A barrage of lightning bolts struck two others, sending them pummeling to the ground. Raikou and Suicune bounded out of the cave, their large feet looking as though they weren't even touching the ground. Like air.

They prayed to Arceus that they could successfully complete the mission they made for themselves. If they didn't...No, they couldn't bear to think about that.

* * *

The minute Julia heard that Pryce had returned, the first thing she did was ask him for a rematch. Surprisingly, he accepted without hesitation. Julia and her Pokemon had trained for this rematch since her defeat. Now, their chance to win a gym badge had come once more. This time, Julia intended to win. Caiseal and Perrine sat on the bleachers as Julia and Pryce took their positions on different sides of the battlefield. Like last time, the field was encased in ice, and the frozen rocks hadn't budged since Julia visited before.

"This will be a four on four battle," Pryce proposed, pulling out a PokeBall from his coat pocket. The glare he shot at Julia was a combination of icy calm and flaming passion. "I won't go easy on you."

Julia pulled out one of her own PokeBalls. "Who said I wanted you to go easy on me?" No. Going easy would be meaningless. Even though she did find it in her heart to forgive Pryce for his transgressions against her, she still wasn't able to forget the incident no matter how hard she tried. Beating him in battle would give her great satisfaction. "This'll be a fair battle, no strings attached!"

Both Perrine and Caiseal exchanged worried glances. "Is it just me or is she suddenly kinda battle happy?" Caiseal asked.

"I think we know why," Perrine mused. Caiseal got the message and fell silent. If Pryce had commanded his Cloyster to attack him all in the name of teaching him a supposed lesson, Caiseal would get angry, too. Julia had been training for a rematch with him for almost a month. They silently prayed that she win.

"Go, Sneasel!" Pryce threw a PokeBall onto the field. The capsule opened, and a white light materialized into a black, bipedal Pokemon with one small ear and one large, red ear that resembled a feather of some sorts. The Pokemon's white claws looked sharp, like they could cut through a pillow, stuffing and all, and the mischievous gleam in its red eyes told Julia that it was going to go all out. Three, feather-like tails stuck out from its rear end, and two golden, oval shaped insignias on its body, one on the forehead, and another on its chest.

"Sneeeee!" The Sneasel let out a hiss, readying its claws.

For precautionary purposes, Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine it. _"Sneasel, the sharp claw Pokemon,"_ Sharp Claw. How accurate, she thought. _"Sneasel scale trees by punching their hooked claws into the bark. Sneasel are cunning and vicious by nature, with pairs of them scaring bird Pokemon out of their nests and feasting on the eggs they're forced to leave behind. Usually, when doing this, one Sneasel would lure the parents away with any distraction necessary."_

"Ugh!" Julia squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing as she looked away from the PokeDex. As much as she hated to admit it, the Pokemon world was not a purely happy place. Even Pokemon could do gross or bad things, usually for survival. Naive as she was, she wasn't so naive as to think Pokemon were all nice creatures. Still, the knowledge of a Sneasel feasting on unhatched eggs created images in her mind that she didn't want to see.

No. She couldn't be grossed out now. This was no time for showing weakness. By the time she put her PokeDex away, Sneasel had already adopted a battle stance. Undeterred, she looked down at the PokeBall in her hand. "We've come this far. We can go farther...Saoirse! I choose you!"

Of all Pokemon, not once did Pryce ever expect the girl to throw a Snubbull into the battlefield. Most trainers he encountered didn't have Snubbulls, or if they did, they weren't used in battle. Pryce kept his cool, but raised an eyebrow in quiet surprise regardless. Said Snubbull took position, her soft feet embracing the sharp, biting cold from the ice beneath her.

"Snubbull!"

"Sneeheeheehee!" Sneasel put one claw on its abdomen as it bent over, laughing like it heard a funny joke. Julia balled her fist when she heard what it said. _"THIS is my opponent?! Oh Arceus, it doesn't look like it can lay a scratch on me! Pathetic!"_

How Saoirse didn't look or act bothered by Sneasel's insults was beyond her. Maybe she was just keeping herself composed for their battle. Julia wished she had her friend's maturity and sense of class.

"I'll make the first move," Pryce announced, extending his hand out. "Sneasel, use Slash!"

Charging across the battlefield, its thin legs racing on ice, Sneasel's claws glowed in a harsh white light. Not once did it slip on the cold, slippery surface. It was like Sneasel was riding the wind. Perks of being an ice type, Julia supposed.

"Dodge, Saoirse!"

Darting out of the way with a push of her feet, the bulldog Pokemon ran out of Sneasel's way. But the minute she tried to move once more, the wet surface made one of her feet slip, and the bulldog fell flat on her stomach. "Snubbull!"

Pryce smirked. "Use Metal Claw."

A steel type move. Fairies were weak to steel, and Sneasel was a dark type. Julia kept calm as Sneasel's claws went from bright white to steely silver. Saoirse was back on her feet the moment Sneasel made a beeline for her. This was no time to hesitate. It was time to do. Take action.

An idea hopped into her head. Before she could question it, she shouted, "Saoirse! Use Fire Fang and bite on Sneasel's claws to hold it off!"

With a nod, Saoirse opened her large maw, allowing flames to burst forth. Sneasel's claws came closer and closer, until they reached her mouth. An opening appeared, and Saoirse took it. She sunk her flaming teeth down on the sharp claw Pokemon's arms, holding them down so hard that Sneasel couldn't get them out. When Sneasel lifted his arms up, Saoirse went up with him.

"Sneeeeee!" It didn't help that the scorching pain from the flames ripped through every piece of fur and fiber on his body.

"Headbutt!" Julia called.

Saoirse rammed her head right underneath Sneasel's chin, knocking the sharp claw Pokemon for a loop. The flames on his arms disappeared, but large burn marks covered his arms from claw to elbow. But Sneasel did make one backflip, getting back on his feet. The moment Saoirse returned to the ground, one of her feet slipped, and she fell flat on her stomach.

"Use Metal Claw!" Pryce commanded.

Sneasel's eyes glimmered with a determined glint. His claws regained that steely silver sheen as he charged right at the bulldog Pokemon. Saoirse had no time to stand back up as two silver claws slashed her dress-like body. Fierce, burning pain shot through her fur with each scratch Sneasel left on her. Any attempt she made at fighting back was never finished, as Sneasel kept on scratching and clawing at the bulldog.

"No! Saoirse!" Julia's hands flew to her throat.

Perrine and Caiseal sat frozen on the bleachers, tense from watching the battle unfold. "Oh man. That Sneasel is really tough. It's not even letting Saoirse get an attack in."

"And it's really fast, too," Caiseal noted. Both he and Perrine had battled that Sneasel before, and won. Even so, their own Pokemon had trouble keeping up with that Sneasel's speed. Saoirse was too slow to do much of anything at the moment, even if she did have a type advantage. But last he checked, Saoirse didn't know any fairy type attacks. "I wonder how she's gonna get out of this."

Unable to watch Saoirse get hurt anymore, Julia shouted on impulse, "Saoirse, kick Sneasel in the stomach!"

The bulldog Pokemon had little options at this point, so she did as Julia asked and rammed one of her large feet into Sneasel's abdomen. The force was enough to propel Sneasel against an icy rock. Not enough to knock it out or break said rock, but enough to buy Saoirse some time. The Metal Claws had dissipated. Pryce watched the battle, wearing a stony, icy expression, like the battle was nothing but child's play to him.

"Icy Wind."

Once the sharp claw Pokemon was back on his feet, he blew a breeze of cold air right at Saoirse. "Dodge it!" Julia yelled, her eyes widening. Again, Saoirse tried to run, but the slippery ice made her fall on her back this time. The icy wind made contact with her fur, and the frigid gale reduced Saoirse to a shivering fetal position. Whether it was an attempt to keep herself warm or an attempt to defend herself, Julia wasn't sure.

A hand flew to the side of Julia's head, mingling with her hair. _'Oh no! Saoirse's gonna be done for if I don't think of something!'_ Nagging anxiety began to gnaw at her, threatening to choke her life out. Oddly enough, Saoirse didn't seem to feel the same. Pryce commanded more Slash attacks, but Saoirse got back up and kept headbutting them on her own, even taking some hits. Not even Sneasel knocking her to the icy floor was enough to keep her down. She just kept getting back up, like the injuries she sustained were nothing but blemishes on her fur.

Julia's mind and heart raced a million miles a minute. As proud as she was of her friend's courage and determination, she knew she wouldn't last much longer, and that Sneasel was just too fast. She found herself fixing her gaze on the rocks on the battlefield.

The rocks...images of Saoirse snowboarding on a block of ice flashed in her mind.

Wait...Sneasel's speed...That's it!

The gears began to turn, forcing the anxiety out of her heart.

"Metal Claw, Sneasel."

"Sneaseeeeeel!" Once again, the sharp claw Pokemon charged at the bulldog, his claws shining.

"Saoirse! Run toward the rocks and before he hits you, jump up!" Julia commanded.

Perrine and Caiseal exchanged confused glances. What was she planning? Saoirse didn't dare question it. "Snubbull!" She just nodded and slid toward a nearby rock. When Sneasel was ready to drop his claw down, the bulldog leaped into the air with a graceful leap. The Metal Claw shattered the frozen rock into pieces, both large and small.

One piece slid out underneath Saoirse. "Land on that chunk of ice and ride it like a snowboard!" Julia commanded.

"Snubbuuuull!" Saoirse landed right on the ice block. Before long, she was sliding around the battlefield like she was a professional snowboarder.

The kids could barely see it from where they sat on the bleachers, but Pryce's cold eyes widened just a little in surprise. Never before had he seen a Pokemon attempt a feat like this. Still, he knew he couldn't show surprise in front of his opponent. The gears in his head were still turning.

"Sneasel, use Metal Claw once more," Pryce commanded.

The weasel Pokemon slammed his Metal Claw on parts of the battlefield. Any time he would even attempt to smack Saoirse with it, she would always outrun him, leading to his steely claws breaking the ice on the arena. Not even running after the bulldog worked, as she was moving too fast for him to catch up.

"Use Headbutt!" Julia commanded.

Sliding across the arena, Saoirse used one of her feet to turn around. Sneasel tried to run, but the bulldog on the ice block came charging right at him, her head bowed and ready for headbutting. A hard blow struck Sneasel on the back. For just a moment, the air was taken right out of him, rendering him unable to breathe. It didn't help that Saoirse slammed her head so hard against his back that Sneasel was sent flying across the ice. Slamming against yet another ice rock, Sneasel slumped to the ground, its legs and arms weak and limp, like plum pudding.

Pryce visibly blanched at the impact of the attack. Even Julia couldn't keep her jaw closed. But in another second, the old man was calm once more. "Sneasel. Slash attack, and make it snappy."

Jolts of pain ran through Sneasel's body as he hoisted himself back on his feet. His sharp claws glowed in an intense white light. With a running start forward, Sneasel howled and charged right at the bulldog, who was once again sliding in his direction.

"Use Fire Fang again, girl!"

The two opposing Pokemon collided, and an explosion of both flames and energy made the air in the entire gym simmer for just a moment. Julia covered her eyes, her face overwhelmed by the intense heat. Pryce merely held up one hand to shield himself from the aftermath of the explosion. When the flaming cloud finally dissipated, two silhouettes lay on what was left of the icy battlefield.

Both Saoirse and Sneasel were face up on the ice, completely battered and covered with burn marks and visible wounds. Neither made any attempt to get back up.

"Snubbull…"

"Sneeeee…"

"Whoa!" Caiseal stood up in alarm, shouting. "It's a tie! They knocked each other out!"

Julia smiled, ambling over to her friend, kneeling down, and cradling her into her arms. "You were great, girl," She complimented. "I'm so proud of you."

"Snubbull snub…" Saoirse waved one of her small arms, like she was attempting a thumb's up.

"Don't worry. Once this battle's over, we'll go and have your favorite strawberry pancakes! How's that?" She suggested.

The bulldog smiled at the heavenly thought. Gooey, fluffy pancakes caked in thick maple syrup, with strawberries inside the flour and topping the surface. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the happy dream. Julia recalled the sleeping Pokemon before returning to her side of the battlefield.

Pryce recalled Sneasel quickly, pulling out another PokeBall not too long after. "Cloyster, I choose you."

A white light bounded onto the battlefield, materializing into Cloyster. Caiseal was quick to pull his PokeDex out to examine it. _"Cloyster, the bivalve Pokemon, and the evolved form of Shellder. Cloyster's shell is harder than diamonds, so hard, in fact, that it can withstand explosions from a bomb without taking any damage at all. Not even missiles can break its shell. When the shell is closed shut, it is impossible to break or pry open, even by people with superior strength. Cloyster is capable of swimming in the sea. It does so by swallowing water, then jetting it out toward the rear. This Pokémon shoots spikes from its shell using the same system. No one has ever seen its innards."_

Julia shivered. Memories of riding on Geraldine and almost getting impaled by Cloyster's Spike Cannon attack flashed through her mind. The fear morphed into a subtle anger.

"Pi-pikachu!" Hikaru suddenly barked, waving her arms up and down, her dark eyes glimmering with courage.

"Of course!" Julia exclaimed. "I was going to send you out anyway! You ready, girl?"

Hikaru balled one of her hands into a fist. "Pikapi!" With resolve in her heart, the shiny Pikachu bounded onto the battlefield.

"Cloyster. Use Razor Shell," Pryce commanded.

Oddly enough, there was no response from the bivalve Pokemon. It stood completely still, making no attempts to attack. Pryce raised an eyebrow. "Cloyster? What's wrong?" He asked.

Instead of attacking, Cloyster simply began hopping across the battlefield. It didn't take on any attack stances, and the whole thing just left everyone flabbergasted. Hikaru didn't even have it in her to attack it. Cloyster hopped across the battlefield, one step at a time, getting closer and closer to Julia's side of the arena.

"Pika?" Hikaru cocked her head to one side, wondering just what was going on.

Finally, Cloyster stood right in front of Julia, looking right at her with its pearl shaped head. A heavy silence consumed the entire gym. Even Perrine and Caiseal found themselves silent, also wondering what was happening. They hoped that Cloyster wouldn't dare to attack Julia itself.

Thankfully, they didn't need to worry about that ever happening. All of a sudden, a waterfall of tears poured out from Cloyster's eyes, and the bivalve Pokemon bowed up and down, bawling. "Clooooooysterrrrr!" It cried, its round eyes drowning in tears.

Everyone's jaws fell wide open. Not even Pryce could maintain calm, as his jaw dropped open in an ungraceful angle. On the other hand, Julia's shock and confusion morphed into calm, as she smiled and kneeled down to Cloyster's level. She even stroke the horn coming out from above its head with one hand.

"It's okay! I'm not mad at you, so don't worry," Julia told it reassuringly.

Relieved, the bivalve Pokemon flashed a smile of its own, even if it was still crying its eyes out.

"What's going on?" Perrine asked aloud.

Julia turned in their direction and said, "Cloyster just wanted to say sorry for what Pryce made him do to me and Geraldine that one time!"

"Oh," That was the only response they all could have. The memory of Pryce commanding his Cloyster to use Spike Cannon on both Julia and Geraldine was still fresh in their minds. But as it turned out, Cloyster never wanted to hurt them at all. After being ordered to do so by Pryce, the bivalve Pokemon had felt bad about it for the whole month and wanted so badly to apologize, even though he was glad nobody got killed.

Pryce listened to their dialogue and fell silent. How in the world could this girl understand what Cloyster was saying to her? Better yet, how did she even know? Was she making it up? No answers came to mind. But he had noticed changes in his Cloyster's demeanor and behavior after that, so this display did shed some light on that. Right after that, Cloyster returned to Pryce's side of the arena with a smile. All of a sudden, Cloyster used the spike on its head to poke its PokeBall. The ball opened, turning Cloyster into red light and sucking it right in.

"Huh?!" Now this was unexpected. Cloyster just returned to its PokeBall. Pryce pulled it back out and asked, "Do you...not want to battle?"

The PokeBall wiggled left and right, saying no.

Once the shock wore off, Pryce nodded. "I see. Alright then. I'll respect your wishes," He put Cloyster's PokeBall back, pulling out another one. "Change of plans. It seems we'll be having a three on three battle now. Or two on two, since you knocked out Sneasel."

The look of determination returned to Julia's face. "Fine with me!"

"Pika!"

This time, Dewgong came spiraling out on the battlefield. Landing on the ice with grace, the sea lion Pokemon's snow white fur seemed to glisten in the light. Just like the ice it stood on. Hikaru's ears and tail all stiffened, facing the ceiling.

Julia pointed her index finger at Dewgong. "Use Thunderbolt!" She yelled, her command sharp but resolute.

"Pikaaachuuuu!" The electric mouse unleashed a dazzling display of lightning bolts that danced across the battlefield. Dewgong slid across the ice, similar to how Saoirse did earlier, only the sea lion Pokemon rode the ice with just its body. Sliding in a graceful arc, Dewgong evaded every thunder strike with ease.

"Aurora Beam!" Pryce exclaimed, his command sharp and snappish.

With a confident sparkle lighting up its eyes, Dewgong opened its large mouth, allowing a rainbow colored blast of energy to shoot right out. The beam wasted no time charging right at Hikaru as she stopped using her Thunderbolt attack.

"Use Disarming Voice to hold it off!"

"Pikaaaaaa!" With a mighty howl, Hikaru emitted pink, circular soundwaves, managing to hold off the Aurora Beam somewhat. It was enough so that Hikaru could find time to dodge. Finding an opening, Hikaru stopped her attack and leaped over to a broken chunk of rock. No longer barred by the Disarming Voice, the Aurora Beam dissipated into thin air, leaving not a scratch.

"Use Headbutt, and don't hold back."

"Deeeeeewgon!" Dewgong slid across the ice once more, lifting its head upward.

Julia grimaced. She had to get an attack in, or Hikaru was toast. "Volt Tackle!" She yelled on impulse.

On cue, Hikaru raced across the ice. Gaining speed, her body exploded with lightning. As Dewgong came closer, Hikaru let out a howl as she made a majestic leap, ramming herself right into the sea lion's abdomen. The force of the impact sent Dewgong flying across the battlefield, breaking yet another rock into smithereens, creating a diminutive cloud of icy dust that covered the sea lion from horn to tail.

"Yes!" The girl balled her fists, watching closely to see if Dewgong was unconscious or not. A surge of pride swelled from within her heart.

...Which was quickly smothered as soon as she saw Pryce's calm, eerie expression. He kept his arms crossed, and his icy stare sent a shiver down her spine. No way was he going to let this girl defeat him.

"Aqua Tail," Pryce said.

The icy dust cloud dissipated as a spiral of water suddenly materialized. Dewgong let out a low screech as a diminutive whirlpool consumed its tail. Sliding across the ice, Dewgong used the water to propel itself at a faster speed than normally possible. "Pika!" The mouse let out a screech, transfixed by terror. Knowing what was to come, Hikaru attempted to scramble across the ice. The minute she even tried, every single one of her feet slipped, and her body met the frigid, slippery ice. More futile attempts, and Hikaru found herself stumbling with every step she took.

Of course, she was at the mercy of the Aqua Tail. A wall of water slammed into her, with the rest of it cascading down into a hole created by said attack. Unable to move, Hikaru fell into the shallow water underneath the battlefield. Not even the frigid waters biting at every single nerve in her body were enough to pull her awake from the attack.

"Hikaru!" Julia screamed, freezing as she saw no movement in the water. Caiseal and Perrine all stood up in alarm, fear catching them in its grip.

For a brief moment, there was no movement. Then, out from the water came a set of yellow, black-tipped ears, followed by Hikaru's head. The mouse Pokemon looked toward Julia, flashing a thumb's up with one hand. "Pikapi!" She squeaked, signalling that she was fine.

Julia exhaled a huge sigh of relief, the choking fear gripping her finally dissipating. Then the gears began to turn the moment she looked at the hole that Dewgong's Aqua Tail made. Last she checked, Dewgong was still weak to electric attacks. Maybe…

"What's she gonna do?" Caiseal asked.

"She's got that look on her face," Perrine pointed out. She was right. Julia kept staring at the hole, her eyes staring right through it. "She's thinking of something."

Think she did. Then she stopped thinking, as it was time to take action. "Hikaru! Dive into the water!"

"Chu!" With a nod, Hikaru dove back into the water.

Pryce smirked. "You won't be able to win like that. Dewgong! After it!"

"Deeewgong!" As ordered, the sea lion Pokemon slid across the ice and leaped in the water, in pursuit of the electric mouse.

Now it was Julia's turn to smirk. "I was hoping you'd do that!"

"What?!" Pryce's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. She wanted him to do that?

"Hikaru!" She pointed to the water with one index finger. "Use Thunderbolt on the entire body of water! No mercy!"

No one had time to react before an explosion of electricity shot out from the hole. The lightning's bright flashes made everyone hold their hands or arms over their faces. Some sparks even managed to crackle their way through the ice, thick and dense as the frozen water was. A small explosion broke through Pryce's side of the icy battlefield, and Dewgong came sprawling right out, its sleek body covered with dancing sparks.

"Dewgong!" Pryce stammered.

Hikaru came back onto the surface. Julia could see fresh cuts and developing bruises, some of which were still soaked thanks to the frigid waters. The mouse Pokemon didn't look bothered, as she kept eyeing the Dewgong with intent to knock it right out.

"Can you still battle?"

"Pika!" Hikaru turned to face her trainer, giving an affirmative nod.

"You haven't defeated me yet!" Pryce slammed his cane down on the ground. "Finish this with Aqua Jet!"

"Volt Tackle!"

Both Pokemon enveloped by their respective elements charged at each other, ready to knock each other out. The second they made contact, an explosion of smoke covered the battlefield. A blast of wind rushed past both trainers, and once again, they used their arms to shield themselves. It didn't take long for the smoke to fade. When it did, both Hikaru and Dewgong were both lying on the ice, battered and unmoving.

"Piiii…"

"It seems both Pokemon are unable to battle," Pryce mused, recalling Dewgong without a moment's hesitation.

Julia did the same. "You were awesome, Hikaru. You deserve a good rest."

But the battle wasn't over. Close, but not over. Pryce still had one Pokemon left, and she had a good idea who it was. He pulled out another PokeBall before throwing it.

"Piloswine! Come forth!"

The mammoth Pokemon materialized, letting out a harsh mooing sound. Julia clenched her teeth. Piloswine was part ice-type and ground-type, so fire type moves could still work against it. At the same time, however, it was possible for Piloswine to still use ground attacks, and fire types were weak against ground. Rino was definitely a no-go. Tokiko was part flying type and she could evade the ground attacks, but she was still weak against ice. Twilight was strong and could hold her own, but she still had problems controlling her stubbornness, and every battle to her was like a fight to the death. As much as she wanted to use Twilight, she didn't want to risk putting Pryce's last Pokemon in danger. What to do? There didn't seem to be much options for her to choose from.

There was one Pokemon she could use. One who wasn't weak against ground or ice. Fast, strong, and could outrun the mammoth Pokemon easily. She had to take a chance. Take it or leave it.

"Lucretia, show him what you're made of!" The lavender feline hopped onto the ice gracefully, like she had practiced for years. The frigid battlefield still sent shivers through her body, though.

"Espeon!"

Pryce lowered his eyebrows. "Hmmm. An Espeon. A wise choice. Pilowine, use Mud Bomb!"

"Muuuuu!" With a mighty growl, spheres of icky brown mud materialized in front of his tusks. Piloswine lurched forward, allowing the muddy spheres to charge right at the Espeon.

"Use Psybeam to hold them off!"

"Espeooooooon!" For a moment, the red orb on her forehead glowed before sending out a purple beam of light. It hit every single muddy sphere, reducing it to just mud as it all plopped onto the ice.

"Use Ice Fang!"

"Muuu!" Piloswine opened its large maw, and its teeth glowed in an icy pale blue light. Lucretia didn't need Julia's commands in order to dodge. Being smaller and lighter than the hulking mammoth, she simply jumped up and around, evading the icy bites with grace.

"Shadow Ball!" Julia commanded. The Espeon fired a black sphere right at Piloswine. It hit him across his fur. Oddly enough, that lone attack was enough to render Piloswine wide open. It didn't make any attempts to attack, as it kept howling in pain.

Even Pryce found himself speechless. But he knew this was no time for slacking. "Use Blizzard!"

"Psybeam!"

Lucretia managed to get the drop on him as she fired a beam of light at Piloswine. It came so fast, Piloswine was unable to use his most powerful attack. In fact, any time he tried to attack at all, he would always be too slow to get ahead of Lucretia. The sun Pokemon always managed to attack first, and land successful hits.

"Wow," Perrine mused. "Piloswine's not doing too good."

"Considering it hasn't battled in a while, I think it's gotten rusty," Caiseal suggested. Any Pokemon who hadn't battled in a while could easily lose their edge, should they not sharpen their battling skills consistently. He figured Julia must have realized this, and taking full advantage of it.

"Trump Card, girl! You can do it!" Julia cried.

"Peeooooon!" With a shrill cry, white, card shaped rectangles materialized before charging right at Piloswine. This time, they just swiped right past him, not doing too much in terms of damage.

"Piloswine, use Fury Attack! Full power!" Pryce shouted.

"Muuuuu!" Now it was Piloswine's turn to charge, as his long tusks glowed in white lights. Of course, not even that attack could do much, since Lucretia kept jumping on the icy rocks every chance she got.

Everything that happened right after that was basically Piloswine attempting to attack Lucretia and failing, and Lucretia attacking it. Needless to say, Piloswine didn't stand much of a chance against the agile purple feline. The sun Pokemon kept firing Psybeams and Shadow Balls at the mammoth, finally knocking it out when it attempted another Blizzard attack. Pryce couldn't hold back his shock. His friend fell to the ice, unable to get up.

"Piloswine…"

The lack of movement and initiative to battle further made huge smiles spread across both Julia and Lucretia's faces. Unable to contain her bubbling joy, Julia leaped into the air with a loud cheer. "Yay! We won! We won!" Lucretia leaped into her trainer's arms, and the two of them spun around like a top, jubilant in their victory.

With a sad smile, Pryce called Piloswine back to his PokeBall. "It's alright, my friend. You were great," He whispered in a soft voice.

Perrine and Caiseal came bounding down the bleachers. "You really won! Congrats!" Perrine and Julia slapped their hands in a high five as Lucretia got back on the ground.

"We knew you could do it!" Caiseal exclaimed, pumping his fist.

Julia blushed. "No no. My Pokemon did most of the work," She looked down at Lucretia, who happily snuggled against her leg.

Even Pryce couldn't help but smile as he walked around the battlefield to approach the children. "This was a fine battle we had," He told Julia. "I really enjoyed it. As proof of your victory…" He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a badge. "The Glacier Badge."

Taking it out of his hands, Julia held it up to her face to examine it. It was really not much more than a light blue hexagon with six triangular cavities in the middle, making it resemble a snowflake. But it still looked nice as it reflected the fluorescent lights in the gym.

"Thank you, sir."

He closed his eyes. "I'm glad I could have this final battle with you," He said in an oddly wistful voice.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Perrine asked.

"After this battle, I will no longer be the gym leader of Mahogany Town," Pryce answered.

If he had said he could see into the future, the kids wouldn't be nearly as surprised. All of them found themselves shouting, "WHAT?!" in perfect unison.

None of them asked why, though. Julia could take a guess, but Pryce answered before they could ask. "My recent actions have come under investigation, as you know. The Pokemon League has decided to revoke my status as a gym leader," He explained calmly, keeping his composure. "In short, I've been forced to retire."

Out of the corner of Julia's eye, a blond haired figure poked her head into the gym entrance. But the blond blur disappeared before Julia could get a closer look. Still, she listened to Pryce's explanation. Instead of being disappointed, she found herself smirking inside. After all, Pryce did bring this on himself by attacking her, she told herself. Boy, was she happy to have battled him when she did. She didn't dare voice these thoughts, as she figured it'd be rude. He did apologize for what happened, so rubbing salt in the wound wouldn't help. Mrs. Amoretto and other people didn't apologize to her for the things they did, so she could take some comfort in Pryce paying for his actions.

"Who's going to take over the gym from now on?" Caiseal wondered aloud.

Pryce smiled. "My granddaughter has wanted to become a gym leader, so I'm thinking of leaving it to her," He elaborated. "I've been making some preparations for this long before the Gyarados incident, so there's nothing to worry about."

With that, the kids said goodbye and left the gym, leaving Pryce alone. He didn't mind. Having time alone was always a pleasure for him. But over the next few hours, he cleared out the gym a little bit and put a padlock on the door. The moon was full and bright when he turned the key. Now he could leave the gym without worries.

"We had good times together," Pryce whispered to himself.

A silent goodbye to the gym, and he turned around to walk back home. Street lights still illuminated the area, and there were other people nearby, so Pryce didn't feel the least bit afraid of what the night had to offer. After all, he had walked this path a million times over the years. Day and night, rain and shine. Now it was time to end that routine forever. For now, he simply enjoyed the night time. The million stars twinkling in the sky, the Rattata scuttling about foraging for food, smelling a strangely sweet aroma…

Wait…

Pryce stopped in his tracks. A glistening, pink, powdery cloud suddenly billowed before him. The old man made the mistake of breathing it in his shock. Before long, his limbs turned limp, and his eyes grew heavy. Any attempt he made at keeping them open was futile. Soon, his legs could no longer move and with a thud, he fell to the ground, right on his back.

"What…?" Pryce could only mumble helplessly as he felt a set of hands rummaging through his pockets. They weren't his hands, as he couldn't move his own. All he could make out was straw blonde hair.

"Got the badge," Someone whispered.

"No...stop...help…" Pryce held his hand out in a futile attempt to stop the thief. Unfortunately, his eyes finally closed, and all energy seeped out of his body.

"Shut up, old man!" A female voice shouted.

"Weepinbell…" A Pokemon whimpered. It didn't sound like it enjoyed spraying that substance on the old man.

Now, all Pryce saw was darkness. His consciousness fading, he was wide open. All of a sudden, he felt something hard dredge into his stomach. It almost felt like the bottom of someone's shoe pressing onto his abdomen. A startled, pained yelp escaped his rasping throat. Whoever was stepping on him had no sympathy or pity for him.

"This is what you get for attacking my sister."

"HEY!" More voices. Deep, male voices. They sounded younger than his own voice. The police? "Leave that man alone!"

"Hands in the air, miss!"

"Oh, crap!"

Footsteps. Scurrying across the dirt. Men shouting in loud voices.

"Come back! You're under arrest!"

"Pryce! Pryce! Wake up! Are you alright?!"

"He's asleep. That girl must have made her Pokemon use Sleep Powder on him."

"Let's take him to the hospital."

Succumbing to darkness, Pryce finally fell asleep, his dormant senses blocking out reality completely.

* * *

 **A/N** : Alrighty, so the Mahogany Town arc is finally over! And yeah, the Radio Tower arc will begin soon, though not without some cool down chapters to build things up. Harriet and Amara will be the subjects of them, so look forward to them! I also plan on writing the Radio Tower arc differently from how the games handled it, because we all know it's basically just grinding through a bunch of Team Rocket grunts and executives.

Also for clarification: about Julia being in the hospital for a week after she caught Geraldine, just want to clarify that yes, Pryce was forced to pay for the medical fees. I plan on mentioning that in-story later on, but I thought I'd make it clear for those who were confused. And yes, Amara overheard everything Pryce said and saw most of the battle. That's why she took Pryce's badge.

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Espeon, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Magic Bounce**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Trump Card, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Jab, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Twilight (Ponyta, Female, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Solar Beam, Hypnosis, and Stomp**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Bounce, Giga Drain, Fairy Wind, and Energy Ball**

 **Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Cotton Guard, Power Gem, Signal Beam**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Dark Pulse, and Roost**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**


	48. Forever Friends

Chapter 39: Forever Friends

Amara's heart was racing as she sprinted through a nearby sea of trees. Twigs and weeds were flattened by her boots as she ran. At one point, she stumbled over a small log, but regained her balance quickly. Falling on the ground and being out in the open was not an option at this point. She didn't even want to risk taking glances over her shoulder. She was not going to get caught. Not now. She didn't come this far to risk getting thrown in jail. It was time to take action. But where could she hide? It was dark, but with their flashlights illuminating the area, the officers chasing her would surely find her.

A row of thick bushes came into view. They were thick, with large leaves that could easily obscure anyone's view of what was behind them. Without hesitation, Amara leaped behind them. But she knew in her heart she couldn't stay here forever. Parts of the forest were illuminated by moving white lights. The police were still in pursuit. Yep, she couldn't stay here. What to do? It was already dark, and she couldn't go back to the Pokemon Center at this point. For all she knew, the police might have told the Nurse Joy and other employees there to be on the lookout.

She resisted the urge to groan, as that would give her away. At this point, she wished she could sprout wings and fly away. Fly away...that's it! A light bulb went off in her head. Without a word, she ran out from the bushes and went west, hoping she could evade the police and find a place to fly without getting noticed. After a few short minutes, she finally stopped in front of a small lake. Her matted blonde hair was dripping with sweat at this point, but she didn't care.

"Fearow. Fly us out of here," Amara whispered, calling forth the large bird. The white light materialized into Fearow. Good thing she caught a Pokemon big enough to carry her on her back. Fearow laid down, resting his head on the ground, allowing Amara to climb on. Once she settled, Fearow flapped his wings and ascended into the night sky. Not even the police noticed the bird soaring across the night wind.

Tonight the sky was marred by thick clouds. Not so thick that it would rain, but enough to block the moon out completely. Of course, weather like this was a breeze for Fearow to fly through. Amara looked over Fearow's shoulder. Houses, trees, streetlights, and cars passed right by, and since she was so high up, it was like everything down below had become smaller.

"Alright. Set me down there," Amara said. On cue, Fearow descended near a thick row of bushes. Once his talons set foot on the grass, the girl wasted no time getting off and exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Phew!" She plopped down on the grass, her legs burning from having ran so much. "They're gone. Oh my lanta…"

"Mreeeeehhh," Fearow cawed.

Amara rolled her eyes, pulling out Fearow's PokeBall. "Get back in here, you," The red light sucked the bird Pokemon right in.

The coast was clear, so Amara pulled out her sleeping bag and crawled right in. She was glad she slept in the Pokemon Center the night before. It felt so good to sleep in a soft bed with real blankets and take a nice, cold, refreshing shower. But back in the wilderness she was. Of course there were no buildings nearby, and even if there were, groping through the dark with danger constantly lurking...Amara couldn't take that risk. Before she could think too much about it, her heavy eyes finally closed themselves shut, refusing to peel back open.

Not even the sounds of Noctowl and Hoothoot hooting in the night woke her up. When morning came, Amara woke up as she usually woke up, even when she was at home: groggy and weary.

"Uuuuugh…I'm soooo hungry…" Immediately, Amara lurched toward her green bag, pulling it closer before rummaging through it. She pulled out a pack of oatmeal bars, a bottle of water, and a breakfast burrito she had bought and saved a couple days before.

Not a perfect breakfast, but Amara made do. Being on the run for several months and surviving in the wilderness limited her food choices. Good thing her income mostly consisted of money she earned from Pokemon battles, so she always had some money on her. Even now, she still had some saved, resting in her pockets or her bag. Amara looked down at her burrito, her blue eyes growing wistful. Immediately, she found herself flashing back to her time at home, when her mother would make Kalosian toast with scrambled eggs. Her favorite breakfast ever. The smell of the soft, melty butter, the prickly taste of the cinnamon that was sprinkled all over, the light syrup dripping all over it…

"Get over it, Amara!" She yelled, scolding herself. "You're not going back there and that's final! They don't care about you anyway!" With that, she scarfed the rest of the burrito down her throat. This was no time to be sitting around and yearning for the past. One more badge, and she could get into the Pokemon League, like Chanel dreamed.

"Alright...let's get going," Once she packed everything back up and finished her breakfast, Amara was back on the trek. She stayed on the dirt path, as she didn't feel like dealing with wild Pokemon at the moment. They were always a thorn in her side. A pain, as teenagers would mostly describe them.

For the most part, it was mostly spread out woods, with a blanket of withering orange and red leaves covering most of the ground. They all crunched underneath Amara's boots, the soles ripping them to pieces some of the time. To a nature lover, the sight of the woods and autumn leaves would be beautiful. Amara was not that type of person, and she didn't find beauty in nature.

"I just need one more badge, and I'll be able to get to the League…" Amara spurred herself onward, refusing to stop. She had come so far now. There was no turning back. She didn't have a choice anyway, so there was nowhere else to go but forward.

Before long, something bright red came into view, popping up amongst the trees. Amara stood on her toes to get a better look. Whatever it was, it looked like the roof of a house.

"What is that?" She asked aloud. Curiosity took hold, and she ambled on the path once more.

When she arrived, Amara's mouth fell wide open. Standing before her was a large house that looked like a miniature mansion. A bright red tile roof crowned a white, two-story house made of marble. A paved stone road reached toward the two-tier porch, framed by fresh grass, possibly recently mowed. Rows of flowers and rectangular hedges stood in front of the house, looking very elegant and poised, ready for a big fancy party. There were even large hedges that stood further back, stretching all the way up to the windows on the second floor.

"Whoa…" Other than that, Amara found herself speechless. Whoever lived in this house must be somewhat rich. There was no other explanation she could come up with. Still, never before had she seen a house this beautiful up close. "I bet Mom would get a real kick out of seeing this."

Yet again, memories flooded her mind. When she and Julia were younger, their mother would take them on drives through the cities, and she would marvel at all the pretty houses they'd see. Of course, Amara and Julia, being young kids at the time, didn't care about seeing houses, wishing she'd stop and get to wherever they were going. Now, in a way, Amara could see why her mother liked looking at pretty houses like this so much. Amara wished she could live in a place like this, rather than the house she and her family lived in now. The one she ran away from.

Home…

As much as she hated to admit it, she missed being at home. Already, she found herself yearning for the sweet comfort of her bedroom, the smell of the Kalosian toast her mother would make. At this point, she'd even put up with her father slamming on those drums he loves so much, and that used to drive her absolutely crazy most of the time.

"Clefaaaairy!"

"Huh?!"

A high pitched voice pulled the teenager out of her reverie. Soon, a small, pink, cuddly-looking Pokemon came bouncing into view. The Pokemon soon stopped, noticing Amara, catching a glance with its small, ovular eyes. A tuft of hair on its forehead was curled inward, resembling a cinnamon roll, and its pointed ears had dark brown tips, like chocolate. Protruding from its back were a set of small, dainty, butterfly-like wings, hidden by its large, poofy, curly tail. But the sight of its wide, nervous smile and those dainty, rose colored cheeks would make any girl melt.

Except Amara. "...What the heck is a Clefairy doing here?!" Amara yelped, backing away three steps.

The Clefairy cocked its head to one side, sizing Amara up with a confused glance. "Clefairy?"

Typically, Clefairy live in mountains and are rare Pokemon. Amara read about that in a book once. What was a Clefairy doing in a mansion in the woods all the way out here? Did it belong to someone? Amara assumed so, as Clefairy weren't easy to find, especially in Johto.

In an instant, the answer to Amara's questions came into view.

"Wait up, Clefairy!" The voice of a young girl echoed on the morning breeze.

Amara froze as a bespectacled girl with dark skin and black hair tied in a flouncy ponytail came bounding out of the mansion gates, her frilly, baby blue dress flying all over the place with every step she ran. Once she caught up, she stopped to catch her breath. Amara looked down, noticing her white stockings and sky blue Mary Janes. But more than anything, this girl looked...familiar.

"Clefairy! I told you not to run off like that!" The girl scolded the chubby fairy in a sharp but concerned tone.

Clefairy stiffened. "Clefairy…"

It was then that the girl finally looked right at Amara, locking her eyes onto hers. Both of them froze, rendered completely speechless. At first, the air around them was tense. Finally, the silence was broken when the girl in the blue dress flashed a huge smile, her eyes glimmering with a combination of recognition and unbridled joy.

"...Amara?! Is that you?!" The girl yelped.

"Uh…" Amara's throat closed up. Nothing would come out. Fear overtook her. Already, she found herself back in memory lane, when she ran into Debbie and Emily. Even so, seeing a familiar face who was happy to see her was not a reaction she herself expected.

"Oh my gosh!" The girl's hands flew to her cheeks. "It IS you, Amara!"

Finally, Amara's throat came unstuck. "...Maria?"

Maria Caston, who moved away after the Gyarados attack on Cherrygrove City. A million questions raced through Amara's head, all of them involving whether this was real or not. Maria was here all this time? Maria, the sweet girl who loved dressing up in pretty clothes, who loved strawberry smoothies and Johtoan bubble tea? Maria, the girl who defended Chanel when Debbie and Emily weren't keen on befriending her? Maria, the girl who offered an ear to Amara when she was having a bad day and listened and didn't judge her? Maria, who had big teeth, was a little overweight and awkward, and who listened to cheesy love songs all the time? She was here?

Fear gradually morphed into joy. It came so suddenly that it almost bubbled over, had Amara not kept herself rigid.

But Maria was not one to hide her happiness. "Oh my gosh! It's been so long since we've seen each other!" All of a sudden, the girl threw herself onto Amara, wrapping her chubby arms around the skinnier girl, almost knocking her over.

"Whoa!" Amara managed to keep her balance, happy that she didn't get knocked to the ground. But Maria's arms were warm, like cookies fresh from the oven. It had been so long since she felt so good, so loved, so appreciated. For once, someone was genuinely happy to see her! How Amara had longed for someone to be happy to be in her presence.

After a short while, Maria let go. "Wow. You got a tan," She noted aloud. "And you dyed your hair, too," Once again, she flashed a bright, radiant smile. Completely brimming with genuine joy. "I have to admit, you're rocking that new look."

The floodgates opened. Amara just had to answer. "You really think so? Because in the last town over, someone told me that I looked like I had tan paint poured all over me."

"Ouch," Maria mused. Who in the world would say something like that?

Amara knew who would. Debbie. She had said that. But what would Maria say if she told her that?

"Whoever said that to you is stupid," Maria finally said, without a moment's hesitation. "Oh!" She kneeled down to Clefairy's level and scooped the fairy into her arms. "Sorry about Clefairy. She's kinda mischievous and likes to do stuff she shouldn't."

"Cleffffairy!" The Clefairy protested, flinging her arms up and down, as if she was saying, _"I do not!"_

Both girls broke into laughter. Happy, merry laughter. How long had it been since Amara got the chance to have a good laugh with a friend?

"It's okay. Is she yours?"

"Yep! My mother caught her for me when she went to Kanto!" Maria explained cheerfully.

Before they could make more conversation, a harsh growling sound pulled them back into silence. Amara turned beet red. She could feel her stomach begging for food. She hoped Maria wouldn't laugh. Good lord, this was embarrassing! Thankfully, Maria didn't laugh.

"You're probably hungry," Maria said. "Come on inside! I can heat up some leftovers!"

"Huh?" Amara's mouth fell open. "Is...is that okay? I mean-"

Maria had taken Amara's hand before she could go on, and the girl dragged her friend right inside without hesitation. It had been so long since she had been in Maria's presence. Amara decided not to fret getting dragged into the mansion. Besides, if she spent another minute in the forest, she was sure she'd scream so loud, anyone who was nearby could hear.

But once again, Amara found herself in awe. The inside of the mansion was just as glamorous as the exterior. Bright, snow white walls welcomed them, with the windows donning gold and crimson drapes, pulled apart so sunlight could come in. A glistening chandelier hung from the ceiling, with the glass decorations shaped like teardrops. Beige and yellow rugs covered the hardwood floors, and the house had very classy white furniture scattered all around. In the far left corner of the house was a grand piano, bigger than the two of them combined.

"Were you...always this loaded?" Amara asked, her shock still wracking her brain.

"No," Maria scratched her hair with one hand as Clefairy hopped out of sight. "My dad got a better job, and it's been paying really good, so you could say he went a little crazy with the decor."

"A little?! Yeah right!" She couldn't help but agree. But she was sure her mother would absolutely love it here. As far as she knew, Kassia could spend hours marveling at the decor and wondering how she could make their house even nicer than it was.

"Oh! Wait here! I'll heat up some leftovers!" Maria sprinted into the kitchen, leaving Amara alone in the fancy living room.

Relief came over Amara. Finally, a place she could rest in that wasn't outside. But more than that, she was elated. She had finally reunited with one of her old friends, and said friend was actually happy to see her. Who wouldn't be overcome with joy upon seeing an old friend, and after so long, no less? Plus, Maria had moved away so suddenly, the two of them never even got to say goodbye, or even to exchange email addresses and phone numbers, in case Maria ever got a new number. She had to wonder...did Maria still remember Amara's address and phone number?

Joy morphed into confusion, and even more questions sprang forth, none of them good. How come Maria never called her? Why didn't Maria attempt to call her even once? Why did she even move in the first place? Did she want to?

That last question made Amara shake her head. No way. Maria's not like that, she told herself. There had to be a good reason. After all, she knew Maria's parents could be a bit suffocating at times.

"Lunch is ready!" Maria came bounding back into the living room, with two paper plates full of heated chicken, accompanied with shrimp with noodles and tiny green leaf particles entwining them.

Amara went from confused to drooling. Beautiful shrimp scampi greeted her with a warm scent relaxing her nostrils.

"Oh my lanta...you just HAD to have my favorite food of all time!" Amara took the plate and the utensils before scarfing everything down. Everything she ate was perfectly warm, and she wasted no time chewing and savoring every flavor. Maria had to hold back some giggles, watching as Amara smiled and made high pitched squeak noises whenever she stopped to savor the lovely shrimp and buttery noodles.

"I'm not a big fan, so help yourself," Maria told her.

Help herself she did. To say she was in heaven would be exaggerating, but she certainly enjoyed this unexpected lunch, and made sure to do so using every fiber of her being. "I could live off this stuff if I had to!"

Maria mostly munched on some of the chicken. Her plate didn't have any noodles or shrimp, which was okay with Amara. "So...can I ask what you're doing here?" Before Amara could answer, Maria interrupted her excitedly. "Oh! Wait! I know! You finally got a Pokemon and you're on a journey, right?"

For once, Amara fell silent. What could she tell her? If she told her the truth, she was sure Maria would either hate her forever or call the police and report her. She couldn't risk that. Not when she had come so far. Still, this was one of her best friends. She had to tell her something. But what? It pained her to lie to sweet Maria.

With a solemn expression, Amara simply answered, "You could say that. Yeah."

"Wow! That's great!" Maria clasped her hands together. "What Pokemon do you have? Can I see them please?"

See them? Amara froze, her eyes widening with instant and striking alarm. Of all the things Maria had to ask her, it just had to involve her Pokemon. Crippled by fear and regret, Amara's mind began racing. What would Maria, her dear friend, say if she found out the truth? Or maybe there was an off chance that the news about her being on the run and the crimes she committed didn't reach her. She prayed to Arceus that the latter would be the case. But she needed an answer to Chanel's question, and she needed to grab one NOW.

Brushing her disheveled ponytail off her shoulder, Amara sputtered, "Well...they've been battling a lot, so they...they need their rest!" Her speeding brain kept chanting, _'Please buy it please buy it please buy it please buy it!_ ' louder than clanging church bells.

Unfortunately, her prayer was only partially answered. "Can't I just see one or two of them?" Maria begged, puckering her lips out, making a cutesy-looking pout.

Oh Arceus, there were those Lillipup eyes. Bright, brown eyes glistening with childlike curiosity and wonder. If there was one thing Amara knew Maria was good at, it was making people do what she wanted most of the time. Caught under her old friend's spell, Amara groaned.

"Fine, fine. You can only see two of them! The rest of them need...well, rest," Amara pulled two PokeBalls out. With just a flick of her hands, white lights shot out from both of the spheres.

The first to materialize was Weepinbell, who covered his eyes with both leaves as a jolt of fear ran through him. The second Pokemon materialized soon after, towering far above both Weepinbell and the two girls combined. The bright blue, bipedal crocodile met Chanel's gleaming eyes. Not even the sight of his sharp teeth, his red fins, massive claws, or his open mouth could strike fear into the girl. Even Feraligatr couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, if he had any.

"Feraligatrrrrr?"

"Wooooow! They're so cool!" Maria exalted, marveling at the two Pokemon like they were famous celebrities walking down a red carpet. "You even got a Totodile just like you always wanted! You're so lucky!"

Amara's face turned a deep shade of red as she straightened out her messy ponytail with one hand, averting Maria's gaze. "...Thanks?" She wasn't sure what to make of this. Maria was never one to like scary looking Pokemon. In fact, when they were in third grade, Maria saw a trainer use a Feraligatr in a battle once, and she was so scared she ran away to the park and cried for the whole night. Now, it was like she was never scared of Feraligatr at all. Amara could only hope that neither Weepinbell nor Feraligatr had any bruises or cuts on them, and that Maria wouldn't ask the obvious questions.

' _Wait, why am I worrying about this?!'_ Amara scolded herself. Since when was she worried about her Pokemon not having any injuries? The teenager already found herself wishing she could disappear.

Thankfully, there were no marks, and if there were, Maria didn't notice. "Your Pokemon look great, Amara!"

"Thanks," Amara wasted no time putting them back in their PokeBalls. "We've been through a lot," She mused. _'Actually, I'm the one who put them through all this crap, and this whole mess is my fault anyway.'_ Reminding herself of this cruel truth only made her heart heavy with guilt.

Not only heavy with guilt, but with pain. Pain from not having seen Maria from so long. All of a sudden, the floodgates opened. Before she could stop herself, Amara spat out, "...Why did you leave?"

A brief silence made Maria's smile fade. "Leave?"

"You just...moved out of Cherrygrove City without a word...and never even told me, Emily, or Debbie about it…" Amara's voice trembled. "You never even said goodbye! You didn't call even once!"

Another silence. This time, Maria looked down at her shoes with a frown, averting her friend's gaze. Amara immediately wished she hadn't said all of that. Her heart grew even heavier, weighed down by guilt.

Maria spoke softly. "...It's not like I wanted to leave," She began, clutching one of the petticoats on her dress into her fist. "It was all Mom and Dad's idea. After that Gyarados attack...they really freaked out. They never told me about it either. We just up and moved, and they didn't even let me call you."

Hearing that was like a slap in the face to Amara. Shame from having doubted her friend so much seized her. She knew Maria wasn't that kind of person. "Believe me, I really wanted to go to Chanel's funeral and pay my respects. But you know Mom and Dad never did like me hanging out with you guys."

"I figured."

Amara had seen Maria's parents only once before. They had come to pick her up by limo in the fourth grade once, and when Maria introduced her friends to them, they were given nothing but scornful looks, like Maria had showed them a pile of Pokemon poop. On another occasion, Amara heard the two of them-Maria's parents-talking amongst themselves. They referred to Amara, Emily, and Debbie as low class, improper, and unfit to be friends with their precious daughter. That was enough for Amara to figure out that they did not like them. At all.

Good thing Maria didn't share the same sentiments.

"Worst of all, they took my address book from me," Maria continued. "I wrote all your addresses and phone numbers in it. But they never let me call you or even email you," With every word that came out of Maria's mouth, the more Amara's mind felt at ease. Finally, real answers. Amara could tell Maria was being truthful. Not once did Maria avert her gaze from Amara's. Usually, when Maria wanted to lie, she never looked anyone in the eye.

Just like Julia, only Julia did it all the time, and mostly out of habit.

"I really did try to call you. But then I found out they threw it away…" Now it was Maria's voice trembling. Voices from the past echoed in her mind, replaying the day like someone turned on a tape recorder.

" _You threw out my address book?! How dare you!"_

" _We're in a new town, living our new life, so it's time to put the past behind us."_

" _They're my friends, Dad! They're important to me! Can't I at least call them and give them my condolences?!"_

" _They're not important. You're never going to see them again anyway. I never did like you hanging out with those rambunctious kids."_

" _Dad, they're not what you think they are!"_

" _Don't talk about them or think about them anymore. Obviously, nothing good has come out of being with them. We are on a higher level than them, and we do not associate with those of lower classes."_

" _Why are you saying that?! One of my friends freaking died for Arceus's sake! You don't know anything, so don't you dare talk bad about my friends!"_

Amara squeezed her eyes shut. Her parents seriously did and said all of those things? It all seemed so ridiculous. But Maria would never tell a lie unless she wanted to, and something told her that this was not something Maria would just make up.

"Yeesh...that sucks. I mean…" Amara mused, unsure of what to say. "I knew your parents didn't like us, but...that's going way overboard."

Letting out a sigh, Maria slumped back on the couch. Amara quickly followed suit. "I know, right? They won't even let me go on a Pokemon journey until I'm eighteen. Heck, they still pick my clothes out for me, even when I want to go to something fun like an arcade!"

Pick her clothes out? Amara could imagine Maria being embarrassed out of her mind, seeing fancy clothes laid out for her on her bed every single day. How old did they think she was? Three or four? Maria's thirteen now. She can pick out her own clothes and do whatever she wants. As much as an annoyance her own parents could be sometimes, Amara had to admit, at least they knew when to back off when needed.

"They say it's all for my own good...but that day, I realized everything they do is all for themselves."

"Lots of people are like that," Amara interrupted, throwing in her two cents.

For a brief moment, Maria looked away from her friend. "That's why...it feels weird admitting this," She scratched her hair with one hand, her cheeks turning a pale rose color. "But I kinda used to be jealous of you, Amara."

"Jealous?" Now it was Amara's turn to be confused. When was Maria jealous of Amara? This was a first. Amara cocked her head to one side. "About what?"

"Your parents are great," Maria began. Amara's jaw dropped, but her friend continued on. "They let you do what you want, they don't treat you like you can't do anything by yourself, they don't freak out over everything you do, they always try to make sure you and Julia are happy...I used to wish I was your sister so Kassia and Truman could be my parents."

Speechless, all Amara did was listen with her eyes and ears wide open. Did Maria really feel that way about her? This was all so new and unexpected, her high praise of Amara's parents even more so. Amara couldn't agree with Maria's sentiments, as she thought her own parents could be just as annoying and suffocating. But she didn't dare voice her opinions about them here.

"I...I had no idea…" She stammered. "Well, I know you like them, but Mom and Dad aren't exactly perfect either."

"They're definitely not as uptight as my parents are."

She had to admit, that was something Amara could definitely agree with her on.

"So…yeah, now you know I never wanted to leave Cherrygrove."

"I know. I shouldn't have doubted you, even for a second."

"It's okay! It's not your fault!" Maria waved her hand back and forth. "I should have tried harder to stay in touch with you and the girls."

Amara winced. She always knew Maria was one of the nicest of her friends, but at this point, she wanted to cry. She hated that Maria felt she had to apologize for stuff that was way beyond her control. She still thought about Amara, so that had to count for something. Had Amara not left home, Maria contacting her would have made her heart soar. It would have proved that at least someone cared, even when everyone else didn't. On the other hand...now, in a way, she was happy Maria didn't contact her, for obvious reasons.

"Oh!" Maria's hand almost flew to her mouth. "Speaking of the girls, how are Debbie and Emily?"

This time, Amara hung her head down. In her heart, she knew Maria would ask about them. She just hoped she wouldn't. Of course she'd ask about them. They were her friends, too. "They're…" Amara began, her voice almost inaudible. "...They're fine."

"Really?" Hearing this was a boon to the girl, as once again, Maria's eyes sparkled with cheery delight. "Have you seen them around lately?"

"...Yes. They're on their Pokemon journeys, like I am," Amara whispered.

"Wow! Awesome!" The thought of her friends fulfilling her dreams was enough to fill her heart with enthusiasm. But something was amiss. "But how come you're not together? On your journeys, I mean. I remember us saying that if we all got our own Pokemon someday, we'd all go on adventures together. What happened?"

As happy as Amara was being with Maria right now, her curiosity was grating on her. Very hard. Amara was silent for a few moments. That was enough to make Maria's enthusiasm die down, and her smile turn downward.

"We're...not friends anymore…" Amara shifted from quiet to pathetic faster than Maria could blink, and that wasn't a good sign.

Maria's jaw dropped. Another silence fell between them until Maria broke it. "You're...not friends anymore? What happened?"

"The last time I ran into them...we got into a huge fight...and things got way out of hand," Amara stammered, wishing more and more that Maria stop asking and that she'd keep her mouth shut. Did Maria really need to know this? Amara didn't see what good telling her would do. "I'm sorry. I don't...want to talk about it...I just…" She bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

Once again, Debbie's venomous words played through her mind. _"You don't want to heal! You just want to wallow in your self-pity and make Chanel's death all about you!"_

For once, Maria finally got the hint. Putting a warm, gentle hand on Amara's, Maria flashed a soft smile and said, "I understand. I'm sorry for being so pushy about this. I know Debbie can pick fights sometimes, but I've never known you and the girls to fight."

"Part of it was my fault," Amara admitted. "I made things worse."

"Well, whatever happened, I've still got your back. You know that."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Amara fought hard to keep tears from coming out. _'Maria...if you found out about everything I've done, you'll seriously regret ever saying that. I know you will. You're friends with a girl who abuses Pokemon for no reason and attacked a helpless old man and a bunch of other bad stuff!'_ Swirling emotions fought for dominance. Happiness from Maria still caring about her. Painful waves of guilt from having to keep so many dark secrets from her best friend, knowing what the repercussions would be if she found out.

All of a sudden, Maria's expression went from sympathetic to enthused before Amara could blink. "Ohhh! I know something that'll cheer you up! There's someone I wanna show you!" Maria leaped off the couch, yanking Amara off of her section by the wrist.

"Wha-?"

"Come on!" Before Amara could protest, Maria dragged her friend through the house and out the backyard.

Since Maria was wealthy, it was no surprise that her backyard was just as fancy as her front yard. A large pool hidden away by black iron gates covered almost a whole section of it. It was covered by a large tarp to prevent any withering leaves from getting into the water. A beige gazebo-esque structure stood elegantly, looking over rows and rows of flowers resting in stone beds in a rainbow of colors. Yellow, white, pink, red, purple, blue...Amara was sure her mother would marvel at the sight.

"Jeez," It was nigh impossible to hide her awe. "Even your backyard is amazing…"

Maria turned to face her friend, flashing a charming smile. "Eh, I've seen better. But that's not what I wanna show you," She turned around, cupping her hands on the sides of her mouth before shouting, "Hey, Oricorio! Come on out, please! Come meet my friend!"

"Ora...what?"

Oricorio? What in the world was that supposed to be? Before she could ask, a high pitched, trilling sound, like a bird's chirp, answered back. Soon, a small purple bird came fluttering into view, resting right on Maria's head. Amara backed away a step or two, her jaw dropping in awe. The pretty, lavender colored avian with small black eyes sized Amara up, the fan-like feathers on its head swaying back and forth. Its long wings seemed to stretch farther than its body, with the tips, double bordered with pale blue and pink feathers, broadening into fan shaped structures. Its head and tail were also tipped pale blue and pink, and it's thin, twig-like legs were pure dark pink.

"Is that...a Pokemon?" Amara stammered. It certainly wasn't any Pokemon she had ever seen before.

"Riiiii!" The bird Pokemon trilled.

"Yep! This is Oricorio!" Maria announced, looking up at her feathered friend. "Hey, girl! This is my friend Amara! Say hi!"

Oricorio cocked her head to one side, the ornamental feathers on its head bouncing as she did so. Waving one of her fan-like feathers back and forth, she quietly greeted Amara with a silent smile. Amara returned the gesture.

"I've never seen one of those…"

"I don't blame you," Maria noted. "After all, Oricorio come from a tropical region called Alola. My father caught her for me when we went there on business two months ago," She explained.

Oricorio flapped one of her wings to get some kinks out of her muscles. All the while, Amara's blue eyes were glued to the purple bird, unable to look away. Luminous mauve feathers, elegantly poised wings, a refined air about her. Even from her perspective, Amara was entranced by Oricorio's beauty, and was sure this rare bird and her plumage would definitely draw the eyes of others.

"She's...really beautiful…" Amara mused.

Hearing this, Oricorio's cheeks turned red like tomatoes, holding her fan-like hands up to cover her face. "Riiiiii!"

"She secretly likes being told that," Maria noted. "She's just acting embarrassed. Hey! Let's hang out today!"

"Hang out?"

"Yeah! It's been so long! You can even spend the night if you want!" Maria suggested.

She had to admit, Amara liked the idea of spending the night at Maria's house. It had been a long time since she stayed in a regular house. Never did she expect to reunite with Maria again, let alone sleep in her house. But the idea still endeared her, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to stay and catch up on old times.

For the first time, she smiled. "...I'd really like that. Thanks."

To say Maria was both enthused and grateful would be an understatement. The two girls were completely overjoyed at finally having reunited after so long. Without a doubt, they were going to make the most of their day together. Once they finished marveling at how pretty Oricorio was, Maria started their hang out day by suggested they watch a romantic comedy movie that recently came out. Amara liked the idea. Too bad the movie itself was schlocky, sappy, and overly melodramatic to the point where the girls were spending more time laughing at its stupidity and nitpicking its flaws rather than silently watching it. Oh well. Even poorly made movies could provide some good times.

After that, the girls went out into a clear part of the backyard to play a private game of badminton. They didn't keep score. But smacking the badminton birdie around with a racket, watching it arch across the net gracefully, proved to be great fun. Once they got tired of that, they went to doing other stuff: Doing each other's hair, playing their favorite music at a high volume, painting their nails, gushing about whatever cute boy celebrities were gracing the magazine covers at the moment. Basically, nothing but girl stuff, and that was okay with them.

"I wonder if Grayson's next album is gonna come out soon?" Maria noted, turning the pages of a magazine she pulled out. "I don't see any release dates listed."

"Last I checked it might come out this Christmas," Amara interrupted. "But I could be wrong, though."

"If you don't mind me asking, how's Julia doing?"

"She's...doing great. She got to go on a journey, too."

"Really? That's a surprise. Isn't she really shy? She doesn't seem like the type who'd want to go anywhere on her own."

"Actually, she's come a long way. She's gotten a lot more confident in herself. She'd probably love to see you sometime."

Maria smiled. "If you ever see her, tell her I said hi, okay?"

"You know I will."

The curious, enthusiastic glimmer in Maria's eyes melted into something soft and wistful. "Amara...I'm really glad I got to see you again."

Amara couldn't hold back a smile. "Me too."

"Do you have a PokeGear? I'd love to get your number!" Maria asked.

"Sorry. I don't have one. My old phone number is still the same, though."

Her friend wasted no time grabbing a pen and paper, writing some numbers on it, and giving it to Amara. "Here's my house number!" Maria mashed it into Amara's palm like she thought she'd drop it if she so much as let go of it. "Now you can call me all the time!...When my parents aren't around, that is."

For a moment, Amara thought about giving Maria her old house number. It was still functional, and it would give Maria some comfort, knowing that she could call her friend again, even if Maria now knew Amara was on a journey. But the more she thought about it, the more problems came up. What if Maria called, and Kassia told her what happened? Or Truman? They would definitely find out the truth, maybe even tell her to report Amara to the police. Worse yet, Maria would potentially be accused of being an accomplice, and the police might arrest her, should they come to that conclusion.

No way was she going to have sweet Maria thrown in jail.

On the other hand, Maria knows Amara is out on a journey. For all Amara knew, she might not even call the house, as Amara wouldn't be there, and Maria certainly didn't know when she'd be going back home, if she went back at all. Maybe…Amara's hands moved to pick up a pen and paper. Her heart screamed for them to stop, but her body wouldn't listen.

"Thanks! I'll definitely hide this from Mom and Dad!" Maria wrapped her arms around her friend, intent on cherishing her warmth.

"You're welcome," Amara kept herself rigid, even as she hugged Maria back. Guilt prevented her from truly embracing her friend. But by Arceus, did it feel good to feel Maria's warmth and be trapped in her embrace after so long.

"Oh! I have something that'll be perfect for you!" With a shout, Maria let go of her friend and ran upstairs. Amara cocked her head to one side, wondering what was up. After a few short minutes, Maria ran back down the stairs, holding in her hand a dirty grey stone with a green, leaf shaped imprint. "Here! You should have this."

"A Leaf Stone?"

"Yeah! Weepinbell can evolve into Victreebel if you use this," Maria explained. "I don't have any Pokemon to use it on, and I just found it in my backyard, so I think you should use it."

Oddly enough, Amara took the Leaf Stone without hesitation. Yes, she could use this. "Thanks. You've done so much for me. I don't feel like I really deserve all of this."

"Of course you do!" There was that smile again. That sweet, charming, childlike smile, so bright and radiant like a child waking up on Christmas morning. "You're my friend, and after we've been separated for so long, it's the least I could do."

Another silence. This time, Maria broke it, but her voice was less enthused and more wistful. "I only wish Chanel were here, too. I bet she would have loved hanging out with us right now."

"Yeah. It's...so not fair. She didn't do anything wrong, but that Gyarados…" Amara's voice trembled.

"I know. The whole thing isn't fair. I wish I could have gone to her funeral and said my condolences to her family. But I could only post a comment on the webpage her mother set up. It's not much, but...it's all I could do."

"It's better than nothing. You actually care about her."

"I remember this one joke she made about Slowpoke tails. God, that had me cracking up for weeks!"

"I know! And what about the time she stuck straws up her nose to cheer up Emily?"

Soon, the two girls palavered on and on about Chanel and the things she did before her unfortunate death. They were laughing and giggling like idiots, and the pain and grief seemed to slide out of them like soap on a car after being washed. They continued to talk about Chanel, even after they had dinner, took showers, and got ready for bed. The girls decided to sleep in the same bed, since it was big enough to accommodate two to three people at the most.

Soft, silky blankets perfect for autumn weather wrapped around the two girls, drowning them in their fluffy warmth. Even the pillows were fit for a queen's head to rest on. Maria reached over to her nightstand to turn off the lamp, allowing the room to be almost consumed by total darkness. Clefairy and Oricorio slept in their own beds in other parts of the room, and they were already sleeping peacefully.

"Good night, Amara."

"Good night, Maria."

It didn't take long for Maria to fall right asleep. Amara did receive the luxury of sleep, but she was already hatching an escape plan. She hoped she could wake up early enough to pull it off.

* * *

Thankfully, Amara's wish was granted, as she found herself awake at 5:30 AM. Perfect. She snuck out of the bed as silent as a Rattata, hoping she wouldn't wake Maria up. Not once did Maria stir as Amara changed her clothes and packed her backpack with stuff. She snuck down to the living room, seeing a pen and paper on the mini coffee table. She pulled something out of her bag and set it down before writing something on the paper.

"She'll take good care of you," Amara whispered, her voice almost inaudible. "I'm sorry for everything."

She tip-toed her way to the front door, managing to unlock it before sneaking right out. It was still dark outside, and the street lights still lit the way for any cars that passed through. They provided enough light for Amara to go forward. However, before she left, she stole a final glance at the mansion, staring at it with a sad look on her face.

"Goodbye, Maria. I'm sorry for leaving like this…" Amara whispered to herself. "But I'm not going to drag you down with me."

With that, Amara made a beeline for the road. Not once did she look back at the mansion. Parting with Maria was hard enough. Looking back just made her heart ache with yearning.

Amara didn't need to worry about Maria noticing if she left. The sun was already over the horizon when Maria finally woke up. "Morning, Amara…" Wearily, she rubbed her tired, sleepy eyes with two hands, before turning to the side.

Only the other side of the bed was empty. The covers and blankets had been pulled back. No sign of Amara anywhere.

At first, Maria thought she was seeing things. Rubbing her eyes once again, she blinked. Again, no Amara.

"Amara?" She asked aloud. No answer. Maybe she woke up early and went downstairs to get something to eat. Maria assumed that was the case. She was in no mood to get dressed right at the moment, and she was sure Amara wouldn't mind seeing her in her pajamas.

With a great yawn, Maria traversed down the stairs, down into the living room. The morning light reflected off of a red and white sphere, catching Maria's eye. "Hm? What's that?" Maria ambled over to the coffee table. A single PokeBall rested on the table, with a note tucked underneath it. Maria pulled the note out from underneath the PokeBall, making it roll just a little bit. Not enough to fall off the table.

The note made Maria awake and alert.

 _Maria,_

 _Thank you so much for everything. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your kindness. But I'm afraid I can't stay here with you any longer. There's something I really need to do, and I can't drag you down with me. You'll only get in trouble, and you deserve better than to be in my situation. I can't tell you the truth. It's too painful, so I have to say goodbye for now. But I want you to know how important you are to me. Do what you feel is right and always try to fight to make your dreams come true. You'll be a great Pokemon trainer someday._

 _I'm giving you my Granbull as a gift. She and I don't get along, that's my fault, and I think you can take care of her better than I can. She deserves a good trainer. Take good care of her for me. Thanks. Bye._

 _Sincerely, with all my love,_

 _Amara Parisa_

Tear droplets melted onto the paper. This was all so confusing. What did Amara mean by all this? Dragging her down? Her situation? Get in trouble? What truth did Amara feel was too painful to tell? There were just too many questions. None of this made any sense to Maria. With silent sobs, Maria held the letter close to her heart, almost squishing it.

"I'll take good care of her," Maria whimpered. "You can count on it."

* * *

Morning had arrived, illuminating everything down below, even the clearing where Amara was. She sat on a large stump, staring at both a PokeBall in one hand and a Leaf Stone in the other. She had already eaten another burrito for breakfast along with some water, and had already walked a long way, so needing rest was inevitable. Still, she kept her eyes on the PokeBall and the Leaf Stone in her hands, staring at them for what seemed to be forever.

All she could think was...was this journey really worth it? Becoming the champion wouldn't bring Chanel back, nor would it erase her crimes and the things she did to her Pokemon, the very Pokemon she used to get this far. Granbull would have a happy life with Maria. For once, Amara smiled, hoping Granbull and Maria would be great friends. Granbull deserved that much, and she wasn't one to battle all that much anyway, no matter how much Amara beat and berated her for doing so.

The Leaf Stone in her hand made her think of Weepinbell. The flycatcher Pokemon never liked battling or being anywhere near Amara, and for good reason. All Amara did for it was beat it, call it names, and basically use him as a punching bag for her own feelings. His very existence grated on her nerves all the time. But what did it do to deserve any of it? What did any of her Pokemon do to deserve that kind of treatment? Nothing. Amara knew this. But she had come this far. Giving up was not an option.

Still...she did feel Weepinbell deserved better. She stood up and opened the PokeBall. Instead of a white light, a blue light came forth, materializing into Weepinbell. At first, the flycatcher Pokemon blinked, wondering where it was. Then it saw Amara, squeaked, and hid his face behind his leafy arms.

"I'm not gonna hurt you this time, I promise," For the very first time, Amara spoke to it in a calm, gentle, and civil voice. All she did was place the Leaf Stone in front of it.

Weepinbell expected to be slapped, kicked, or punched. Strangely enough, nothing came. Taking the leaves from his face, it noticed the Leaf Stone in front of it.

"It's okay. You can evolve if you want," Amara told it. "Plus, I just released you, so you're not my Pokemon anymore. You're free now."

Free? Evolve? Weepinbell thought it was hearing things, and it didn't have visible ears. Weepinbell was free? And actually being given the choice to do what it wanted? The flycatcher Pokemon wanted to burst into song. No more beatings! No more being yelled at or degraded over nothing! The future finally looked bright for once. Without hesitation, Weepinbell leaped onto the Leaf Stone, smiling its body glowed in a white light.

Weepinbell's body and leaves grew twice their size, with an extra appendage growing from its mouth. After a short while, the light dissipated, and out came a much larger version of the Pokemon. It reached to Amara's shoulders, and a three-tipped leaf half-covered its now large mouth, with its eyes right underneath said pink mouth. Some dark green spots dotted its body, and protruding from the mouth-leaf was a brown vine with a yellow tip.

"Gyaaaaaaa!" Amara covered her ears. Victreebel's cry sounded like a woman screaming at the top of her lungs at the highest volume possible. But Victreebel didn't run away. All it did was steal a glance at Amara, its small eyes still trembling.

"It's okay, Victreebel," Amara repeated, her voice adopting a remorseful tone. "You can go. Please, just go. You're free now. I'm sorry for everything!"

Silence fell between the two. Neither moved even an inch. Soon, the reality set in for Victreebel. It hopped one hop. Two hops. Then three, five, eight, before disappearing into the bushes. Amara could hear the thickets and glades rustling haphazardly. Victreebel was probably hopping as fast as it could, happy to get the heck away from her. To be honest, Amara couldn't be happier for Victreebel. Now it no longer had to suffer at her hands. It deserved this much.

But that didn't mean her hatred for Pokemon went away. It was still there, and her determination to fulfill her dream still remained.

With that, she went back on the road. She figured she could catch stronger Pokemon for the League. As guilt-ridden as she was, she was going to fulfill her dream no matter what it took, like it was the only thing keeping her alive.

Whether it would be worth it was another matter entirely.

* * *

 **A/N** : Jeez. It seriously took me a whole month to update? Sorry, guys! There's just been a lot going on. But I do have good news: _**I GOT A JOB!**_ A temporary one, yes, but a real job! I work as a sales associate in my local Party City! Woohoo! I haven't gotten paid yet, but I will soon, and I can't wait to do more work so I can actually feel useful for once and not sit around the house all the time! Also, I've been watching the Tales of Zestiria anime (Sorey/Mikleo forever!), and it's soooooo good! Thanks for being patient, though! You guys rock!

And yeah...this chapter...some people have complained that nothing good happens to Amara and that I'm supposedly "mean" to her with everything that's happened to her. Well, here's a chapter where sorta happy things happen to her! Don't worry, her crimes will be properly dealt with before this arc ends. I still gotta write out some stuff before we get there. I'm suuuuuuch a tease, aren't I? Yeah, even I'm getting impatient. But as they say, you can't rush perfection.

Also, Maria genuinely doesn't know that Amara is a wanted fugitive, as the news about her crimes hasn't reached her or her area. Same with Debbie and Emily, which is why they didn't report her the first time. Hopefully the next update won't take so long, but I'd rather not set a specific date for updates. I don't want to make promises that I find that I won't be able to keep.

Finally, a few weeks until Sun and Moon comes out! What will your teams be? My team for Sun will consist of the following: Popplio, Rockruff, Comfey, Bounsweet, Alola Raichu, and Oricorio (Baile).

* * *

 **Random Fact: Maria having a Sensu style Oricorio was actually a last minute addition. Yay for shameless Pokemon Sun and Moon promotion!**

* * *

 **Amara's Party** **:**

 **Feraligatr (Male, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Torrent**

 **Attacks: Hydro Pump, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Superpower**

 **Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Rage, Poison Jab, X-Scissor, and Double Team**

 **Fearow (Male, Timid Nature)**

 **Ability: Sniper**

 **Attacks: Roost, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, and Drill Run**

 **Gengar (Male, Impish Nature)**

 **Ability: Levitate**

 **Attacks: Thunder Punch, Hypnosis, Shadow Claw, and Dark Pulse**


	49. So Many Sick Days

Chapter 40: So Many Sick Days

(dream)

 _He didn't know what was happening. Everything that unfolded in front of nine-year-old Caiseal was so alien to him. His hazel eyes, huge with abject horror, saw nothing but two adult-sized silhouettes arguing in front of him. Sometimes, they leaned back and forth. Other times, one of them flailed her limbs at the other, with the latter holding her own up to defend herself._

 _Not even the frigid snow beneath his knees, tattered pants riddled with holes allowing the cold to bite his skin, was enough to pull his gaze away._

 _All he knew was that everything he once knew and held dear was gone. Completely gone. Ripped right out from underneath him, like someone pulled the carpet out from underneath his feet, laughing as he helplessly fell on his rear. Caiseal could do nothing but sit in the snow and watch the silhouettes argue, his body completely frozen in place. Not from cold, but from abject misery._

 _Sirens wailed in the distance. Ghostly red and blue lights flickered in the greying horizon down the street, coming closer and closer. But Caiseal's ears heard nothing except the violent pounding of his heart and angry and hysterical yelling._

" _I hate you! Get that murderer away from me! Get him out of my sight! He'll hurt my darling Violet!"_

 _Murderer. Whoever said that words could never hurt people was a big fat liar in Caiseal's eyes. To a nine-year-old boy, just hearing that made everything go black. Not even a large hand stroking his shoulder could pull him out of the darkness._

" _Hey, kid? Hello? Are you alright?" A man's kindly voice was naught but white noise to the child._

 _Tears burned the rosy flesh on Caiseal's cheeks. Wretched sobs escaped him, and he found himself shuddering. With each desperate breath he took, frigid air made his already dry throat ache. He tried everything. Everything he tried failed. Nothing worked for him. Now, all he had was the cruel realization laid out before him, and there was no escaping it._

 _Snowflakes gently drifted downward as little Caiseal screamed. He screamed until his throat gave out, but he tried to scream again anyway. Maybe, the agony would leave him. It didn't. He beat his fists onto the ground. BAM! BAM! BAM! He beat them down and down until they were hands were freezing, red stubs of raw meat, but the agony couldn't compare to the torture inflicted on his heart. The sorrow gripped him like a Pinsir's Guillotine attack, and he wanted it to squeeze the life out of him._

 _The hopes, dreams, and love he had were gone. There was nothing left. Everything went black, but his bellowing, primal screams still lingered._

(end dream)

Eyes slamming open, Caiseal awoke with a start and a great gasp. Sitting up like a bolt of lightning, he kicked the sleeping bag he cocooned himself in. Only after several frantic seconds did he realize where he was. He was safe in the dark blue tent he set up the day after he and the girls left Mahogany Town.

Still gasping for breath, he put a hand on his chest in an attempt to slow his beating heart. It didn't slow down. It was beating at what felt like a million beats per second, and each time it pounded, it felt like it might pop right out of his chest.

"Again…?" Caiseal whispered. "Seriously, Nollaig. Stop making me lose sleep..." He hissed the name, Nollaig, like it was poison. Terrible, seeping poison that he wished would just get out of his body.

Nollaig...

He closed his eyes and took in deep breaths to further calm his heart. Gradually, the beating slowed. Not much, but it was getting there.

' _There's no point in dwelling on that,'_ Caiseal told himself. _'But...it keeps playing in my head over and over and it won't stop!'_

This wasn't the first time he had that particular nightmare. Or nightmares at all, for that matter. They had plagued him since that awful day. For the most part, their frequency had ceased. Recently, however, they came back, rearing their ugly heads. Every nightmare, every replay of those awful memories, always managed to bring back that fear and horror, no matter how many times he tried to push them back.

Something wet tinged his cheeks. Blinking and lifting a hand, he wiped the liquid substance away. Tears. He blushed. "Tch. This stinks."

"Marowak?" Blessedly, a familiar, skull-covered face welcomed him. Caiseal's mouth turned upward as Mallow crawled over to his side. "Marowak?"

Caiseal extended an arm out, wrapping it around his dear friend and pulling him close. Their bodies made contact, and Mallow closed his eyes, reveling in Caiseal's warmth, hoping it'd console him some.

"Did I wake you up, Mallow?" Caiseal asked. "Sorry, buddy."

The bone keeper Pokemon shook his head left and right, indicating no. "Marowak."

"We're lucky Route 44 is so long. Honestly…" Caiseal frowned again. "I don't want to go back there. I know my adoptive parents would love to see me, and it is my home, but…" He let that sentence drift away.

"Marowak…"

It's natural for every child to feel homesick when they're away for a long time. Even Caiseal yearned for his home. There was no denying that. However, even his hometown had demons he really didn't want to face. _She_ was there. He knew Blackthorn City was a pretty big town. Not like Goldenrod City, but close enough. A lot of people lived there, and his new house was far away from his old one, where _she_ lived, so for all he knew, he would never run into her. But what if he did? What were the odds of that? Caiseal shivered. He really didn't want to think about running into her.

A tender, brown hand caressed Caiseal's fingers. Rough, like the earthen ground, his element, but warm and kind, just the way Caiseal liked it. The blonde boy met his trusted friend's eyes with his own. This bone keeper Pokemon was his family. He didn't care if he didn't have anyone else in the whole wide world. As long as Mallow was with him, he could go on.

"I don't know where I'd be without you."

Neither Pokemon nor human exchanged words. All they did was stare into each other's eyes, a wordless trust and communication they had perfected for three years now. Feeling his muscles to be stiff, Caiseal broke away from his friend's gaze, stretching his arms up in the air and his legs outward.

"I guess we better get up," Caiseal noted. "We have a long trek ahead of us."

"Marowak."

Caiseal threw off his pajamas and put on some fresh new clothes, namely a dark green sweater, a black vest, beige khaki pants, and his grey boots. He rummaged through his bag, pulling out some packaged food items, and other things, before crawling out of the tent. The sky was still a deep shade of blue, with vivid streaks of vermilion red and rose pink painted across the vast canvas. A very small ocean of orange came creeping out from the tips of the trees surrounding him and his friends.

Mallow threw a small pile of wood onto the grass, and Caiseal rubbed two twigs together to make a flame appear. Once the flame blazed enough, Caiseal pulled out a small frying pan and some eggs. Tapping them on the frying pan, Caiseal watched as the yolk spilled onto the pan, exposed to the elements. Then he pulled out a small whisk and batted the eggs over the flame until they turned yellow. After that, he set up a small stand so the frying pan could sit on the flame for a couple minutes.

The dawn's early light was normally a quiet, solemn time, and it was beautiful. But the sound of harsh coughing put a damper on the sky's incomparable beauty. Caiseal looked around, confused. Who was coughing, and where was it coming from? Standing up, his eyes fixated on the purple tent he had set up for Julia the night before. Walking closer, the coughing grew harsher and louder. Yes, the coughing came from Julia's tent.

"Marowak?" The bone keeper Pokemon cocked his head to one side.

"Watch the food, Mallow. I'll be back in a bit," Caiseal told him, keeping his eyes on the tent. Being the faithful Pokemon he was, Mallow stayed with the frying pan and the fire.

"Marowak!" The bone keeper gave a faux military salute.

"Julia?" Caiseal called out. "Jule? You okay in there?"

All he got in response was yet another bout of coughing, louder than the last. The seeds of worry began to bloom. Was she okay?

"Caiseal...I...I…" A weak, shuddering voice barely made it through the thin tent's fabric. In fact, any time she tried to breathe, she'd expel at least five or six coughs.

Unable to wait for her to come out, Caiseal found himself crawling inside the tent. As much as he wanted to respect her privacy, since she was...well, a girl, and he himself a boy, she sounded sick. Very sick. His worries were confirmed the moment he went inside. Julia was sitting upright, with a hand covering her mouth, her face flushed and totally red, like a Cyndaquil's flames. Her green eyes, which normally sparkled with delight, were now red and puffy. Strands of her disheveled hair, bangs included, faced the sky, defying gravity. She still stayed in her sleeping bag, and Hikaru, Tokiko, and Saoirse all gathered around her with worried looks on their small faces.

"Pika…"

"Chokki…"

"Snubbull snub."

"Jeez. You sound terrible," Caiseal crawled closer, bending to her level.

Julia looked up, taking notice of his presence. Before she could even get one word out, another coughing fit silenced her for a moment. "Ugh! Sorry...I...my throat's...been dry...drinking water...didn't work...my head hurts...really bad…" Shivers completely wracked her body, her incessant coughing only making them worse. Not only that, her voice was nearly gone. Raspy and hoarse, like a severely dehydrated Miltank trapped in a desert, further stripping away any coherent attempt at communication.

Good thing Caiseal didn't need words to figure this out. He gently placed a hand on her forehead, making contact, and started back the minute he noticed how hot it was.

"Arceus, you're burning up," It was redundant for him to say it, but being lost in his surprise made him spit it out anyway.

"Pikapi," Hikaru echoed Caiseal's statement. Even he could see the worry on the orange mouse's face. "Pika pika pikachu!" The mouse kept gesturing toward Julia's sleeping bag.

"Hikaru's right. You'd better rest," Caiseal pulled himself away, giving Julia some space to tuck herself back in. But another look at her told him she didn't seem too keen on the idea. She stuck her swollen red lips out into a pout, and she remained upright. Saoirse grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to her.

"But...I don't wanna...be stuck in here all day!" Julia cried, her voice unable to disguise the whine it took on. Yet another series of coughs overcame her right after she finished that sentence. "It's boring!" Already, her voice was on the verge of disappearing, becoming little more than a Froakie-like rasp.

Caiseal could understand her concerns. Being sick wasn't fun. Being stuck in one place all day was just as bad. With Julia being autistic, he wasn't sure how much worse it could be for her. He could only imagine that she wouldn't like being stuck in one place one bit. Then again, she did have to stay in the hospital for a little over a week. At least hospitals had showers, bathrooms, medicines, and changing rooms. Here, they were in a tiny tent far in the wilderness, with no access to such luxuries. Mahogany Town was pretty far away on foot, now that the kids had left some time before. Last time he checked, they didn't have regular cold medicine, either.

Boy, were they going to be in a pickle.

"I can imagine," He was not looking forward to the days ahead. "I'm sorry there isn't much I can do to help somehow. We're already so far away from Mahogany Town. I am making breakfast right now, so do you think you can eat something?"

She had no energy to talk, so she answered with a nod. Her voice was giving out, and she didn't feel like using it. Even talking was becoming extremely exhausting. Like it wasn't before.

"I'll be right outside. Give me a shout or send one of the Pokemon out to get me if you need anything," He told her right before leaving the tent. The morning sun had already risen, and the strip of light from Caiseal pushing the entrance up was enough to completely blind the girl. Naturally, she squeezed her eyes shut and held her arms up like a barrier.

For a newly awakening person, sudden light would already seem harsh and unwelcome, if one didn't adjust quickly. Since Julia was autistic, with her senses being heightened far more than usual, even that strip of light was like staring right at the sun, burning her eyes to the point of making them water. Being sick only exacerbated her already weary, sensitive eyes. With an angry groan, Julia flopped back into her sleeping bag, squeezing her eyes shut. Of course, all she saw were green spots dancing around in the darkness, and the excessive light was still breaking through the tent. Excessive to her.

She had been awake for several, agonizing hours, and already she was exhausted.

"Uuuuuuugh…"

By the time breakfast was finished, Julia was caught up in yet another fit. She was able to swallow her food, but if she opened her mouth even a little, she'd hack and gasp, like she was dying. At one point, she tried staying silent and keeping her mouth closed for a long period of time in the hopes that the cough would just fade. Of course, that persistent cough broke right through, like a battering ram.

"Jule?" This time, Perrine crawled into Julia's tent. "Gosh, you're really sick," She sat down next to her ailing friend, her blue eyes soft with concern. Behind her, Baloo and Fuwari toddled inside, their stubby legs carrying them.

"Puuuuff?"

"Pupupuuuu?"

Once again, Julia made no attempt to speak. Her voice was still raspy and hoarse.

"It's okay," Perrine put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "You'll get better soon. We'll make sure of it."

Julia nodded, grateful to her friend for being there. Perrine smiled back, seeing all too clear the gratitude on her friend's face. Who said people needed to say thanks aloud? Julia was always appreciative of everything Perrine and Caiseal did, so just seeing her smile was good enough, even if said smile was forced. Perrine could tell her friend was trying to smile through the pain her sickness was causing her.

With that, Perrine left the tent, ambling toward Caiseal. He could still see that she looked quite concerned, and rightfully so. "What are we gonna do about medicine?" Perrine asked. "We're too far from Mahogany Town."

"I know," Caiseal folded his arms. "I'd ask Ravenclaw to try and fly back there, but I highly doubt any pharmacist there would just give cold medicine to a random Murkrow that came out of nowhere."

"True, and we shouldn't try to make Julia walk the whole way back, either," She suggested. "She's in no condition to put herself through that kind of strain."

The kids stood there, ruminating to themselves. Unfortunately, no solution popped into mind, and too much thinking was making their brains hurt. Caiseal buried his hands into his arms. "I knew we should have stayed in Mahogany…" His complaints were muffled by his calloused hands.

"I should have bought medicine just in case something like this happened," Perrine lamented aloud. The only medicine they had on them were for Pokemon only, and neither child wanted to see if it'd work on humans, either. The risks were just too perilous, and no way were they going to put their already sick friend in danger. If only there was some way to get back to Mahogany faster…

Suddenly, the gears were turning in Perrine's mind. A way to get back to Mahogany Town faster…What if they didn't have to walk? They could use one of their Pokemon. But which one? None of them were big enough to carry a kid all the way back to a town. Except...

"Oh snap!" Perrine exclaimed, snapping her fingers. The yelp and gesture were so sudden that Caiseal found himself taken aback. "Why didn't I think of this before?!"

"What?"

Perrine yanked out a PokeBall, releasing Florian from his confinement. The flower Pokemon was too happy to nuzzle his face against his trainer. "Manyuuuu!" Florian cooed. Perrine's nostrils took in the faint, pleasant scent of fresh roses that came out from the flower around his neck.

It didn't take long for Caiseal to put the pieces together. "Ohhhh! I get it! You're gonna try and ride Florian back to Mahogany?"

"Yeah!" Perrine affirmed. "I can take Florian with me to get some medicine. It'd be way too risky for the both of us to go and leave Julia here all by herself," She explained.

Good points.

"Plus, Florian can only handle having one person riding on his back," She continued. "And he can cover twice the distance in half the time, since Pokemon like him can run much faster than us humans when they want to. This way, we can go and get some medicine, and you can stay here and make sure Julia's safe."

"Good idea," Caiseal agreed. "This should work. Alright, you get the medicine and I'll keep an eye on things here. My PokeGear will be on."

"Okay! Oh! That reminds me!" Perrine found Baloo and Fuwari sitting in front of Julia's tent. She kneeled down to their level and said, "Hey, girls. Would you mind staying here and keeping an eye on things? Florian and I are gonna go back to Mahogany Town and get some medicine. Is that okay?"

Both Baloo and Fuwari jumped up once and squeaked in elation, happy to oblige.

"Jiggly!" Baloo raised one hand up, attempting and failing at a mock salute.

"Pupupu!" Fuwari simply chirruped, spinning the flower on her head.

She then turned to her green friend. "I hate to ask you this, Florian, but do you mind if I ride on your back? We need to get back to Mahogany Town real quick."

She didn't need to worry about him minding the journey at all. He simply smiled and nodded without hesitation, letting out a coo as Perrine climbed on his back. He had attempted to run around with two of the kids on his back once before. It didn't exactly go well. But if it was just one person, and Perrine at that, that was perfectly okay with him.

"Okay! We'll be back soon, and I'll let you know if I get delayed!" With that, Florian ran down the dirt road in the opposite direction, with Perrine saddled on his back. It didn't take long for them to disappear into the horizon.

Which only reinforced the fact that he was all alone with Julia. A very sick, grumpy, vulnerable Julia. True, their Pokemon were with them, and that alleviated some of his worries. But new ones immediately sprung up. What if Julia's condition got worse while Perrine was away? He knew that a cold could easily grow into something worse if left untreated or if Julia was exposed to certain things. Caiseal shook his head back and forth. No. He couldn't think like that. His Pokemon were here, and he needed to be there for Julia.

He crawled back into her tent. Like before, Julia was still in her sleeping bag. This time, she was hugging Saoirse, holding her quite close, like she was a stuffed animal she didn't want to let go no matter what. The fairy Pokemon didn't show any signs of discomfort, nor was she squirming to get out of Julia's grip, so it was safe to say that she didn't mind. But Julia's face was still flushed, red as a Tamato berry, and Caiseal could see snot trickling out of her nose, drying just above her upper lip.

"Uuuuugh…" Julia let out a hoarse groan. The red orb on Lucretia's head glowed, and she telekinetically hovered a piece of tissue paper across Julia's nose, wiping off the still drying snot.

"Espeon…"

"Thanks, girl. Sorry you have to do all this for me…" A pang of guilt and shame shot through her. In her mind, Julia's Pokemon deserved better than to act as her maids and servants, waiting on her hand and foot. She certainly didn't ask them to take care of her. But she could tell by the way they kept on taking care of her all this time and the fact that they never complained about it that they didn't mind. They volunteered to do this of their own volition. That spoke volumes about how much her Pokemon thought of her.

"Espeon espe!" ( _"Don't worry about it!"_ ) Lucretia put a reassuring paw on her trainer's hand. "Espeon peon peon!" ( _"We want to help you get better, so we don't mind!"_ )

A warm smile spread across Caiseal's lips. "They really love you, you know?" He said aloud, kneeling down to her level. "I highly doubt they'd willingly do all this for you if they didn't."

It was Julia's turn to smile this time. "Yeah. I love all my Pokemon. All of them," She kept her voice low, as raising it was becoming far too exhausting, what with her voice almost disappearing. "I just hate that I feel so lousy and have to sit here all day."

"Yeah. Being sick sucks. I can relate."

"Where's Perrine?"

"She went back to Mahogany to get some medicine," Caiseal explained, noting that Perrine was riding on Florian's back to try and get there faster. He did feel she had a right to know, since she was the center of all this. Why leave her in the dark? Doing so wouldn't do her any good, and it certainly wouldn't make her feel better.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Caiseal told her reassuringly. "She's a tough girl. She didn't win seven badges for nothing, y'know."

Although the seeds of worry and doubt still sprouted in her heart, they didn't grow so much that they consumed her entirely. Caiseal was right. Perrine was a good trainer, and a strong one. She could handle this. She had seen her in action, so Julia found herself satisfied with Caiseal's answer. But even she knew that Perrine could only do and handle so much. She hoped with all her heart that nothing bad would happen to her. She could never forgive herself if Perrine got hurt or killed on her trip.

For now, all she and Caiseal could do was wait. Too bad waiting was proving to be a challenge in and of itself, with Julia in her current condition.

* * *

Bubbles materialized all around Suicune as he dove into the ocean, his body becoming one with the huge body of water that consumed him. Using his front legs, he swam further down, descending toward the ground, among a whole garden of seaweed. As much as he liked the quiet solitude of the deeper parts of this underwater world, this was not the time to appreciate its beauty.

He had one mission only, and he had to get it done, lest it be too late.

The depths of the ocean were dark. Far too dark for any typical water Pokemon to traverse. No light could ever come down this deep. Good thing Suicune had the power to make his body glow in a magnificent light, illuminating any darkness that stood in his way. After all, he was going to need some light if he was going to find what, or who, he was looking for.

Thankfully, his target wasn't hard to find at all. Lying down in a bed of seaweed was a large, white, bird-like creature with shimmering fur. Deep blue, fin-like plates laid flat on the bird's back, and it's closed eyes also donned similarly colored spikes. Its long tail curled into a C shape, the tips having two spikes protruding out from the end on both sides. The creature's body was rising and falling with every silent breath it took.

Suicune flashed a smile as he swam over to the large creature. It's neck was long, enough for a small human to climb on top of it.

"Lugia?" Suicune called, raising his voice not too high, but high enough for the diving Pokemon to hear.

No answer.

"Lugia!" Suicune exclaimed once more.

Again, no answer.

"Hmmm...this is going to be tough," Suicune muttered to himself. But an idea hatched into his head just as quickly. His body was glowing. Perhaps using Safeguard would make it glow even brighter. It could produce just as powerful a flash as the actual Flash attack.

With that in mind, Suicune curled into a ball, allowing his body to gleam in a stunning light. He was already bright enough to produce light, but Safeguard amplified the glow his body radiated, illuminating almost the entire area. In that moment, Lugia stirred. Raising one of its wings to cover its eyes, Lugia let out a low groan as its eyes were forced open.

"Goodness…" Weary from sleep, the diving Pokemon didn't miss a chance to protest. "Whoever you are, please, turn that light down!" It commanded in a strong, authoritative female voice.

Obeying Lugia's wishes, Suicune allowed his Safeguard to dissipate, but still kept his body glowing so Lugia could see him better. The diving Pokemon raised her neck up to get a better look. Floating before her was Suicune, his aurora-like mane flowing in time with the waves on the surface. The more she stared, the more awake and alert Lugia became.

"Suicune? Is that you?" She asked.

Suicune gave a slow, solemn nod. "It is, Lugia. I do apologize for rousing you from your slumber in such an improper manner," He bowed before her with utmost respect.

Oddly enough, Lugia no longer looked or sounded offended. She simply flashed a smile with her large beak, unknowingly showing one of her teeth in the process. "Now now! You needn't worry about that. You're one of my dearest friends, and I'm always happy to see you," One look at Suicune's face told the diving Pokemon that he was in no mood for small talk. "...But it is unlike you to come down to my domain. Dare I ask why?"

The north wind Pokemon raised his head to face Lugia, his eyes solemn and determined. "I'm afraid there is trouble afoot, and you and Ho-Oh are in great danger."

He wasted no time telling Lugia about Pokemon Hunter J, her plans, their previous encounters with her, Entei's fate, and what her current mission was. The more Lugia listened, the more her irises shrunk. At first, she was quite dumbstruck. How could something like that possibly happen? But she knew all too well that Suicune would never tell a lie. She kept herself calm, knowing that if she even so much as growled, storms and tsunamis would come forth.

"...What about Ho-Oh?" Lugia asked. "Does she know?"

"I'm not sure," Suicune answered ruefully, wishing he could provide his friend a real answer. "Raikou is on his way to meet her right now. I can only hope he is successful in doing so."

But something was odd. When Suicune met Lugia's eyes, he could see doubt in them. Doubt that he really didn't want to see.

"Even if he does manage to tell her," Lugia began. "I know that Ho-Oh will go to Tin Tower no matter what."

"What makes you say that?" Suicune was taken aback.

Lugia averted his gaze, fixating it on a garden of seaweed that she rested on. "Unlike Ho-Oh, I have no interest in humans. Not after the way they cast you, Raikou, and Entei away after she gave you life…" She had seen too much of what humans had done. Catching Pokemon from the oceans, taking them away from their homes, all for their own ends. Putting trash in her beloved home, items that could easily hurt or kill small Pokemon. Harpooning others with no regard for their safety. Dumping corpses and letting them rot.

Suicune didn't say a word. He simply let the diving Pokemon speak. There was truth to her words.

"But Ho-Oh loves and cares for the girls who dance to offer their thanks to us every year," Lugia continued. "She is steadfast in her belief that humans and Pokemon should coexist and understand each other, even if our relations aren't ideal. She will never abandon her duty, even if danger is present."

"That's true. She has always been a kind, punctual soul…"

The memory of being revived was strong in Suicune's mind. He could see it replaying before him. Being consumed by flames from which he could not escape. Trapped and crushed underneath piles of fallen planks and debris, taking their lives. Rainbow hued light shining before his eyes. Himself, Raikou, and Entei standing before the burnt remains of Brass Tower, revealing themselves to the humans. Rocks being thrown at him. The trio of dogs scurrying away, pitying the humans who feared what they could not comprehend.

Fluttering wings pulled Suicune out of his reverie. Lugia stood on her long feet, extending her long, arm-like wings outward, stretching them to get the kinks out. She took care not to flap them too hard, lest she cause a tsunami or a storm.

"That is exactly why I worry about her," Lugia mused before looking down at her four legged friend. "Thank you for warning me about this. I'll see if I can help Ho-Oh in some way."

"Please be careful," Suicune warned. He didn't know what he'd do if both Ho-Oh and Lugia were caught in J's grasp. Guilt of epic proportions would weigh down on his soul if that were to happen, and he would never be able to forgive himself if they got hurt or killed.

Lugia flashed a reassuring smile in her friend's direction. "I will. I'm stronger than I look. You are a good friend, Suicune. We will save Entei and our Pokemon friends."

"That we will."

With that, Suicune ascended back to the ocean's surface. As did Lugia, who made a more...grandiose entrance by swirling around in a whirlpool, using it to propel herself out from the ocean. The only audience she had was four uninhabited islands that took up most of Route 41. That was fine with her, as she wasn't too fond of having humans stare at her anyway. That was one of the many perks of living deep underwater: no human eyes to gaze upon her, and no annoyances to deal with.

Even so, she was going to help her friends. Underwater slumbers could wait.

* * *

It's normal for common colds to persist for a few days at most for some people. Others could get over them within a day or two. Not the case for Julia. Perrine and Florian brought back medicine from Mahogany Town with ease, and Julia took it once every four hours, as instructed. However, it wasn't enough to make her cold go away. All it really did was suppress her coughs, which in itself was great relief for Julia, since she could finally talk without sounding like she was losing her voice.

But on her second day of being sick, her nose was both stuffy and runny at the same time. Sniffing so much left her with pounding headaches, strong enough to render her unable to do much of anything. Being stuck in the tent all day didn't exactly help matters, either. Even so, Caiseal and Perrine didn't leave her side, and if they had to, they usually let the Pokemon stay with her, especially for stuff Julia needed to do privately, like go to the bathroom outside.

On the third day, her eyes were puffy, itchy, and kept on watering, even at the slightest amount of light or stimuli. This one continued for a whole two days, and with her nose getting terribly itchy and stuffed up the minute she tried to sleep for any amount of time, sleep didn't come as easily to her as it used to. To say it was getting to be a bit too much would be an understatement.

"Uuuuugh! I hate being sick!" Julia roared once she sipped another dose of the medicine Perrine got her.

"We know the feeling," Perrine mused.

"Man, this cold doesn't seem to wanna leave anytime soon, now does it?" Caiseal noted. Five whole days of being nothing but sick as a Growlithe. That just wasn't right, and there was no denying it, Julia still looked, felt, and sounded utterly awful and lousy. But what else could they do? They were just a bunch of little kids living out in the wilderness with their Pokemon.

The minute Julia laid eyes on her two friends, guilt weighed down on her heart, making it sag like a plastic bag trying to hold too much inside. Perrine and Caiseal...they did nothing but stay with her, take care of her, and do whatever they could for her for five days straight. None of them even complained about it. Not once did they ever protest caring for her, and Julia never even asked them to. They did it of their own volition. They didn't owe her anything, but they still put their own journeys on hold...and all for her.

But they had their own lives, too. Julia knew in her heart that Caiseal and Perrine were their own people, with their own hopes and dreams. As far as she knew, her being sick was putting a damper on them being able to fulfill those hopes and dreams. Dark thoughts began to swim in her brain. Was she...holding them back? Being nothing but a burden on them? Arceus, she already felt bad about being sick in the first place, even though she knew it wasn't her fault. People get sick all the time, and it's not like she wanted to feel so lousy. But her friends deserved better than this. They deserved to go out on their adventures and do what they wanted, not be stuck caring for a sick friend who was already weak all on her own.

Julia's hand clutched a piece of her sleeping bag.

"Snubbull?" Saoirse cocked her head to one side, growing concerned as she saw a frown on her trainer's face.

"Do you need anything?" Perrine asked.

"Whatever it is, just say the word," Caiseal reassured. "We'll be on it in no time."

Her teeth clenched. Just say it, Julia. She kept telling herself that this would be for the best. She couldn't drag them down with her. They deserved better, she told herself. They didn't need this. She needed to grow up, get stronger, and learn to do things on her own sometime.

"I'm fine," She told them in a low, soft whisper. It was still audible enough for everyone to hear it. "Actually, there is one thing. I think...you guys…" With that, the floodgates opened. "You guys should go to Blackthorn City without me."

Both Perrine and Caiseal exchanged surprised glances, their irises wide. It was as though they had been punched in the stomach. Julia was telling them to leave? Were their ears playing tricks on them? No, they heard their friend loud and clear.

"Pika?!" Even Hikaru's ears shot up in alarm.

"Chokki?"

"Snubbull?"

"Jule…" Perrine's voice was completely overcome with shock. "You want us to leave?" She repeated, like she was taking it all in.

"Don't worry about me," Julia waved her hands back and forth. "You guys are probably itching to go to Blackthorn and get your last gym badges," She suggested. "I'll stay here and get better on my own, then I'll catch up to you-"

Any attempt to finish that sentence was immediately cut off. Caiseal shot a worried glare at Julia, and it was seething with both concern and anger. "Julia! Do you hear yourself right now?!" He shouted.

He didn't mean to shout, as he knew she didn't like yelling. Even seeing her flinch and crawl away from him was enough to shoot an arrow of guilt right through his heart. But her suggestion was such a bombshell that he couldn't help it. "You're sick, and you're suggesting we go to another city while leaving you all alone here, therefore throwing you to the Lycanrocs?! Absolutely not!"

Good thing Perrine took a calmer approach. "We are NOT leaving you here," This time, her voice was firm and solemn, strong like stone. "Friends don't leave their sick friends all alone."

"But…but…I'm dragging you all down…" Julia's voice finally returned, and it was trembling with sorrow. Then her eyes blurred, drowning in tears that refused to stop falling. She buried her wet face in her hands and sobbed. "I don't want to hold you back or drag you down with me! You...you…" Now her voice was bordering on hysterical. "You deserve better than to put your adventures on hold to spend five whole days caring for a sick retard like me-!"

Caiseal was quick to take one of Julia's hands into his own. Her normally soft, tender hands were now rough and dry, probably from the cold air. Then, in a calmer but still firm voice, he said, "Don't ever say that about yourself. Ever. You're not dragging us anywhere, nor are you holding us back. None of that is true."

"Pikapi!" Hikaru agreed, throwing herself onto Julia's covered lap to prove it. "Pikachuuuu!"

"I don't know why you think all that, but none of it is true," Perrine told her reassuringly. "You're not holding us back at all. Besides, we're friends. You know that. If we really thought all of that stuff you said was true, then we wouldn't even be doing all of this for you. We wouldn't even be hanging out if you at all if we really did. But we don't. We want to stay with you and help you. That's what friends do."

Julia could hear the conviction in every word she spoke. She just knew that both Perrine and Caiseal meant everything they said. The fact that they actually did spend five days taking care of her without complaint proved it, and spoke volumes of their overall character.

"Besides, we don't mind having our journey put on hold for a bit," Caiseal added, crossing his arms. "To be honest, I don't want to go to Blackthorn City, so you're actually doing me a huge favor. The League is still a long ways away, so we're not in any rush to get there. Five days in one place isn't going to make a huge difference."

Perrine shared his sentiments, showing her silent agreement with a smile. "Do you really think we'd stoop so low as to leave you here? No way we're letting that happen. We want to stay with you, so don't say we should just leave you behind."

"But…are you sure?" Julia asked in wonder, as if she had never met anyone who even had such feelings for her, let alone feelings this strong. "I...I don't want to be a burden, and I'm already being one right now-"

"Ahhh!" Caiseal held his index finger up in the air, right at Julia's face, silencing her. "Enough with putting yourself down," Julia silently pulled her face away from his finger before he said, "Julia, the last thing in the world you are is a burden. We love having you around, silly," He asserted fiercely.

Any lingering doubt she had immediately vanished, and a smile returned to her face. That looked much better on Julia than sadness. Goodness, where had these people been all her life? Her heart swelled with an overwhelming joy that she found herself unable to describe. It was just as strong as the bonds she shared with her Pokemon, and just as beautiful.

Tiny hands rested onto Julia's bigger one.

"Chokki!" Tokiko flashed a bright smile at her trainer and pseudo-mother.

"Snubbull snubbull!" Saoirse wasted no time nuzzling against her trainer's hand, warming it right up.

"Tokiko...Saoirse…"

Hikaru flashed her 1000-kilowatt smile that she knew her trainer was weak too. "Chuuu!"

"Hikaru…"

"See? Even your Pokemon love being around you, and for good reason," Perrine pointed out.

She knew Julia knew that. Julia knew that too well. Even so, she liked hearing it. She didn't need to hear it to know it was true, both of her friends and her Pokemon, but hearing it just made it feel more real to her. Not even wondering whether she truly deserved to have these awesome people and Pokemon as friends was enough to push away how much they meant what they said. Just like they would for her, Julia would put her life on the line for them if she wanted to.

Thankfully, the next two days proved to be far better. Gradually, Julia's symptoms began to vanish. Her nose was still stuffy, but it didn't give her as much grief as it used to. Her body no longer ached, and her fever finally broke. She was even healthy enough to finally be able to go outside for a while. Being stuck in a tent was coming with its own set of problems, and the kids figured she could use some fresh air. The Pokemon needed some exercise too, so Julia and Perrine decided to have a short practice battle.

"Saoirse, use Bite!"

"Chirin, use Power Gem!"

The bulldog Pokemon bared her fangs as she rushed toward the electric sheep. On the other hand, Chirin let out a harsh whinny as purple, rock shaped structures magically materialized. "Flaaaaaaaffy!" With another baa, the magic rocks fired right toward Saoirse. Since they charged at a slow pace, Saoirse was able to not only jump up and down to evade them, but even managed to hop on one of them, allowing her to gently dig her fangs into Chirin's fur.

"Shake her off, Chirin!" Perrine commanded.

Using his short paws, Chirin was able to smack Saoirse on her dress-like fur, pushing her right off without much effort.

"Now use Tackle!"

"Headbutt, Saoirse!"

The two pink Pokemon charged at each other, heads held down and ready for...well, headbutting and tackling. But they didn't put too much pressure into their attacks, as it was only a practice battle, so there were no serious injuries. Just playful rams and headbutts.

Perrine clapped her hands twice. "Alrighty, that's a wrap!"

"Flaaffy!" The pink sheep Pokemon ran to his trainer, cooing and all smiles, leaping into her arms. "Flaaaaffy!"

"You did great, Chirin," Perrine exalted her wooly friend before pulling out a piece of caramel. "Here's your reward."

"Flaaffy!" Chirin wasted no time throwing the candy into his mouth, chewing and savoring the sticky but sweet flavor. "Flaaffy!"

All of a sudden, Chirin's body was consumed by light. It was so bright, everyone couldn't help but notice. But confusion turned into awe once they realized what was happening. The last of Chirin's fur completely vanished. His neck, body, and tail grew longer and leaner, and when the light vanished, out came a perfectly yellow and cheerful Ampharos.

"Paaaaar!" Chirin announced his presence with a cheery, upbeat whinny.

"Awesome! You evolved, Chirin!" This time, Perrine was the one throwing her arms around the de-wooled sheep, nuzzling his golden fur with her heart exploding with joy.

"Ampaaaar!" The light Pokemon openly returned the friendly hug, and he and Perrine danced around like they were in a disco music video, not caring that their dancing was utterly terrible.

Caiseal and Julia laughed at the sight, not out of malice, but out of genuine joy. It was nice seeing Perrine and her Pokemon hop around and act like kids. After all, even trainers needed to relax and have fun. Finally, on the seventh day, Julia's cold finally took the hint and left, leaving no trace behind. Back on the road to Blackthorn City they went.

* * *

 **A/N** : Hey again. I know I said the next update wouldn't take so long, but...another month, another super late chapter. Best of all, this is gonna be the last chapter for 2016. I thought about writing the next one earlier, but it's gonna be a dark chapter involving Team Rocket, so I thought I'd put that off in favor of this one, which is more lighthearted. Wouldn't want to end 2016 with a sad chapter, now would we? This also turned out a bit longer than I intended, and I even wanted to add more, but I'll save it for another chapter later on.

Also, Sun and Moon. What does everyone think so far? I like it! There's a lot to love about it, but I am sorely disappointed with the lack of post-game content, and this is coming from someone who's normally okay with little post-game content! Anyway, this is the team I beat Sun with: Primarina, Alola Raichu, Comfey, Steenee (Not a big fan of Tsareena's design), Midday Lycanroc, and Baile Oricorio.

And yes, both Ho-Oh and Lugia are female in this universe. I know they're technically genderless in the games, and Lugia has a male voice in Pokemon 2000, but I thought I'd mix things up a bit. Besides, the Diancie movie made Xerneas have a female voice, so why not?

* * *

 **Julia's Party** **:**

 **Hikaru (Shiny Pikachu, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Thunderbolt, Disarming Voice, Quick Attack, Volt Tackle**

 **Lucretia (Espeon, Female, Bashful Nature)**

 **Ability: Magic Bounce**

 **Attacks: Psybeam, Trump Card, Bite, and Shadow Ball**

 **Tokiko (Togetic, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Serene Grace**

 **Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Magical Leaf**

 **Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Intimidate**

 **Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Fire Fang, and Scary Face**

 **Rino (Nidorino, Male, Modest Nature)**

 **Ability: Poison Point**

 **Attacks: Double Kick, Poison Jab, Peck, and Horn Attack**

 **Twilight (Ponyta, Female, Lonely Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Flame Wheel, Solar Beam, Hypnosis, and Stomp**

 **Perrine's Party** **:**

 **Kitsune (Ninetales, Female, Quiet Nature)**

 **Ability: Flash Fire**

 **Attacks: Heat Wave, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack**

 **Florian (Meganium, Male, Gentle Nature)**

 **Ability: Overgrow**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Vine Whip, Body Slam, and Grassy Terrain**

 **Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)**

 **Ability: Cute Charm**

 **Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Body Slam**

 **Mushi (Paras, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Effect Spore**

 **Attacks: X-Scissor, Stun Spore, Growth, and Giga Drain**

 **Fuwari (Jumpluff, Female, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Leaf Guard**

 **Attacks: Bounce, Giga Drain, Fairy Wind, and Energy Ball**

 **Chirin (Ampharos, Male, Adamant Nature)**

 **Ability: Static**

 **Attacks: Discharge, Cotton Guard, Power Gem, Signal Beam**

 **Caiseal's Party** **:**

 **Mallow (Marowak, Male, Lax Nature)**

 **Ability: Lightning Rod**

 **Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Rush, Headbutt, and Rock Smash**

 **Apollo (Typhlosion, Male, Bold Nature)**

 **Ability: Blaze**

 **Attacks: Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Rollout, and Smokescreen**

 **Viole (Gloom, Male, Quirky Nature)**

 **Ability: Chlorophyll**

 **Attacks: Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent**

 **Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)**

 **Ability: Super Luck**

 **Attacks: Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Dark Pulse, and Roost**

 **Heracles (Heracross, Male, Relaxed Nature)**

 **Ability: Moxie**

 **Attacks: Brick Break, Megahorn, Aerial Ace, and Endure**

 **Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)**

 **Ability: Damp**

 **Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam**


	50. Harriet's Confession, Part One

**A/N** : Yeah. First chapter of the new year and it's...August. Yeah. Sorry for the super long hiatus. Three words: Tales of Zestiria. I've been watching the anime, reading and writing fan fics for it, playing the game like crazy, etc. Harvest Moon, too. I kinda hit a writer's block on this before getting into Zesty, and I thought maybe taking a break from MarJour for a while would help. Needless to say, it did, and now MarJour is back in business! Did you really think I was gonna abandon this story? No way! I've abandoned too many stories and I'm NOT going to let this one flounder! Not when I'm almost finished with it! I thought about making this one whole chapter, but considering how much time has passed, I've kept you guys waiting long enough, so I'm splitting this one into two.

Without further ado, here's chapter 41!...The first half of it, at least.

* * *

Chapter 41: Harriet's Confession, Part One

A typical day on Cianwood City's beaches was usually uneventful but happy. The sun would shine her light down on the glistening ocean, the moaning of the waves could be heard on the wind for miles, and the sand would be warm to the touch, almost hot if someone wasn't careful. Normally, on a day like this, people would flock to the beach, happy to sit in the sun to get a tan, play in the water, or whatever else. But autumn was here, and dropping temperatures weren't exactly ideal for a beach getaway.

Even so, the lack of unnecessary noise proved to be ideal for one Officer Jenny who trekked across the sand with only a walkie talkie in her hand, and a gun holstered on her belt. So far, the beach was looking good from what she could see. The occasional Shellder washed up on the beach sometimes, and she was always quick to throw them back in. All she could hear was the waves crashing into the ocean with dull roars and moans, melting back into where they once came.

"Officer Jenny!" A female officer wearing a different uniform came bounding across the sand, her black ponytail flailing everywhere. Once she caught up, she stopped to catch her breath, her hands on her knees as she inhaled and exhaled. "I thought I'd find you here."

"You didn't have to run here, Madison," Officer Jenny told her. "Weren't you just at the station?"

"Yeah," Madison replied, her voice a little hoarse from running. "But I got assigned patrol duty just now, and was told to accompany you here. Everyone's on edge about Team Rocket and their schemes."

Officer Jenny frowned, adjusting her hat. "I'm not surprised. Well, I'm glad you're here. It's better to be in a group than alone most of the time, and Team Rocket have the advantage of numbers, so having extra security is important," She explained.

Neither policewoman could blame their superiors for being extra cautious. Reports of Team Rocket's machinations were becoming more and more frequent. With incidents of peoples' Pokemon getting kidnapped, robberies, even murders, of course the city would want to be more diligent in their security. At the same time, neither policewoman minded. After all, this was their job. Helping people was their job, something they were both proud of.

"I'll go have a look over that way," Madison pointed further west, towards the area where a tall tower towered over the entire end of the beach. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Good thinking," Jenny agreed. "There might be some Pokemon that get washed up here, so don't freak out if you accidentally step on a Shellder's tongue."

Madison let out a merry giggle. "I wouldn't dream of it!"

Right at that moment, both police women suddenly stopped in their tracks. They could hear the sound of something scuttling through the sand, and both of them turned the other way. An orange and tan shape materialized, coming closer and closer. Upon closer inspection, the shape turned out to be a large crab Pokemon, with large pincers bigger than their heads, sharp teeth, spindly, spider-like legs, and six horns protruding from its head.

"Kuukiiiiiiii!" The crab Pokemon running towards them screeched in a deep, terrified voice.

"What in the world?!" Madison backed away, her hang clinging to the PokeBalls on her belt. Officer Jenny was quick to get into a battle stance.

"It's a wild Kingler!" Officer Jenny exclaimed.

However, the Kingler didn't attack them, like a wild Pokemon would. Instead, it looked frantic, waving its large pincers around, gesticulating wildly. "Kuukii kuukii kuukii kuukiiiiii!" Kingler screeched and hissed, its large eyes wide like it had seen a ghost. All Madison and Jenny could do was exchange confused glances.

"It sounds like this Kingler's trying to tell us something," Madison pointed out. "It's not attacking us."

"You're probably right. But I don't speak Pokemon, so I don't know what it's saying," Officer Jenny told her.

All of a sudden, one of Kingler's pincers gently grabbed Jenny's hand, and the pincer Pokemon pulled on the confused woman, using its other pincer to point at the other end of the beach. "Kuukii kuukii!" Kingler kept pulling with one pincer and pointing with the other. Much to Jenny's relief, the pincer on her hand didn't dig down into her skin, nor did the Pokemon attempt to chop her hand off. It was clear to her that the Pokemon was taking great care in being gentle with her.

"Is it asking us to follow it?" Madison asked, holding a hand to her face.

A swirl of possibilities ran through Officer Jenny's mind. Was Team Rocket on the prowl? Was a Pokemon injured? Was this Kingler's trainer hurt? Or did this Kingler get lost? It wouldn't hurt to at least go check. "Well, we better go see," Jenny suggested.

"Kuukiiiii!" Kingler let out a joyful gurgle before gently pulling Officer Jenny towards the end of the beach. Madison ran ahead to get a better look, with Officer Jenny and Kingler close behind.

It didn't take long for them to find what Kingler was so frantic about. Lying dormant on the sand, rocked by the ebbing tide, was a young woman. Disheveled, lime green hair was wet, matted, and in complete disarray. The woman's glasses still clung to her face, but one of the lenses was completely cracked from top to bottom. How it didn't break into pieces, neither Madison or Jenny had any idea. The woman's clothes-a purple shirt and a plain white skirt-were completely dirty, and they looked like they had gone through a shredder. One sleeve of her shirt had been ripped right off, nowhere to be found. Fresh bloody scratches from her hands and arms oozed blood, with some melting into the sand. The woman was barefoot, and her feet were purple and brown from exposure to dirt, with some fresh red holes, splinters, and twig fragments digging into her skin. Her toenails were completely brown from dirt accumulating underneath them.

Basically, the woman looked like she had been attacked by a ferocious Pokemon. Or something even worse.

"Oh goodness!" Madison kneeled to the woman's level, shocked at the awful condition she was in.

"Kuukii!" Kingler pointed to the woman. Letting out an audible gasp, Officer Jenny ran to the woman, hoisting her into her arms. The green haired woman didn't stir. Not one bit.

"She's badly hurt," Jenny pointed out, seeing all the scratches and fresh bruises on her body. Just what in the world did this woman go through? The officer's eyebrows pinched together as she turned to face her friend with a dead serious expression. "Madison. Call an ambulance right away."

With a silent nod, Madison agreed and immediately pulled her walkie talkie out.

"Kingler. Is this your trainer?" Jenny asked.

The pincer Pokemon gave an affirmative nod. Jenny thought about asking how the woman got to be this way, but obviously, since Pokemon could only say their own names, there was no way she could figure out what happened. But there was some hope. The woman's chest was rising and falling in tune with silent breaths. Good, she was alive. What a relief that was. Even so, this woman was in dire need of medical care. Jenny did notice an empty PokeBall at the woman's side. Was it Kingler's? To test her hypothesis, she pointed the PokeBall at Kingler, watching as the crab Pokemon turned into red light as it got sucked into the sphere. That answered one question.

She kept the PokeBall in her hand. "Don't worry, Kingler. We'll help your trainer," She promised.

Sensing her conviction, the PokeBall trembled like it was nodding in response. Jenny wondered if Kingler was nodding from inside the PokeBall. Wailing sirens in the distance prevented her from thinking too much about it. But before the ambulance arrived, Jenny noticed something else on the woman's left wrist. Wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her, Jenny took the woman's hand into her own.

On the woman's left wrist was a tattoo made to resemble a red R. Just a glance at it made Jenny's eyes widen with shock.

"Team Rocket…"

Paramedics went to work on the woman right away, loading her onto the gurney and putting her into the ambulance. Worried for the woman's life, Jenny and Madison took it upon themselves to drive to the hospital in their cars. All throughout the drive, Jenny and Madison were silent, mentally preparing questions to ask the woman should she make it. Thankfully, the hospital wasn't too far a drive from the beach, so the two women managed to get there easily. It helped that there were only a few patients in the waiting room, so the hospital wasn't crowded at all. Usually, the worst things that Cianwood hospitals had to treat were Tentacool stings and the occasional broken bone.

For now, all Jenny and Madison could do was wait. It took about an hour, but a doctor eventually came out and informed the policewomen that the woman they found unconscious is alive and stable. The doctors had to stitch and clean out many of the green haired woman's wounds, most of which were scratches from Pokemon claws, probably from a Houndoom or an Ariados. There were also some infections in the wounds in her feet that they were still in the process of taking care of, probably because the wounded areas made contact with dirt and grass. She also had a fracture in her left arm and many red welts on her body. Most likely they came from a whip.

"Wow," Madison wrapped her arms around herself. "Someone must have used her as some kind of punching bag."

The doctor nodded in agreement. "Those wounds didn't make themselves, as far as I can see," He adjusted his glasses slightly, pushing them up so they wouldn't itch at his nose. "She's in the recovery room right now, but I recommend being gentle in your asking her questions, should she wake up," He advised, keeping his voice calm. "I can only assume that she won't exactly be in the best mental state after all that she's gone through."

Officer Jenny took her hat off of her head. Indeed. Just what exactly did that woman go through? More than that, how did she even manage to survive? Actually, she knew the answer to that one. Her Kingler was the one who alerted them. Who knows what could have happened, had her Kingler not managed to find help in time.

After that, the doctor took them into the recovery room. The green haired woman had a bed all to herself, completely covered from collarbone to toe, sans her left arm, with a thick, white blanket that protected her like a barrier. Her green hair was still messy, sprawling all over the pillow. Gauze and band-aids dotted her face, and her broken glasses had been placed on the night stand next to her bed. An IV needle was attached to one of her arms. Madison watched as the clear liquid dripped inside the bag. Drip drip drip drip. A silent, monotonous rhythm nobody could hear.

It was then that Madison saw the tattoo on the woman's wrist. "This woman's a part of Team Rocket?" She almost screamed, had she not managed to compose herself enough to keep her voice down. She didn't want to accidentally wake her up.

"It would seem so," Officer Jenny replied. "Still, what would a member of Team Rocket be doing out on a public beach? It's not like them to operate out in the open like that."

Madison agreed with a silent nod. Both of them had investigated Team Rocket and dealt with some of their grunts for a while now. They were usually a lot craftier than that, and always carried out their activities either in the down-low or in full secret. Was this woman a member they fired or kicked out? Or did she escape? Did she maybe fail at a mission and ran away, afraid to face the consequences? Just sitting here and thinking about it wouldn't give them the answers they needed. Neither of them knew how long it would be for the woman to wake up. She was breathing, but her condition could deteriorate at any given moment. Jenny looked down at the PokeBall in her hand.

"She's okay," Jenny whispered. "Your trainer will be just fine."

She wondered if Kingler wanted to stay by its trainer's side. With that thought in mind, Jenny silently placed the PokeBall into the woman's hand.

As if by magic, the woman stirred. "Ungh…" A small groan escaped her lips the moment Kingler's PokeBall made contact with her skin. Jenny and Madison stood up, their eyes wide with alarm. Then the woman's eyes finally peeled open. They were a soft brown color. "Wha…?"

"Look! She's waking up!" Madison announced.

"Where…?" The green haired woman turned her head forward, slowly taking in her surroundings.

"Hello," Jenny greeted her kindly, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't frighten her. "You're in the hospital. What's your name?"

Instead of responding right off, the green haired woman stared right at Jenny. Her brown eyes looked so far away, like they were seeing right through the policewoman. Then they darted down to her uniform. Jenny's golden badge reflected some of the fluorescent light, making it almost glow. Suddenly, the woman took in a very sharp breath and sat upright, like a jack-in-a-box springing right open. The woman's eyes suddenly shrank in terror, and her arm lurched right out, grabbing Jenny's arm.

"What the-?!"

"The Radio Tower!" The green haired woman shrieked.

"Wait, calm down-" Madison attempted to get in between them, but the woman didn't give her a chance to do or say anything.

"Please help me!" The woman cried, her brown eyes meeting Jenny's. The police officer could see nothing but abject fear. She had seen that frightened look far too many times in her lifetime to mistake it for anything else. "Team Rocket is after me! They're trying to kill me! They're trying to stop me from foiling their plan to-"

Very slowly, Jenny removed the woman's hand from her arm. "Don't worry. You're safe here," She told her. "We won't let anyone hurt you. I'm Officer Jenny," She pointed to Madison. "And this is Officer Madison Springensfield. What's your name?"

It didn't take long for the green haired woman to calm down. Seeing that she needed to compose herself, the woman removed herself from Jenny and sat back down in the bed. She kept staring down at the R tattoo on her wrist. As soon as it was in her line of sight, the woman's face scrunched up like she smelled a Growlithe's poop.

"I'm...Harriet. Harriet Latham. Wait!" The woman-Harriet-looked around the hospital room again. "How did I get here?"

This time, Madison was the one to explain. "We wouldn't have found you if your Kingler didn't drag us over to where you were."

Harriet raised an eyebrow. "King...ler? Wait, that can't be right. I have a Krabby named Cookie, but not-" Then it hit her. She looked down at the hand holding the PokeBall. She opened it, and a Kingler came right out, standing at the edge of the bed.

"Kuukii?" As soon as the Kingler saw Harriet, it jumped up and down happily, raising its pincers. "Kuuki kuukiiiii!"

"Cookie! Oh, thank goodness!" Harriet reached down to try and hug her crustacean friend. She didn't reach too far, as a searing pain shot through her body when she tried to bend down. Cookie, seeing the pain on his trainer's face, simply extended one of his pincers toward her. Touched by the gesture, Harriet rested her head on Cookie's pincer, wrapping her arms around it, tears melting onto the red shell. "So you really did evolve...and you saved me…you really saved me…"

"Kuuki kuuki…" Both Jenny and Madison could see plain as day that Kingler-Cookie, as Harriet called him-was only too happy that his trainer was alright. No Team Rocket members they knew ever showed such love and affection for their Pokemon.

Jenny was the first to speak again. "Your injuries are quite extensive. Would you mind if we asked what exactly happened to you?"

Harriet slowly sat back up, wiping the tears from her eyes, allowing her body and soul to calm itself once more. Madison could see that she was shivering. Whether it was from cold, fear, or relief, none of them could tell. Even so, they could see that her dark brown eyes were soft but firm with resolve. One of her small hands clutched the coverlet shielding her body.

"It's a very long story," Harriet began. "But first," She looked them straight in the eyes. "I need to tell someone about this. I know this may seem hard to believe but…" She took in a breath before dropping the bombshell. "Team Rocket has infiltrated the Goldenrod Radio Tower."

The Radio Tower? Team Rocket infiltrating it? Both Jenny and Madison exchanged shocked expressions.

"They plan on using it to broadcast their evolution inducement wave all over Johto, forcibly evolving all Pokemon, mind controlling them, and making them all into one big army," Harriet continued, her voice quivering. But the floodgates were open. There was no stopping them now. No, Harriet didn't want to stop. She had kept the lid on for far too long. "That was why the red Gyarados appeared in the Lake of Rage. Team Rocket wanted to test it out first before making further adjustments and enacting their plan."

"Wow," Madison had to sit down on a nearby chair, the whole thing was so shocking. "So that's why. We had no idea."

But Harriet wasn't finished yet. She continued on. "And that's not all. They also plan on using it to lure in the legendary Pokemon. Ho-Oh, Lugia, Suicune, and Raikou. They already have Entei, and that's because Pokemon Hunter J managed to petrify it with one of her machines. They plan on executing their grand plan in three days. Someone has to stop them."

It was then that both Officer Jenny and Madison all stood up in alarm. Team Rocket wanted the legendary Pokemon? All five of them? And Pokemon Hunter J was involved with Team Rocket? Neither of them could believe it at first. It was all so surreal. It was true that they had been after J for years, but nobody could ever catch her. She managed to outsmart them every time. But...Harriet told them that J used a machine to petrify them. Few people knew of her tactics, and although Jenny and the other police knew, that wasn't a piece of information they had released publicly.

There was no doubt about it. Harriet was telling the truth.

"Let me guess," Jenny interrupted. "I take it you went through Hell and back to tell someone about this."

The only response they got right then was a solemn nod. Jenny and Madison could see Harriet's eyebrows furrowing. "I...I never wanted to be a part of Team Rocket at all…" Now, the tears flowed. The liquid was warm against her reddening cheeks. "All I wanted was a job so I could support my family...both my parents got laid off, and I needed some kind of income. Someone told me they could get me a job...but it was a trick," The green haired woman's body was wracked with shudders. "I was a complete fool. I've been wanting to escape for months, long before I learned of all this, and I could never do it! Not until now!"

Both of their hearts broke for this girl. They could tell right away that she definitely wasn't Team Rocket material. What TR member would willingly risk their life to tell someone about their grand schemes? Jenny's heart went out to the girl. She put a reassuring hand on Harriet's shoulder, her eyes gleaming with sympathy.

"Thank you for telling us all of this," Jenny told her in a soft voice. "We'll see to it that this gets taken care of."

"If you don't mind me asking," Madison suddenly chimed in. "How exactly did you get hurt so bad? Did Team Rocket chase after you?"

Again, Harriet nodded grimly. "This isn't the only reason they're after me."

The only reason? There was more?

"Before all of this, I was trying to help one of my neighbors...a little boy. Danny Kimerer. His father was abusing him…that's where it all started…"

* * *

It had started two weeks earlier. One day, Harriet was in her backyard, planting some flowers. Yellow and orange begonias, her very favorites. Cookie was outside with her, lying down and bathing in the sun's warm rays. His favorite activity. But when she looked up, she happened to peer over the fence. There was Danny, sitting in the backyard, his back leaning against Harriet's fence. Harriet stood up, her garden spade still in her hands. She hadn't seen him in a while, and was about to go and say hi...but then she saw something that made her stop in her tracks. A large, purple-black bruise stood out on Danny's left arm, a huge contrast to his normally pale skin.

"Oh-!" Harriet almost screamed, had she not managed to cover her mouth with her free hand. But she still wound up shouting enough to rouse Cookie from his sunbathing.

Said shout also made Danny turn around and face her. No trace of his normal cheer or enthusiasm was in his eyes. They were cloudy with sorrow. "Harriet? Is that you? Hi," Even his greeting was strangely muted and distant. Meek and fearful. Neither word described little Danny one bit.

"Danny…" Harriet couldn't believe what she saw. That ugly bruise on Danny's arm was far too grotesque for her to look at. One thing was for certain: Harriet knew that that bruise didn't just magically appear. "What happened to you?" She finally asked, her voice choking with worry.

At first, Danny said nothing. He simply squeezed his eyes shut and put a hand over his swelling arm. Obviously, it didn't work, as his hands were far smaller than the bruise on his arm, and they couldn't possibly cover it up no matter how hard he tried. It didn't help that it was hot today, and Danny had a sleeveless shirt on, so covering it with shirt sleeves was a no-go. How in the world did Danny get such a horrible bruise? One explanation did pop up in her mind.

Danny confirmed it soon after. "Daddy hit me. He says I shouldn't be nice to Pokemon," He explained meekly, his tiny voice full of fear.

The green haired woman didn't dare try to meet his eyes. He got hit simply because he wanted to be nice to a Pokemon? Harriet cringed. Actually, scratch that. She could feel her heart fall right into the pit of her stomach, the revelation was too much. Connecting the dots was easy enough. His father was abusing him, justifying it as preparing him to become a member of Team Rocket. She had heard the rumors, but wasn't sure if they were actually true. But his being pulled out of public school for no reason and this...the signs were in bright neon colored lights, blaring right in her face.

"I can put some ice on it if you want," Harriet suggested, her voice still shaking. Thankfully, Danny barely noticed. "It looks like it hurts really bad."

The little boy opened his mouth to speak. No words came out, as he didn't get the chance to talk.

"Danny!" A man's voice boomed, silencing both him and Harriet.

Neither said a word as Richard stomped over to Danny and yanked him to his feet. Danny yelped, pain shooting through his already bruised arm, which worsened as Richard pulled on it. "Ow! Dad, please!"

Ignoring his son's pleas, Richard shot a scornful glare in Harriet's direction. Harriet could feel the man's stare all throughout her body, from her toes all the way to her head. There was no compassion in Richard's eyes. No warmth, empathy, nothing of the sort. Then again, most men involved with Team Rocket had that same cold, icy stare. She had seen it many times before, but she still couldn't find it in herself to get used to it.

"Come on! You need to start your training!" Richard roared, taking Danny right into the house. The door slamming finally pulled Harriet out of her trance, and she raced back into the house. Cookie soon followed.

Harriet sat down on her bed, fists shaking as Cookie approached. But her Krabby wasn't what made her shudder. Richard said he was putting Danny through training. Was he training him to become a member of Team Rocket? Her arms suddenly wrapped around her, like a protective force field. She could already picture it all in her mind. Team Rocket members beating Danny with whatever they could find, be it a baseball bat or whips-supposedly to test his body's strength. Berating him for showing any kind of compassion or calling out their transgressions. Forcing him to steal Pokemon from children and adults alike. Harriet had gone through the training when she had first been recruited, so she knew full well what it would entail.

No. Danny wasn't going to go through that. Not on Harriet's watch.

A spark of courage flared up from inside her. She found the nearest phone and held it in her hands, grateful that Margeaux was out on a mission with Yannick today. She was alone in the house, which was the perfect opportunity to let someone know. She then searched through the phonebook in her kitchen, looking for the number needed to call Child Protective Services. It only took a few minutes for her to find it, barring the fact that Harriet had barely ever read phonebooks before. Her Krabby watched curiously as his trainer was hard at work, silently doing, silently planning.

"Kuukii?"

Harriet dialed the number she found. It took a few short rings, but someone did answer. "This is Cianwood City Child Protective Services."

"Hello. I would like to report a case of child abuse," The hand gripping the phone began to tremble. But Harriet was calm, her voice clear and devoid of stutters or hysteria. "My neighbor, a child named Danny Kimerer, is being abused by his father, Richard Kimerer. They live at 2300 Pasternak Street in Everglade. Danny has a large bruise on his arm, he was taken out of public school and hasn't received official schooling since, and it's said Richard is going to force him to join Team Rocket. Please, help him!"

It was a big risk. Harriet knew it all too well. If she were to get caught, she was sure Team Rocket would punish her in ways that would be far too horrible to imagine. But a child's life was in danger. She wasn't going to be heartless and just leave him to his fate. She thought of her younger sisters at home. If something were to happen to them...Harriet didn't dare to think of the possibilities. She didn't let her imagination take her that far. She hung up the phone in silence. Danny didn't deserve this cruel fate. Danny in Team Rocket? No, Harriet wouldn't allow that.

After a few minutes, a woman from CPS did arrive on Richard's doorstep. Harriet didn't dare venture outside, but she was able to see the woman via the window in her kitchen. It allowed her to see their porch clearly, and inside, she wouldn't be seen by the prying eyes of all the Team Rocket members who occupied the neighborhood, which was basically everyone who lived in Everglade. The woman knocked on the door twice. No answer. She eventually knocked a third time. Nobody answered the door. With every unanswered knock, Harriet's hopes broke piece by piece. With a shrug, the woman simply walked away. Harriet winced before turning away from the window.

"Danny...I'm sorry…" Harriet whimpered to herself. She knew that if Richard didn't answer the door for CPS, legally there was nothing the woman could do. Obviously she couldn't break into the house, and spying was definitely forbidden. Still, Harriet wished Danny could have been saved in that moment. For all she knew, maybe Richard anticipated their arrival and hid in the house to avoid having to deal with them. She made the call, and it didn't mean a thing.

Cookie's large eyes furrowed as he saw the sadness come over his trainer, and his heart went out to her. "Kuukiiiii…" He gently rested a pincer against her arm, hoping the gesture would console her some. "Kuukii kuukiiii."

Sniffling once, Harriet put a hand on the crab Pokemon's pincer. "I know, Cookie. I know. I'll try again next time. Still...it hurts so much…" The pain of being unable to help Danny was like a knife going through her chest. Tears bubbled out, trickling down her cheeks, with some melting into Cookie's pincer. "If Danny gets seriously hurt or dies, it'll be my fault...and I don't want to wait until it's too late!"

She prayed with all her heart that she would be successful next time.

* * *

It would be a long time before Harriet got another chance to see Danny. Ever since that day, the once happy, energetic little boy no longer played in the backyard. Whenever Harriet would do anything in her backyard, like play with Cookie or tend to her begonia garden, she would always look next door and see if Danny was in his yard. Danny was nowhere in sight. Not once did Danny come out of the house. She would hear voices now and again, mostly Richard's and a little bit of Danny's, which told her he was still alive, but a sense of unease amassed inside her with every day that passed. Not a day went by when Harriet didn't worry about Danny.

Even when she, Margeaux, and many other Team Rocket members were gathered into an underground base for a top secret meeting. Archer and Ariana all stood on a stage, greeted by an audience of over a thousand Team Rocket grunts that made up a sea of black and red uniforms. Harriet was merely a blip in this suffocating cluster of people. Just being here made her feel sick to her stomach. Here she was, stuck in Team Rocket, and unable to escape. The people surrounding her seemed to turn into walls, intent on keeping her in, never letting her out. Harriet kept staring down at her boots, not looking up even as Archer spoke.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you are all gathered here today," Archer began, his voice booming because of the microphone attached to his shirt. "I'll cut right to the chase. Team Rocket has made its decision. We are to take over the Goldenrod Radio Tower in five days time."

Whispers and murmurs swam all throughout the crowd. Harriet could hear them all. Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. They were going to take over the Radio Tower in five days? Grunts all around her stood in awe of the announcement while gossiping amongst themselves.

"About time! I was wondering when they were gonna get this over with!"

"I'm just hoping it doesn't get in the way of my appointment at the tanning salon."

"Yeah! We're gonna get something done for once!"

"Man, this is gonna be epic!"

"I really hope this mission succeeds. I've been looking forward to this for months."

"You think we'll get some promotions if it goes well?"

"Silence!" Ariana exclaimed, swinging her hand out toward the crowd. The whispers gradually died down. "This mission has taken months of careful preparation, testing, and planning, and we intend to see it through to the very end. The evolution inducement wave's testing period has finally come to an end, which I'm sure you all know means that it can finally do what we want it to do. You're aware of the red Gyarados incident at Lake of Rage, right?"

Many of the grunts said yes. Others nodded in silence. Harriet cringed, continuing to stare down at her feet.

"Project R was merely the first test run to see if it would actually work. Now that it's perfect, we can not only evolve Pokemon all over Johto, but control them in any way we please," Ariana continued, her eyes glinting with an eerie shimmer.

Harriet shut her eyes, Ariana's voice sending shivers down her spine. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go home. Be with her family. Not be stuck with Team Rocket and get dragged into their machinations. But escape was impossible. The crowd seemed to mold into one cluster of black mass, ready to swallow her whole at any moment.

Archer stepped forward. "This mission is absolutely imperative to Team Rocket's quest. All of you play a significant role in its success, no matter how small," He cleared his throat before continuing. "As such, we expect all of you to make absolutely sure that no one outside of Team Rocket, absolutely no one-" The last three words were stone hard, leaving no room for nonsense or silliness. "Knows of our plan to take over the radio tower. I'm sure you're all aware of what the consequences will be, should you fail."

Nobody said anything.

"Loose lips and treason will absolutely not be tolerated," Archer hissed, his voice full of cold venom. "Speak of the mission to anyone outside of TR, and your punishment will be slow and painful. We could have you endure a session. Or we could have you be at the mercy of Yannick's whip. As you all know, he shows no mercy to anyone, especially traitors. Or you could be sent to Petrel, and he will do whatever he pleases with you."

The more she heard, the more Harriet trembled. She knew Team Rocket took punishing traitors seriously, but she didn't dare try to visualize those scenarios in her mind. But more than that...should she try to escape at all and she got caught, any one of those things could happen to her.

This time, Ariana stepped forward. "We are Team Rocket, and our quest for glory is nigh!" She raised her arm into the air. "Glory to Team Rocket!"

"Glory to Team Rocket!" The entire audience broke into chanting over and over again. But Harriet said nothing. She didn't dare chant alongside the grunts. Thankfully, nobody around her seemed to notice her silence.

None except for Yannick, who stood on the stage, glaring at her with cold eyes.

Harriet was physically ill for the next two days afterward. She wasn't sick with a fever or a stomach ache, but sick with dread. All she could do was lie on the couch in the living room, her body limp and unable to move. She stared up at the ceiling, pondering the meeting. One thing was for sure. _'I need to do something about this. Someone has to stop them,'_ Harriet wasn't going to stand for this. Team Rocket needed to be stopped. Why couldn't she be the one to stop them? But an opportunity hadn't presented itself quite yet. Team Rocket members lived in the entire neighborhood. If even one of them spotted her as she escaped, they'd probably do whatever they could to keep her in Everglade. Or worse.

An opportunity did arise. But it would be in the worst way possible.

"Harriet!" Margeaux whined from the living room. A soap opera was playing on the TV. "Pleeeeease tell me dinner's gonna be ready soon!"

"It will!" Harriet called back from the kitchen. "Just a few more minutes!" The timer on the oven was still on six minutes. Tomato sauce was already simmering in a pot right above the stove. Harriet's nose caught the warm scent. She could hear it starting to boil, so she turned the dial on the oven, turning off that part of the stove.

It was then that Harriet heard a terrible scream.

"Kuukii?" Even Cookie heard it from the floor.

Harriet gasped, whirling around, facing the window. An absolutely frightened Danny had sprinted out into the backyard, his forehead bleeding. Some of the blood trickled into one of his eyes.

Danny!

Immediately, dread seized her. On impulse, Harriet stormed out of the house and onto the porch on her backyard. It was high enough for her to see over the fence, so she was able to watch everything unfold. But the minute she got there, her body froze. Danny was halfway up the fence. Richard stormed out with a belt in hand, grabbing Danny by the shirt collar and pulling him down.

"Daddy, stop!" Danny pleaded, his voice rising. But Richard stared down at him, his eyes blazing with unrestrained anger, baring his teeth like an Ursaring about to slash its prey.

Unable to watch, Harriet fell to her knees, covering her face and cowering. Her ears weren't spared the pain of hearing the belt whip against Danny, and the latter's pained cries and screams. Even more frightening were Richard's roars and bellows as he hit his son with the belt. One, two, three. A painful, monotonous rhythm.

"Why'd you let that Pokemon go?!" Richard roared. He didn't let up one bit. The whippings continued, and with every smack of the belt, all Harriet could hear from him where Danny's screams.

"You were hurting it!" That was the only response Danny could provide.

Unfortunately, it didn't satiate Richard one bit. His face red with an uncontrollable rage, Richard discarded the belt and his fist met Danny's face. Harriet found the courage to move her fingers a bit, uncovering her eyes. The events that unfolded in front of her didn't change. Danny could only let out pained gurgles and cries as blow after blow struck him on the face. Blood spilled from his nose, and Harriet could see the boy's face turning a grotesque red and purple color. Danny didn't deserve this.

"You little wuss!" Richard bellowed, his voice rising with every blow he struck. "We needed that Pokemon for our experiment! Stupid brat! You're gonna be Team Rocket whether you like it or not! Come here!"

Harriet's heart fell to pieces. Richard was beating a child all because Danny didn't want to have anything to do with Team Rocket? All because he wanted to be kind and save a Pokemon from a life of pain? What was this world coming to? Harriet's mind screamed at her to go save him. Do something. Call the police. But fear paralyzed her. Her body refused to move, even though she wanted to just fly over there and save little Danny. Danny, who did nothing wrong. Why couldn't she move? Harriet needed to save him. But how? Richard was a big, strong, burly man, and he had a reputation for being a particularly merciless and volatile Team Rocket grunt who always got his way. Harriet was just a small, mousy woman who could barely lift a set of weights.

Then the realization hit her. Her phone! She rummaged through her pocket, feeling for a metallic rectangle. There it was. She pulled it out, grateful that it was still on, and hit the video record button. She could record footage of Richard's actions, take it to CPS, and give them probable cause to save Danny from further pain! Harriet held the phone out, locking it onto Richard as he punched Danny multiple times in the stomach. She kept her eyes closed, unable to watch. Just hearing the terrible noise made her stomach tie itself into a knot.

It didn't take very long for Richard to drag a helpless, beaten Danny back into the house, and his roars ceased. Eventually, Harriet found the courage to open her eyes. Her phone was still in her hand. She pressed the stop button and played the footage she recorded. It captured it all: Richard beating poor Danny senseless, whipping him with the belt, and dragging him into the house by his hair. Watching it all made Harriet feel as though a Weedle had struck her with Poison Sting. But she knew this would be her greatest asset. She had everything she needed to save Danny now.

And what she needed to get out of Team Rocket forever.

Harriet marched back into the house, only to find Margeaux in the kitchen with a confused look on her face. "Whoa. I've heard the stories, but I had no idea Richard was that merciless," Margeaux said, looking out the window.

The green haired woman said nothing, slipping her phone into her pocket. Good thing Margeaux was looking the other way, so she didn't see Harriet hide the phone. Cookie looked up at his trainer with concern. The crab Pokemon could see the visible anguish on his trainer's face. It was easy for him to know how his trainer was feeling.

Margeaux crossed her arms. "Well, I sure am glad Ariana didn't have me working with him," Then she turned to Harriet with, of all things, a smile on her face. "Is that casserole ready yet? I'm starving. You've got to hear what happened the over day with Sally and Marcelin!"

Something inside Harriet suddenly snapped. She couldn't help but gape. Was Margeaux really so heartless that she'd want to just forget about having seen a child be brutally abused by his father and sharing stories about other grunts' antics? Her blood boiled, turning into red hot lava, and like a Typhlosion's Eruption attack, Harriet was ready to burst. No, she wanted to burst. She had held it all in for far too long. And here Margeaux was, smiling at her like she and Harriet just saw a funny show on TV. She couldn't forgive this. She couldn't forgive this at all.

Baring her teeth, Harriet glared at Margeaux. Unable to stop herself, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Are you serious?! Do you hear yourself right now, Margeaux?! You just saw a child be brutally beaten by his father and the first thing you think about is sharing stupid stories with me and asking about some dumb casserole?!" Even Margeaux couldn't help but take a step back, her eyes wide with shock. She had never seen Harriet like this. Never before had Harriet been so visibly angry.

"Harriet, come on-"

"How heartless can you be?! You can't possibly approve of this! You don't, do you?!"

"Harriet, please. Team Rocket parents do this to their kids all the time. You know that."

Hearing this made Harriet's anger burn hotter. She was making it seem like parents abusing their kids was not only normal, but permitted and encouraged! How anyone could make this a common and accepted practice, Harriet couldn't fathom. Just thinking about it made her taste bile in her mouth. "And that somehow makes it okay?! No! It doesn't! We should be reporting him to CPS, for Arceus's sake! How can you think this is okay?!"

For once, Margeaux had no words. But her silence told Harriet all she needed to know. "I can't believe you. You're so devoted to Team Rocket that you're willing to let a child suffer and potentially be killed. And for what!? World domination?! Money?! Fame?! You're horrible, you know that?!"

In Harriet's mind, there was no possible excuse or justification for any of this. Danny certainly didn't deserve to be treated the way he did. If Margeaux was willing to pass this off as being normal in Team Rocket's world...Harriet could only shudder at the thought of other kids suffering in the exact same way if they don't become members of Team Rocket or do everything their parents say. People who were in Team Rocket probably shouldn't be parents at all!

"Harriet, come on. You don't mean that," Margeaux sputtered. "We're friends-"

Friends? Friends?! FRIENDS?! She finally erupted.

"NO! WE ARE _NOT_ FRIENDS!" Harriet screamed at the top of her lungs, louder than she thought she was even capable of. Even Cookie covered his face with his pincers, cowering. "WE HAVE _NEVER_ BEEN FRIENDS AND WE NEVER WILL BE!" She couldn't believe it. Margeaux actually thought she and Harriet were friends. Harriet couldn't fathom why she would think that. Just because they lived together, talked sometimes, and sometimes went on missions...Harriet tasted bile. "I never wanted to be dragged into Team Rocket! All I wanted was a job and to support my family! But Yannick tricked me! He pulled me into this, and I don't want anything more to do with this or you! I can't take this anymore! I am leaving Team Rocket and you're NOT going to stop me!" This time, tears spilled forth. They came with such force that Harriet's cheeks were practically drowning.

Again, Margeaux had no words. But Harriet could see the completely pained expression she had. It was one of abject heartbreak and misery. Was it real? Or was it yet another facade? At this point, Harriet didn't want to waste her energy on someone she never liked. With Cookie at her side, Harriet bolted to her room, leaving a surprised Margeaux alone in the kitchen.

* * *

"Oh goodness…" Both Officer Jenny and Madison had to sit down. This whole story was far too much to process all at once. Madison held a hand to her face, covering one eye. "To think Team Rocket's been marrying off their members and making children all to keep the organization alive…" This was far worse than anything they had ever learned about them in all the time they've been investigating them.

On the other hand, Jenny's hand was at work, writing everything Harriet told her into a tiny notebook. The pen was moving at mach speed, scribbling onto the paper. Pages and pages were filled top to bottom with writing and Harriet's testimony. Harriet merely looked down at her trembling hands, unable to look them in the eye.

"I know. It's horrible," Harriet's breath caught in her throat. But she continued to speak. "Danny's not the only child suffering at their hand. The fact that they encourage these awful acts…" More tears spilled forth, dripping onto the sheets. "I couldn't stay there anymore. If I did, I'd lose all the humanity I had left."

Jenny smiled, slipping a hand into Harriet's. Even though Jenny's hand was covered by a glove, Harriet could feel her kindness and warmth. "The fact that you went through so much all for one child's safety says a lot about you," Jenny told her with a kind, reassuring tone.

On the other hand, Madison kept scratching her head. "Hang on. Something doesn't make sense. This man beat his child in his backyard, where other people could likely see it?" Madison asked, looking quite perplexed. "How come nobody else did anything about it? Someone should have noticed. The entire neighborhood was likely to have seen this go on."

"You're right about that," Harriet told her. "Everglade is a neighborhood where only Team Rocket members live. If a child is being beaten right in front of their eyes, they basically see it as the child being _'disciplined'_ for not adhering to Team Rocket's ideals and goals and don't do anything to stop it. That's what other TR members said when they saw other kids being hurt," She explained. Once again, pushing those words out was like getting poison out of her system.

"An entire neighborhood taken up by Team Rocket members…" Madison ruminated to herself. "Man, those guys really know how to keep themselves under surveillance."

Harriet gave a grim nod. "Indeed. TR's leader works primarily in housing, so he's able to arrange for various members to live in entire neighborhoods like Everglade, namely so if anyone's doing something they shouldn't, like telling people outside of TR of our plans, someone will notice and report it to the executives. That way, they can weed out those they perceive as traitors."

Jenny put her little notebook down, her smile turning into a grim frown. "Judging by your injuries, I take it someone in the neighborhood found out about what you did and reported it to their higher-ups."

Green hair tumbling about her face, Harriet nodded again. This time, she hid her hands underneath the comforter. The red R on her wrist made her stomach turn into a knot. "That's the other half of this story."

Harriet wasn't done yet. Not even close.


	51. Harriet's Confession, Part Two

**A/N** : This chapter is a very very belated birthday present to a very special friend I made on the Bulbagarden forums. Happy super late birthday, System Error! Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 42: Harriet's Confession, Part Two

Continuing where she left off, Harriet told Officers Jenny and Madison the rest of what happened. Hours after she witnessed Danny be beaten near to death, she resolved to finally leave Team Rocket today. It had to be today. If she stayed, she was sure to regret it, both for herself and for Danny. But she had to leave during a time when absolutely no one would see her. If someone were to see her leave Everglade, they would likely report her to the higher ups and see that she be punished for her actions. But escaping in and of itself was a big risk. Whether she stayed or left, Team Rocket would still be after her. This time, Harriet wasn't going to stand around and lose the humanity she had left.

At about 11:00 PM, Harriet packed a small bag of necessities-clothes, hygiene products, her diaries, phone, money, and the rest of her PokeBalls-anything she'd need in case she was out on the road. She thanked her lucky stars that she still had some normal looking clothes with her. No way was she going to wear that awful Team Rocket uniform for a minute longer. Just wearing it made her...well, not herself, to put it bluntly. She put on a long sleeved purple shirt, a long white skirt, her favorite beige loafers, dirty and worn with age and lots of usage, and a white sunhat with a purple ribbon wrapped around it. This was more like it. Wearing her regular clothes made her feel normal. Like herself. But this was no time to linger.

She walked out the back porch, keeping an eye out for anyone who would be up and about. It was dark, and normally, nobody would be out at this time of night. But for Harriet, anyone could be lurking, just waiting to find someone doing something they shouldn't and snitching on them. Streetlights lit the premises, preventing Everglade from being pitch black, and the moon shone brightly in the night sky, like always. With her bag in hand, Harriet made a beeline out the door, her feet carrying her away from the house she lived in for so long. With every step she ran, she could feel her body relaxing. Chains and shackles fell from her soul. Finally, she was away from Team Rocket! Away from that awful neighborhood!

Since Everglade was behind a small mountain, it would take a while before Harriet would be able to reach another neighborhood. Good thing she remembered to bring a flashlight. She walked through the caves, awake and alert, taking care not to wake any of the Pokemon inside. Eventually, she got out and came within the vicinity of the Safari Zone building. Since it was night time, the facility was closed at the moment. But the Pokemon Center was aglow with light, a beacon in the pitch black night. As much as she wanted to go inside and check in, however, she wanted to find a police station first. There just had to be one somewhere. Considering this is the Safari Zone, the facility could need one in case anyone tried to hurt the Pokemon. Harriet kept looking left and right, like a lost Growlithe. Where was the police station? Thankfully, after some more walking, one came within view. A rather small building with a big yellow star on top. Like the Pokemon Center, it was lit up from the inside. She watched as a police officer walked right in. It was open!

Harriet poked her head into the station for a bit before pulling out. Then she pulled two PokeBalls out of her bag.

"Corsola! Sunflora! Come on out!" White lights spilled forth from the spheres. One of them materialized into a round, pink and white Pokemon with coral branches sprouting from its head. The other Pokemon was a living sunflower, with a green body, big leaves for arms, and a big yellow sunflower for a head.

"Corsola corsola corsola!" Corsola hopped up and down.

"Suuuunflora!" Sunflora waved its leafy arms in a cheerful manner.

"I'm sorry to disturb your sleep," Harriet kneeled to their level. "But I have to run inside and do something. Would you mind keeping an eye out for any Team Rocket grunts?"

"Corsola!" "Sun!" Both Pokemon nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, you guys," She reached out to stroke their heads gently, happy she had such loyal Pokemon by her side. "I'll probably be a while, so don't worry if I'm in there for too long."

"Corsola!" "Flooora!" Both Pokemon turned around, their eyes peeled wide open, scanning the premises for any Team Rocket members.

Harriet smiled before stepping into the police station. A female officer was sitting at the counter, writing on some documents when she heard footsteps. She looked up, meeting Harriet's bespectacled eyes. "Oh. Hello there. Do you need some help?" She asked.

"Actually, I'm here to file a report," Harriet pulled her phone out. "One of my neighbors, a little boy named Danny Kimerer, is being abused by his father. I have video evidence."

"Come this way," The officer led Harriet into a smaller room. It was cozy and empty, perfect for the two women to talk in private.

Once inside, Harriet told the officer everything, from Danny being pulled out of public school to witnessing the terrible beating a few hours beforehand. She even showed the officer the video she took of the incident. It was apparent from the wide-eyed, alarmed expression on the officer's face that the footage she recorded was too terrible to look at. Harriet thought only those with hearts of stone could watch that video without cringing or being completely shocked at the sheer brutality the child was subjected to. Once finished viewing the video, Harriet was quick to give the officer Richard's home address and speak of his intentions.

"I see. It's very brave of you to come here and tell me all of this," The officer told her, putting her phone in a plastic bag. "If you don't mind, I'd like to keep this as evidence for the time being. My boss would certainly want to examine it for legitimacy before pursuing this case. But I assure you, we'll save little Danny. You just gave us probable cause for doing so."

A relieved smile bloomed on her worried face. "Thank goodness!" Harriet clasped her hands together, overjoyed. Danny was going to be saved! She only hoped that it wasn't too late to do so. But she thanked her stars that she recorded the video after all. She had seen enough cop shows and crime documentaries to know that stone hard evidence was imperative to solving cases like this. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you doing this."

"Not a problem," The officer told her. "Is there anything else?" She could tell by the serious look on the green haired woman's face that there was more.

Without hesitation, Harriet told the officer about Team Rocket's plans to take over the Goldenrod Radio Tower. She didn't miss a single detail, and all throughout the telling of the tale, the officer wrote down Harriet's testimony in a notepad. It took exactly 30 minutes for Harriet to finish talking.

"This is quite serious," The officer said, scratching her head with the end of her pen, perplexed. "But exactly how do you know all of this?"

Harriet rolled up her sleeve, revealing the red R tattoo on her wrist. The officer's eyes shrunk in alarm. Harriet expected that. But it didn't wound her heart any less. "Just to be clear, I was forced to join against my will. I only just now escaped, and I want nothing more to do with them. Ever," Even Harriet was surprised by the unexpected conviction in her voice just now. She hadn't sounded so serious in years. Now she sounded in control. She was in control. In control of her own fate.

"I understand. I'll report all of this to my boss right away," The officer told her. "If you want, we can arrange for you to stay here so none of the other TR grunts can get to you," Harriet's heart warmed at the officer's generosity. She didn't see one hint of fear or scorn in the woman's eyes, and her voice was kind, too. "Some of my coworkers are still here, and they're working the night shift with me, so they can probably keep an eye on you throughout the night and protect you."

For the first time in a long while, Harriet flashed a satisfied, hopeful grin. Finally, she was getting somewhere! Her efforts were finally going to bear fruit! "That would be wonderful. Thank you!" It was here she remembered Corsola and Sunflora. They were still outside! "But there is one other thing."

After getting permission from the female officer, Harriet trotted out to the entrance to see if her Pokemon were still there. To her relief, they were. Nothing had happened yet, so Harriet found it safe to put Sunflora and Corsola back in their PokeBalls for the time being. It didn't take long for the officer to return, escorting Harriet to what would be her sleeping quarters. It was mostly a dim, grey room full of plain looking bunk beds, probably for officers who had to be on call for sudden emergencies or who couldn't return home for whatever reason. She was told that some officers would guard the room throughout the night and keep an eye out so nobody could try to come after her.

It wasn't much. But to Harriet, a place like this was a luxury. She actually felt safe, no longer confined by the knowledge that she was in a place where Team Rocket ruled. She could actually breathe freely. She sat down on a bed in the farthest corner of the room. Corners always felt safest to her. The bed was actually rather hard and springy, not like the comfortable bed she had in the house she shared with Margeaux. At this point, she'd take this over Everglade anyday. She pulled two PokeBalls out.

"Cookie. Delibird. Come out, please," Harriet released Cookie and another Pokemon from their confinement. Delibird was a red and white, penguin-like Pokemon with small wings, a yellow beak, a face and chest covered in snow white feathers, and yellow two-toed feet. It also had a long tail that, when Delibird took it in its arms, looked like a bag.

"Kuukii."

"Deli deli!" Delibird squawked, waving its one wing up and down in greeting.

"Would you guys keep me...company for the night?" Harriet's voice trembled as she asked the favor. "I'd feel safer if you two were out of your balls and with me."

She barely got to finish her sentence before Cookie laid down next to the bed and Delibird snuggled right up to her. Stray tears trickled down her cheeks, one of them melting into Delibird's head of fur. How blessed she was to have such wonderful Pokemon by her side! With her heart brimming with gratitude for having her friends with her, it was easy for Harriet to fall right asleep. This time, she wasn't afraid of the unknown. As long as her Pokemon were with her, she was fine as far as she was concerned.

The night passed quickly. When morning arrived, Harriet heard the most heavenly news from the female officer from last night.

"Harriet. My team broke into Richard's house last night," The officer told Harriet right as she woke up. She didn't even give Harriet time to rub her eyes. "They saved Danny. He's alive and in good hands."

Danny was saved? Danny? Saved? Just hearing those wonderful words was enough to completely blast any sleep and weariness she had to smithereens. Springing upward, Harriet sat up, eyes awake and wide with surprise.

"You saved him?! Is he alright?!" Harriet shouted, her voice instantly going from quiet to near hysterical the second she heard the news. But...she knew Danny's injuries were likely to be very severe. She saw him bleeding from an intense head wound. Richard had kicked him, punched him, and beat him with a belt. A man like Richard was likely to either have killed him or left permanent scars or injuries.

The officer's answer confirmed it. "He has several broken bones that are going to take a lot of time to heal, and his other wounds were quite intensive. But rest assured, he's alive. Last I heard, the doctors got him out of surgery earlier this morning."

Danny was alive. Stable and in good hands. Survived surgery. To say Harriet was relieved would be the understatement of the millennium. It was as though the chains that trapped Harriet finally broke, freeing her from confinement. The floodgates opened. Harriet threw herself on the female officer, squeezing her tight and crying into her chest. This was just so wonderful! Danny was saved! He was taken away from Richard! He could live a normal life! Never before had Harriet felt so grateful for anything in her life.

"Thank you…" Her gratitude came out in choked sobs. But neither woman cared. "Thank you...thank you so much…"

"We saved other kids as well," The policewoman told her reassuringly. "Your information was correct. We found them in all the other places you told us about."

Even more reason to celebrate. Harriet let herself go, sobbing into the woman's shirt, leaving stains of happy tears all over it. Good thing neither woman cared much. At this point, they were just too jubilant about their victory to notice anything else, Harriet especially. Finally, her efforts bore fruit! Danny was no longer in danger! At least, she hoped he wasn't. Not just Danny, but other kids were safe as well! Gradually, her jovial sobs quieted down, and she wiped her tears as she released the policewoman from her grasp.

"I'm so happy right now...I can't describe it…" No fancy words could possibly convey Harriet's complete and utter joy at the news. Even the police woman could see that Harriet was beyond happy to hear this news.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you have family we can contact?"

Her family? Harriet's smile immediately faded. She hadn't thought about her family in a while. She had sent them a letter about two weeks ago, but that was it. "I do. But I haven't seen them in months. Team Rocket cuts off their members from their real families, if they have any. Plus…" A dark look pushed away the jovial expression she had before. She looked down at the officer's shoes. "I don't know what they'd do or say if they found out...I was in Team Rocket. I'll be honest, I've done some bad things while I was there. I never wanted to, but it doesn't change the fact that I too have committed crimes in the name of TR."

It had weighed heavy on her heart ever since her first mission. For so long, all Harriet dreamed of was leaving Team Rocket and returning home to her family. The family she knew she loved and cherished with all her heart. By Arceus, did she yearn to be with her mother, father, and many siblings! Smell her mother's fresh rotisserie chicken, watch bad horror movies with her father, chase her younger brothers around the yard, and teach her little sisters how to take good care of Pokemon, since they wanted to be trainers just like her. But...could Harriet even face them and tell them the truth? For all she knew, if they found out she was in Team Rocket, they might be angry at her, whether they believed that she was dragged into the organization against her will or not. Would they even go so far as to disown her? Harriet shook her head. No, they wouldn't do that. They were her family. Sure, Harriet knew she had done bad things, but that didn't make her a bad person. It wasn't as though she wanted to do everything TR told her to do.

Saving Danny and telling the police about TR's plans for Goldenrod was proof of that. Right?

Harriet told the officer that she herself would call them when she felt she was ready. But the officer did tell the girl that she wasn't to leave the police station yet. For all they knew, Team Rocket might have reported the raid to their superiors and were on the hunt for Harriet. They didn't want to risk Harriet getting captured, to which the latter agreed. Besides, Harriet was in no rush to get back home as of right now. She was just happy to be away from Team Rocket.

Too bad her freedom would be short lived.

The room Harriet had slept in was still empty, but only now did the heat suddenly strike her like a mighty blow. Unlike the cold autumn day outside, the inside of the room was stiflingly warm. Breathing it made Harriet feel as though dust as tickling her throat. She could tell that the radiator at the other end of the room was the cause of it, probably to keep whoever slept here warm during the fall and winter. However, the level of heat in the room was a bit too suffocating for Harriet.

"Goodness," Harriet walked over to the nearest window. "They have the radiator on full blast in here!" She exclaimed, pushing the window up to feel the cool air outside. Her cheeks stung a little at the frigid, frosty air, but it still felt somewhat nice. Immediately, the heat went out the window, making the room feel much less like a humid early summer day. She rested her elbows on the windowsill, her hands on her cheek, looking up at the grey sky above. Her mind wandered, losing itself to thoughts of her family.

"I wonder if Andy and Ryan are behaving themselves?" Andy and Ryan were two of her younger brothers. Come to think of it, wasn't Ryan's 10th birthday about a few weeks ago? Regret and guilt tugged at her heart. She had missed her siblings' birthdays. Ryan was old enough to become a Pokemon trainer if he applied for a trainer's license. That had been all he talked about for years.

A low giggle bubbled out. "For all I know, they're probably still teasing poor Dakota and Kelly," Dakota and Kelly were her younger sisters. She could picture it clearly in her mind. Two boys of about eight and ten, playing silly pranks on two girls of about twelve and fourteen, like playfully attacking them with toy swords and Nerf guns.

Suddenly, her nose caught a strange scent. "Huh?" It was strong and stingy, like oranges. Then, without warning, a sparkling gold cloud blocked her vision. "Wha?!" Harriet immediately waved her hands to blow it away, but it was futile. Immediately, her body began to lose energy, turning limp. She fell to her knees, her legs giving out from underneath her. Her eyes grew heavy, unable to keep them open.

"What's...happening…" The last thing she saw was a black silhouette on the other side of the window. A human shape. Who was that? Before long, Harriet lost herself, falling to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

The first thing she heard were voices. Low voices. Murmurs echoing among a crowd.

Then she noticed she couldn't move. She was stuck. Rope fibers dug into her skin. She couldn't get up. This was enough to make Harriet wake up at least. Titanium walls surrounded her. People in Team Rocket uniforms circled around her. Black uniforms. White uniforms. Gray uniforms. Harriet looked down and sucked in a terrified breath. She was tied to a titanium chair with a rope. She wasn't at the police station anymore. Did one of the grunts render her unconscious somehow and take her back? Considering she was surrounded by TR grunts, that seemed to be the most plausible explanation.

One thing she knew for absolute certain was this: all eyes were on her.

Angry, narrowed eyes brimming with nothing but scorn.

A set of doors pulled back, allowing someone to enter the room. Harriet looked up in alarm. It was Yannick, frowning at her, holding his favorite whip in hand. A Venonat hopped next to him. Yannick stood before Harriet, his emotionless, cold expression unchanging.

"Ya-Yannick…" The recitation of his name came out as nothing more than a timid squeak.

"Thought you could spoil our grand plans, didn't you, Harriet Latham?" Yannick's voice was absolutely dripping with venom and ice. "You're lucky Venonat's Sleep Powder was most effective on a little runt like you. I suppose the message at the meeting wasn't drilled into your small brain enough. Loose lips and treason absolutely will not be tolerated."

The punishments Ariana had talked about. Now Harriet was living one of them. This wasn't going to end well. She could feel it in her whole body. Even more so when Yannick kept his cold eyes on her. Cold, heartless, ruthless eyes that were known to strike fear into anyone. Harriet could feel a lump in her throat. Swallowing didn't help a bit.

"I'm sure you're well aware of your crimes, so I don't feel the need to repeat them to you," Yannick hissed before giving a glance at everyone in the room.

Crimes? Harriet knew what he was talking about. Saving Danny from being abused by Richard and being forced to become a member of Team Rocket. Telling the police about their practices and getting Richard arrested. Letting them know about Team Rocket's plan to raid the Goldenrod Radio Tower and use it to broadcast their evolution inducement wave all over Johto, putting everyone, human and Pokemon, in mortal danger. Those were considered crimes to him? If Harriet wasn't tied up and potentially fearing for her life, she would be laughing at the completely warped irony. But more than that, she could tell the people here had a very warped view of what constituted being considered a crime. The fact that nobody dared to question Yannick told her all she needed to know about how far gone they were.

"Well, Harriet," Yannick tapped his whip on his gloved palm twice. "As punishment for your reprehensible actions, you will be subject to a session. I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much," The grin on his face as he said that stretched farther than normal, and he bared his teeth like a vicious Houndoom ready to attack its prey and maul it alive. More than that, his normally icy eyes suddenly burned excitedly.

More like he was the one to enjoy it.

"Alright, you low-lifes!" Yannick commanded. "Show this little runt what happens to those who oppose Team Rocket!"

With one crack of a whip, everything began.

Voices rose into all-out yelling. Grunts pointed their fingers at Harriet, with some waving their fingers at her like parents scolding a naughty child. Their eyes blazed with unrestrained anger. Vile insults, profanities, and obscenities poured out from their mouths, things Harriet didn't dare repeat. All of it directed toward her and no one else.

"How could you do this to us?! Our plans are gonna be ruined because of you!"

"You're a fat slob! Your hair looks like puke with it all green! Your Pokemon are useless weaklings!"

"Someone should shove a flaming lit torch down your throat so you don't run your mouth to anyone else!"

"Why did you even join Team Rocket?! Are you deliberately trying to expose us?!"

"How dare you! You don't care about anyone but yourself! Why couldn't you just do what they said?!"

"Idiot! Moron! Fat-butt! Poop-eater! Coward! Betrayer!"

"You're ugly and stupid and you look like a rotting skeleton!"

"You're lucky Petrel isn't here to have his way with you! We know he'd teach you a lesson like no other!"

"We're all ashamed of you, Harriet! We trusted you!"

"You're a failed abortion whose birth certificate is an apology to the poor woman who gave birth to you!"

"Piece of sentient human trash! Someone should have murdered you and left you to die and reduced you to roadkill for the Houndoom and Mandibuzz to eat!"

"Parasite! Fat pig! Fat cow! Skank! Slut! Bottom-feeding, scum-sucking Snorlax feces!"

"I'll bet no man in this universe would ever want to marry a two-faced liar like you!"

"You heartless witch! Richard wouldn't be in jail if you hadn't been so stupid and ran your mouth! What else are you gonna tell the cops?!"

Every word that fired out from the grunts struck Harriet in the heart, each one hitting harder than the last, each one twisting further to make blood come out faster. Here was Harriet, tied to a chair, unable to move, unable to escape, and having insults and vile things thrown at her in every direction. There was nothing she could do. She was absolutely helpless. The rope kept her locked in place. People circled around her, trapping her in one spot, not intent on letting her escape anytime soon. All Harriet could do was close her eyes, hold her head down, and try to block everything out. Let her mind take her somewhere else. But not even that worked. Everything was too loud. Never before had she ever been subjected to something like this.

"Ugh!" Something hit her chest. Something soft and wet. Harriet opened her eyes and looked down. The remains of a rotting tomato splattered all over her blouse, coating it a sickening orange red color. The tomato then fell on her lap, staining her skirt. Of course, the Team Rocket grunts did nothing but laugh.

"Now that's a way better look on you!" One male grunt bellowed before chucking another rotten tomato at her. This time, the rotting vegetable hit Harriet square in the face, falling to the floor, staining her from the nose down to her chin. More laughter followed. Harriet could only lower her head in shame. Everything hurt. It hurt so much.

Right after that, balls of saliva were suddenly pelted at her. Some of the grunts spat at her, with others laughing at the ghastly display. One glob of saliva hit Harriet's eyebrow, cascading into her left eye. Another landed right on her cheek, and another on her blouse. Harriet had never been and felt so humiliated in all her life. Nobody had ever done this to her before. Worst of all...Harriet could do nothing.

Why was this happening? Why were they doing this to her? Why was she going through all this? Harriet felt small and weak, powerless to do anything against these grunts. She could see Yannick smirking in one corner of the room, clearly enjoying himself. Harriet had never felt so hopeless in all her life. With every insult, profanity, and ball of saliva thrown at her, a piece of Harriet's heart was pulled right off and ground into dust. It seemed to go on forever. What time was it? How long had she been here? Harriet didn't know, and had no way of knowing.

"Ahhh!" All of a sudden, a sharp pain whipped across her legs. She looked down, seeing some fresh red welts. Yannick stood before her, whip still in hand. Then, he raised it up before dropping it down once more. The tip slashed across Harriet's torso, then her face, and he took another whip at her feet.

"See what you made me do, Harriet?" Once again, Yannick's voice had no warmth or sympathy. Only ice and venom. "This is what those who defy Team Rocket have to face," Then, strangely, he untied the ropes around Harriet, releasing her from the confinement. But Harriet knew that he wasn't going to just let her go. Then, he used his free hand to lift Harriet to her feet by her shirt.

"Stop! Please!" Harriet begged, squirming in what she knew was a futile attempt to break free of his grasp. Obviously, it didn't work. Yannick's iron grip wasn't going to release her that easily.

"Know that this is only the beginning of your punishment," Yannick hissed.

Harriet clutched Yannick's wrist with both hands in a futile attempt to remove him from her shirt. Of course, since he was stronger and bigger than she, that was impossible. All Harriet wanted was to get out of here. Get away from Team Rocket and this "session." Was this ever going to end?

"STOP!"

A scream made everything stand still, like time itself had stopped. Everyone in the room turned to the entrance, even Yannick and Harriet. It was Margeaux, gasping for breath, holding what appeared to be a lime green wig in one hand and a pair of glasses in the other.

"Margeaux? What are you-?" Harriet's mind was all over the place. Her mouth hung open in alarm. Was Margeaux here to participate in the session?

"Stop! Please, stop this right now!" Margeaux shouted, eyes wide with sorrow.

Everyone raised their eyebrows. Harriet especially. For a moment, she was sure her ears were playing tricks on her. Margeaux? Standing up for her? Telling them to stop? ' _That can't be true. Margeaux is just like the others,'_ Harriet thought. Margeaux had no empathy for Danny being abused by Richard. She brushed it off like it was just a bug in the room. Surely this had to be a trick. A facade Margeaux was displaying to the public eye.

But it wasn't. "Harriet's innocent! She didn't do it! I did!" Margeaux yelled, slamming a hand onto her chest.

The crowd was silent, save for a few low murmurs. Again, Harriet's mouth fell open.

"What is the meaning of this, Margeaux?" Yannick shot an angry glare in his partner's direction. "We're in the middle of an important session!" He barked.

Margeaux stomped straight over to Yannick and held the lime green wig to his face. "I was the one who reported Richard to the police and had him get arrested! I disguised myself as Harriet and left Everglade in the dark to throw off suspicion!"

The whispers rose in volume. "Seriously? Is this a joke?"

"That can't be right. No way."

"Margeaux's too cool for this."

"Come on. It isn't true, right?"

"Everyone knows Harriet did it."

Oddly enough, Yannick kept his gaze locked onto Margeaux. He still kept Harriet in his grip, not intent on letting her go anytime soon. Still, Harriet could see something in his eyes change. "...Is what you say true?"

Margeaux gave a solemn nod.

"Then who was it that Pietro saw leaving your house?"

"That was me in disguise. Harriet was sound asleep when I left. She woke up and saw me come back in," Margeaux turned to the green haired damsel. "Right, Harriet? You saw me dressed just like you."

Tension filled the air around them, so thick a Scyther could cut it to ribbons. There was no denying it: Harriet knew Margeaux was lying about all of this. Margeaux was clearly covering for her. The wig and glasses she held in her hands were brand new, without a single stain or spot on them, unlike Harriet's unkempt hair and barely chipped glasses. Again, questions ran through her confused mind. Why was Margeaux doing this? Why was she getting involved? More than that...what was Margeaux planning on getting out of this? Was it out of genuine concern for Harriet's safety, or was it something more? Maybe one of the executives told her to do it and are using her to open the way for Harriet to receive worse punishment.

On the other hand...an opportunity rose. This was Harriet's chance to be free from this awful nightmare. Here was Margeaux, taking the blame for her without hesitation, offering herself to them, and all Harriet had to do was say yes or no, sealing both of their fates. This was the only chance she had. Everyone around her stared at the trio of grunts, waiting. The anticipation was killing them, Harriet especially. She could see the session's end coming near. She needed to seize this moment, or else she would probably be stuck in this nightmare forever. Or worse.

"Well, Harriet?" Yannick hissed, shaking her like she was a rattle, hoping that would force the answer out of her. "Speak up, girl! Is what Margeaux says true or not?!"

"Y-Y-Ye-Ye-Yes…" Harriet finally stammered, unable to take it anymore. She wanted to get out of here, and NOW.

Gasps echoed all around the room. Grunts' eyes shrunk in alarm. Others held their hands to their faces. Harriet could feel herself going limp from exhaustion.

"There you have it," Margeaux told him. "If you want to punish someone, let it be me. Harriet doesn't deserve this."

Yannick stared Margeaux down, narrowing his cold eyes at her. For a moment, nothing was said until Yannick threw Harriet to the ground in a brusque manner. Harriet yelped in pain as the shock of falling on the floor sent a jolt up her lower back. Yannick then glanced over at a blonde grunt. "Dallas! Take Harriet to the underground jails! She is to stay there for three days! I'll deal with her later!"

"Yes, sir!" The blonde haired grunt, Dallas, took Harriet up by the shoulder and escorted her out of the session room.

The last thing Harriet saw as she was dragged out of the room was Margeaux shooting a look at her as another grunt sat her down and tied her hands back. Sad, apologetic eyes and a relieved smile. An arrow of regret shot through Harriet's heart. Margeaux willingly took her place! She voluntarily saved Harriet and put herself on the line for her, and Harriet never even considered her a friend.

Now Margeaux was going to endure the same torture, or even worse.

Guilt overcame her. But more than that, it was remorse. Remorse for ever having doubted her intentions earlier.

* * *

The underground jails were where various Team Rocket members who broke the rules were often sent to for confinement. Sentences often vary from three days to months on end depending on the gravity of the crime and punishment. The lights were often dim, never too bright, making the place look very dull and eerie. Harriet was unceremoniously thrown into one cell that only had a tattered blanket on the floor, and a rusted, dirty bucket in the corner. That was all. The tiny room was a mere six feet wide in all directions, leaving her with very little space to walk around.

Harriet had to wonder if this was what it was like to be in an actual jail. But she knew an actual jail wouldn't look so desolate. At least jails had real beds and bathrooms, and were clean under good management. She wondered if Team Rocket made them like this on purpose. Surprisingly enough, Harriet discovered that she still had her PokeBalls with her, Pokemon included. How did the others miss them? Usually, when grunts were to be punished, their Pokemon are immediately confiscated. Harriet looked down at her long skirt. Her PokeBalls were in one of her pockets, a pocket so obscure and easily hidden that not even the executives could have seen it from a single glance. One of the lace borders of her skirt covered the top of the pocket in question, and her PokeBalls were small enough that they didn't make any noticeable bulges.

"Wow...lucky break, huh?" Harriet held Cookie's PokeBall in her hand, happy to know that she wasn't alone.

Unfortunately, as much as her Pokemon tried, none of them could break the walls and bars that confined her. They were too strong. Not even a Machamp could break them. The three days she spent in that tiny cell were long and monotonous, and all of Harriet's meals were delivered to her...if one could call them meals. She only received a cursory plate of bread and water a day, no more than that. It did nothing to satiate her hunger. But she did manage to give most of her bread to her Pokemon, figuring they needed food more than she. Good thing nobody else was here to guard the jails or her cell. The bars were strong enough that no one could possibly hope to escape, and the entrance to the jails were guarded on the outside. If someone were to confiscate her Pokemon...Harriet didn't know what she'd do.

"Margeaux…" The memory of Margeaux's kind act from before still lingered in her mind, all throughout those three days of confinement. "I don't understand. Why? Why did you do that for me?" It didn't make sense. Margeaux turned a blind eye to Richard's abuse of Danny, but willingly stepped in to save her? It wasn't like her. Maybe...something Harriet said finally got through to her?

The tinkling of metal keys pulled Harriet out of her thoughts. She stood up in alarm, watching as Yannick unlocked the door, walked inside, grabbed Harriet by the arm, and pulled her out.

"You're coming with me."

That was all he said. He was silent as he dragged Harriet through various halls and corridors. "Where are you taking me?" Harriet asked. No answer.

She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that wherever Yannick was taking her, it wouldn't be good. Nothing good could come of being around Yannick, one of the cruelest, most merciless, highest ranking grunts in all of Team Rocket, probably more so than Proton and Petrel, if the rumors she heard were to be believed. Harriet didn't know where she was. Eventually, they stopped in front of a giant titanium door. Yannick entered a code and watched as a red button glowed green, allowing entrance.

"Aagh!" Again, Harriet was thrown into the room like she was nothing more than trash to be thrown out.

"Look around, Harriet," Yannick hissed. "This is where you will meet your end."

Nothing could prepare Harriet for what she saw.

Her eyes shrunk when she sat up and got a look at everything. The titanium room had no windows and was full of strange contraptions and objects she didn't recognize. On the far right of the room was a rope and a pulley, with the end of the rope tied into a large noose, big enough for Harriet to put her head in if she wanted to. Various restraints, chains, and padlocks, made of varying materials like steel or leather, were attached to nearly every single wall, some big, some small. Some of them were wooden and looked more medieval in nature. Stocks and a single pillory. In one end of the room there were two chairs, one regular one with restraints, and another one with small spikes all over it. Large, oval shaped stones sat in one corner of the room, with the tips bearing chains and padlocks. Were those supposed to be weights? Other objects were hung about the walls. Knives, machetes, whips, paddles, hooks, and other metallic items she couldn't put a name to.

But it was the drying blood on the walls that left Harriet breathless. Red stained the walls, ranging from small, barely visible lines to huge splatters of blood bigger than her head. Her nose caught the fresh scent lingering in the air. She also noticed some yellow and brown spots on the floor. The noisome aromas assailed her nose. She didn't dare try to put names to those yellow and brown stains, even though she knew what they were. It was nothing like she had ever seen. Something was horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

"Wha...what is this?!" Harriet shouted, fear consuming her very being. "What is this?!"

"Your final resting place, of course," Yannick readied his whip, grinning like he was going to have the time of his life.

"No!" The realization dawned on her right then and there. This was Yannick's personal torture chamber. She had heard rumors about it, but she thought they were fake. Not once did she ever think it was real. But here she was, right inside it. She could feel it, smell it, see it, everything. Harriet knew what might happen. This was not how her life was going to end. "No no no NO!" She made a break for the door, but Yannick used his free hand to pull her back.

"I have decided that you shall receive the highest punishment for your little stunt," Yannick growled, his voice lowering to a point where it sounded almost inhuman. "Welcome to my little playhouse."

Playhouse? This was a straight up torture chamber! Then the blood on the walls...was it from other grunts? Were people killed here? Gradually, the pieces came together. Harriet shot an angry glare at the man towering over her.

"Why am I here?!" Harriet barked. "Margeaux was the one who told the police about Richard, not me!"

A heinous laugh escaped Yannick's lips. "Oh, I knew that stupid girl Margeaux was lying the entire time," She shot a scornful glare at Harriet. "I already dealt with her here yesterday."

Dealt with her? Harriet looked around the chamber once again. She could see blood on several of the contraptions, namely the spiky chair. One detail in particular stood out. Lying by the stocks was the tattered remains of a Team Rocket uniform. The sleeves had been ripped off, and the red R had a big slash through the torso. She could make out a set of initials on one of the R's legs written in bright green. MS.

MS. Margeaux Smith.

Only Margeaux's uniform was embroidered in bright green. Putting different colored initials on one's uniform differentiated them from other grunts.

No. It couldn't be. He couldn't have tortured her to death...could he?

Harriet whipped her head around in utter shock, the unbelievable fear that had always sat in her soul rising to the surface once and for all. "...You killed Margeaux?! You knew she was lying yet you killed her anyway?!" The crippling fear suddenly began to morph into rage. It coursed through her so quickly that her fists began to tremble.

His whip cracked, frightening Harriet into silence. The twisted smile on his face didn't go away. Not even once. "So what? She had always been a liability to Team Rocket. I had great fun sending her to her grave," Yannick cackled, stroking his whip like it was his baby. Harriet could see the pure glee and enjoyment all over his face. "You should have heard that girl scream during those last moments of her life! It was music to my ears!"

She gasped in a breath of air, any tears she tried so hard to hold back threatening to finally fall. Yannick's true nature had finally come out. All of the rumors about him being cruel, merciless, and sadistic were true! The fact that he owned, and possibly constructed, his own personal torture chamber just for torturing and killing anyone who dared to defy Team Rocket spoke volumes about him. His complete lack of empathy and remorse for what he admitted to doing to Margeaux...that sealed the deal. The sight of Yannick alone made Harriet's chest hammer in a painful rhythm.

"The moment one loses all hope…" The grin creeped further into his cheeks, and a strange, crazed, excited look appeared in his eyes. One burning with a twisted, unrestrained eagerness and desire for Harriet to die slowly and painfully before him. "...is the moment I enjoy watching the most...and since I already dealt with Margeaux, you're next!"

Before Harriet could react, Yannick dropped his whip and wrapped both hands around his victim's arm, twisting it so hard, she could hear and feel it crack deep inside her. The girl threw her head back and screamed from the surging pain in her arm. Even as she kicked his shins with her skinny legs and howled like a dying Houndoom, Yannick's grip on her didn't loosen. No. She wasn't going to die here. Not here, not now! She wasn't going to be yet another one of his victims! Then, like before, Yannick threw her to the floor, pulling out his whip and striking her all over. He swiped at her with such speed that she didn't have time to move or defend herself. The pain in her arm immobilizing her didn't help matters. All she could do in that moment was scream and screech as the whip tore at her whole body, from her legs all the way to her face, drawing blood and ripping the seams in her clothes.

"Oh, whaaaat?" Yannick mocked her viciously in a scarily high pitched, teasingly sing-song voice. "Is the sad little girl gonna cry?" He chuckled eagerly, not at all unlike that of a hyena as his whip struck Harriet's sleeve, ripping right through it.

Suddenly, something rose inside Harriet. Something she couldn't possibly describe. But it completely consumed her. "No...No! No! NOOOOOO!" With a great heave, Harriet threw herself, ramming into Yannick like an out of control Tauros. He stumbled backward, losing his balance and falling right on his rear, the whip slipping out of his hand.

' _This is my chance!'_ Harriet made a beeline for the door. It was still open, probably so other grunts who were outside could hear his victims scream. But before she could escape, a hand gripped her ankle.

"You're not getting away!" Yannick pulled her so hard, she fell flat on her face. Seeing the hunger in his eyes, Harriet tried to kick him once again, but to no avail.

That was when it happened. A huge burst of white light suddenly popped out from one of her PokeBalls, ramming right into Yannick and sending him flying to the farthest wall of the chamber. The white light circled around, landing on Harriet's back, materializing into a Krabby.

"Cookie!"

"Kuu!" Opening his pincer, Cookie shot a barrage of bubbles right at the floor, propelling himself and Harriet right into the air. They flew through the corridor, Harriet feeling as though she had a jetpack strapped to her.

Before long, Harriet stumbled to her feet, Cookie's bubbles unable to continue firing any longer. She sprinted right out the entrance, with Cookie firing huge blasts of water at any grunts who chased after them. Some of the blasts managed to knock several grunts to the ground. Others readied their guns, rifles, or whatever weapons they had and gave chase. Harriet knew. This was the time to escape. No turning back now. She ran like the wind. The moment her bare feet touched solid dirt, she made a break for the forest, with Cookie on her shoulders, continuing to fire Water Gun.

"Get her!" Yannick roared from the back entrance of their hideout. "Don't let her get away! I want her dead or alive!"

Hordes of Houndoom and Ariados followed the many grunts that spread throughout the forest. Harriet didn't think. She didn't stop running. She didn't even look back to see if anyone was following her. Run. That was all her mind, body, and soul told her to do. Run. Run away. Get as far away from that horrid place as she could. Twigs stabbed at her bare feet, digging into her skin, and the dirt and mud that went into her wounds as she ran didn't help matters. Other times, she would run into thick mounds of shrubs and trees, with her hair getting caught in the branches. Good thing Cookie was good with that sort of thing. Using his pincers, he would break the branches and gently untangle it from Harriet's hair.

Breathless, with adrenaline coursing through her veins, Harriet had no idea where she was going. But at this point, she didn't care. She needed to get out, and she needed to get away NOW.

"Agh!" A piercing bang echoed among the trees. But to Harriet, it was close by. Grunts hiding in the bushes held their pistols out, firing rounds at the girl. Harriet could feel something sharp graze one of her arms, going right through her sleeve and skin. She didn't dare stop to see how badly she was hurt. That would mean signing her own death warrant. More shots rang out in the forest. One cut through a piece of her hair as she literally dodged yet another bullet. One missed her ankle by at least a centimeter. Any closer and Harriet would have been rendered unable to run.

"Kuukii!" As soon as more grunts fired a flurry of shots, Cookie circled his pincers and generated a flat, ovular shield. Sparks flew as the bullets made contact with the oval shaped light.

"Protect...Cookie...keep up...Protect…" Harriet gasped in between words, still running with all the energy she had. Cookie kept the Protect shield up, using it as a barrier against the bullets.

"Gaaaar!" Suddenly, three Houndoom appeared before the girl shortly afterward. One of them leaped towards Harriet in one bound, biting onto Harriet's arm, digging its teeth into her. Screaming, Harriet used her legs to kick at the dark Pokemon. As scrawny as she was, and weak as her injured feet were, she somehow managed to kick the Houndoom so hard, the strength from the blow pushed the Houndoom right off. Too bad the other two were already charging for her.

"Kuukiiiiiii!" This time, Cookie took the initiative, shooting a barrage of bubbles that completely overwhelmed the trio of Houndoom. Cookie kept on shooting, even as Harriet managed to get back on her feet and continue running.

But Harriet knew that Cookie couldn't keep this up forever. There was only so much he could do on his own, and he was just a tiny Krabby. He wasn't as strong as most of Team Rocket's arsenal of Pokemon. As she ran, she managed to pull out one PokeBall, releasing Corsola from her confinement.

"Corsola!" Sensing the danger, Corsola hopped by Harriet's side.

"Corsola...use...BubbleBeam!"

Both Harriet and Corsola could hear the Houndoom chasing after them. Once Cookie couldn't use BubbleBeam anymore, Corsola took over, overwhelming the trio of dark Pokemon instantly. This time, the Houndoom were no longer in pursuit, disappearing into the woods as Harriet continued to run.

"Aria!"

Harriet didn't stop, even as she felt needles sting her from her upper back to her thighs. "Ugh!" This time, she fell to the ground, her clothes caked in mud. Four, gigantic spider-like Pokemon surrounded her, each one sitting on a different tree. Both Cookie and Corsola kept to Harriet's side, eyeing the Ariados quartet, anticipating an attack. Soon, the Ariados quartet spat white webs of silk, probably on orders to confine her if they saw her go down. Corsola fired glowing white spikes from the horns on her head, whereas Cookie fired blasts of water from his pincers, blowing the silk webs away.

Since the Ariados were distracted, Harriet used the chance to get back up and keep running. Her lungs burned. Her legs burned. Her feet felt like bricks. But this wasn't the time to stop and rest. For all she knew, Yannick and the others were still after her. It didn't matter how long she had to run. She needed to run or die trying.

Suddenly, sharp pains shot through her body. Something like knife points seemed to dig into nearly all areas of her skin. Unable to continue running, once again she fell onto the ground. The pain was too much. She looked at her left arm. Several needles glowed white, digging into her skin. She could feel them on her legs and back as well. It didn't take long for more Ariados to circle around her, all hissing and itching to eat her right up.

"Ariaaaaaa…" The group of Ariados surrounded her, readying their mouths for spitting their silk around her, probably to subdue her. Harriet tried to get back up, but the second she put her foot on the ground, a burning pain shot through her, leaving her unable to move.

Then, a bright light shot out from her PokeBall holster. Out came Delibird, and in no time at all, the bird Pokemon plowed right through the Ariados group, its wings shining, blinding them into submission. "Deliiiii!" Right after that, Delibird blew a fresh breath of freezing air. The second it touched the Ariados, they recoiled, backing away. It was as though they had entered minus ten degree weather just from feeling the breath alone.

It didn't take long for Cookie and Corsola to catch up, helping Harriet get back on her feet. As soon as she stood up, Harriet ran once again. The needles on her body had disappeared, but she could feel blood dripping all over her. She didn't try to rest or look back. Running was all she thought about. She did manage to put Corsola and Delibird back in their PokeBalls as soon as she felt the coast was clear.

She didn't know how long she ran, nor how far. By the time she was out of breath, she could see the ocean stretching far into the horizon. But her eyes were itchy and blurring, her legs could no longer carry her, and she was dying for air.

"Finally...I...I made it…" Every word she choked out was broken up by gasps of air. Even Cookie could tell she was tired. Suddenly, she could feel herself going down on the sand. The last thing she saw was Cookie being engulfed in white light, glowing.

* * *

"...And that's everything," With that, Harriet's story was finished.

Madison and Jenny could only sit and stare, their eyes wide with shock and awe. They blinked several times, hoping the whole story would make sense the second time around. It did, and it pieced everything together. Harriet really did go through hell and back not only to save a little boy's life, but warn someone about Team Rocket's plans for Goldenrod Radio Tower. It was a miracle she had survived not one, but several Pokemon attacks, hunger, dehydration, violent beatings, and being verbally abused and degraded by possibly hundreds of people. Madison stood up and left the room. Harriet and Jenny could hear her talking into her walkie talkie.

"Thank you for telling us everything," Jenny told her. "We'll make sure Team Rocket doesn't go through with their plans and put them to justice," Once again, she slid a hand into Harriet's. "We'll also do everything in our power to keep your safe as well."

The frown on Harriet's face didn't turn, and her eyes still trembled. "No. Actually…" Harriet raised her hands, curling them into closed fists. One of her sleeves rolled down a bit, revealing the R tattoo. "Please. Arrest me as well. I may not have wanted to partake in Team Rocket's schemes, but the fact that I still did it, whether against my will or not, doesn't excuse or absolve me of my actions. I'm tired of running away. I need to take responsibility for my crimes.

She had thought about it for a long time, even as she told Jenny and Madison everything that had happened to her. Turning herself in seemed like the best thing to do. It didn't matter to her if everything she did was against her will. She still committed crimes, or was an accessory to them. In her mind, Jenny had every right to arrest Harriet. What else could she do at this point? Besides, she'd rather be in jail than go anywhere near Team Rocket again.

On the other hand...Jenny didn't know what to say. All she could do was stare as Harriet raised her fists, waiting to be handcuffed. After a few moments, she simply smiled and pushed Harriet's hands down with her own. Harriet locked eyes with her, confused.

"We can discuss this another time," Jenny told her calmly. "You just rest and try to recover. We'll handle the rest."

Seeing that Jenny wasn't going to arrest her, Harriet simply nodded. With that, the officers left Harriet alone. Cookie looked up at her with concern in his eyes. Harriet rummaged through her pockets and pulled her PokeBalls out. Her hands trembled. She had lived all because her Pokemon protected her to the very end. Cookie even managed to evolve while she was unconscious. She held the PokeBalls close to her chest, and warm tears trickled down her face, with some falling onto the balls.

"Corsola. Sunflora. Delibird…" She turned to her bedside. "Cookie…"

"Kuuu," Without hesitation, Cookie gingerly extended his pincer out. Harriet laid her head against it, allowing herself to finally relax. The tears flowed faster this time.

"Thank you...thank you...it's because of all of you that I'm alive…" Harriet whimpered, wondering why someone like her even deserved such wonderful Pokemon. Especially Cookie, who saved her from Yannick first.

As a girl who hailed from Olivine City, Krabby were a common sight. Nobody really paid much attention to them. It was a ten-year-old Harriet who saw one small Krabby blowing big, beautiful bubbles out onto the sea during the sunset one day. She was so entranced by the sight that she sat down and watched the little Krabby the entire time. The Krabby seemed to notice her presence, but didn't run away. Krabby were used to people being on the beach. At one point, young Harriet had a molasses cookie on her, and thought maybe the little crab Pokemon would like it, so she gave it to him. Much to her surprise, the Krabby ate it. Right afterward, the Krabby followed her home and even slept in her bedroom. It took some convincing, but after about a couple days, her parents allowed her to keep the Krabby, since they couldn't get it to leave her side. Since then, the two were joined at the hip. She had named him Cookie since he loved cookies so much that one time, she caught him sitting on the kitchen floor with one of his pincers stuck in the cookie jar. Every single cookie was gone. He had eaten them all. The entire Latham family found the sight to be simply hilarious.

Now that cookie-obsessed Krabby was now a strong, fully evolved Kingler, who willingly put his life on the line for her and saved her life, along with her other Pokemon. Harriet didn't feel she deserved any of this, or any of them. They deserved better than a weak girl who was tricked into joining Team Rocket. But she couldn't imagine her life without them. She wrapped one of her arms around Cookie's pincer. It was cool to the touch.

"Cookie...forgive me for being so weak…"

"Kuuuuu," Cookie warbled, shaking his head as if he was telling her that she wasn't weak. She was strong.

All Harriet could do now was rest and hope that Team Rocket's plans would be stopped.

* * *

The Goldenrod Radio Tower was abuzz with activity. Eduardo Innocenti could only watch as employees dispersed to their positions, ready to begin the show. He stood inside a radio booth, accompanied by Eusine and a red-haired woman with glasses, both of whom sat at a table close by. A Meowth sat on another chair right next to the woman, curled up in a ball and sleeping peacefully. Everyone had headphones on, and microphones were positioned in front of Eusine and the woman. Eduardo glanced over at the station next door, eyeing the producers and other staff through the big window. The producers stood before the mixing board, making the final preparations. One of them flashed a thumb's up in Eduardo's direction.

"Everything's set to go, Mary," Eduardo told the red haired woman.

"Great! Now we can get started!" Mary tapped some papers on the table before adjusting her microphone.

Eusine glanced in his direction. "Now this ought to be interesting. Don't you think, Mr. Innocenti?"

The older man straightened out his mustache just a bit. "I certainly hope so."

"Alright!" Mary could hear one of the producers through her headphones. Eduardo saw he was holding his fingers out. "We go live in five, four, three, two…" Once the countdown was finished, the producer pointed at Mary, giving her the signal.

"Hello, listeners all over Johto!" Mary exclaimed, eyes gleaming and smiling brightly. "And welcome to another installment of the Pokemon History Serial! I'm your host, DJ Mary Talbot, and today, we have managed to bring on a very special guest!" Her voice was clear and enthusiastic. Hearing it made everyone smile, even the producers. "Please welcome the famous historian, researcher, and legendary Pokemon aficionado, Mr. Eusine Eisenhower! We're very glad to have you here today, Eusine!"

That was his cue. "I'm very pleased to be here as well, Mary. It's not every day that I get called in for an interview," Eusine made sure to keep his tone polite and voice calm. He was still as suave as ever. "I'm quite a fan of the Pokemon History Serial, so I'm also very grateful to be on the show."

"So Eusine," Mary began. "You've been studying legendary Pokemon for many years now. What made you decide to pursue that line of work?"

It was here that Eduardo looked out into the window. Two of the staff members were whispering to each other. Eduardo scratched his head. What was that about? Was there something wrong? A technical difficulty, maybe? He hadn't heard anything of the sort. Then, one of them walked out the door. Maybe they needed to go to the bathroom or something, he reasoned. Eduardo returned his gaze onto Mary and Eusine, happy that the show was going well so far.

"I've always been fascinated by old legends and legendary Pokemon ever since I was a child," Eusine explained cooly. Mary and Eduardo watched in awe as Eusine elaborated on his history in greater detail. "One time, when I was nine years old, I wanted to go inside the Burned Tower. I was a rather adventurous little boy and barely ever listened to my parents. When I was in there, I happened to catch sight of Suicune, the North Wind Pokemon. Imagine my surprise, seeing an actual legendary Pokemon with my own eyes," Everyone could see the enthusiastic gleam in his eyes, and from the way he moved his hands and how high his voice got...it was easy to see that just the thought of Suicune made him light up like a Flash attack. "I've wanted to see Suicune again ever since. But so far, I haven't had much luck. Anyway, I studied all I could about the two towers and their impact on the relationship between people and Pokemon, all the way until I graduated from the University of Ecruteak."

Mary chuckled just a bit. "It's funny you mentioned the two towers, because those are actually today's featured subject!" She pulled a paper out in front of her. "Since you study famous events in Johtoan history, what can you tell the viewers about the Burned Tower?"

Yet again, Eduardo looked at the window where the staff were. Again, two of the staff kept whispering and nodding to each other. This time, a woman walked out the door without a word. Eduardo could feel something in the air, but couldn't put a name to it. Was something going on? Whatever it was, he silently hoped it wasn't anything dangerous, or something that would put the show at risk.

At this time, Eusine was telling Mary and the listeners about the history of the two towers, the Tin Tower and Brass Tower. Over 700 years ago, early Johtoans built both the Tin and Brass Towers as a means to foster friendship between humans and Pokemon. Morty was descended from one of the families that helped to build the two towers, so he happened to give Eusine the information he needed in his studies. However, 150 years ago, during a time of great wars and endless fighting, a lightning bolt struck the Brass Tower out of nowhere. The tower caught fire, and since the early Johtoans didn't have the firefighting technologies of today, they were unable to put out the blaze. Only during a terrible rainstorm was the fire put out. The fire burned for three days straight, and despite the peoples' best efforts, the tower could not be saved.

One detail stuck out to everyone in the room, even as Eusine told the story. Ancient records Eusine had found some years ago stated that three nameless Pokemon were trapped in the Brass Tower as it burned, unable to escape, dying in the blaze. Then, as the storm passed, a rainbow-colored bird Pokemon descended from the skies, shining a light onto Ecruteak City with its shining wings. It was Ho-Oh, the rainbow Pokemon. Ho-Oh shined her light onto the tower, and before long, three new Pokemon emerged from the ashes, reborn as Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, as they were later named. Unfortunately, as Ho-Oh returned to the skies, the three Pokemon were not given a warm and happy welcome. The people feared the Pokemon that defied the laws of life and death, thinking them to be products of black magic, sorcery, or bad omens. People naturally fear what they cannot understand. They shunned the three Pokemon, intent to suppress them with violence. Suicune, Raikou, and Entei left Ecruteak City of their own accord, and since then, they have only made few appearances throughout the centuries.

"My, that's quite the interesting tale!" Mary exclaimed, curious to hear more. Even her Meowth, who was previously sleeping, woke up when Eusine told the tale, and poked his head up over the table. His whiskers twitched, and large eyes fixated on Eusine, also from a desire to learn more. "Right, Meowth?"

"Meooooow."

"Did anyone ever find out who Suicune, Raikou, and Entei used to be?" Mary asked. "Before they were transformed by Ho-Oh, I mean," She added rather hastily.

Eusine couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, everyone I've met who's even remotely interested in these myths always ask that question. I've even met people who say the three used to be a Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon," He told her. "Unfortunately, I feel it's time to debunk that rumor. No one really knows what the Pokemon trapped in the tower during the fire looked like. Eevee wasn't confirmed to be able to evolve into five different Pokemon until fifty years after that."

Of course, Eusine did know that nowadays, Eevee can evolve into eight different Pokemon. At the time of Brass Tower's fall, Eevee hadn't been discovered, and only five Eevee evolutions were discovered fifty years after its discovery. The other three evolutions weren't discovered until far later. Mary got a good laugh out of that, not because she thought Eusine's answer was funny, but the fact that people could make up such silly assumptions about historical events so easily. Even Eduardo couldn't help but stifle a giggle before regaining his composure.

The joyful, serene atmosphere was cut brutally short. A loud crash just outside the room made everyone suddenly fall silent. Eusine stood up from his seat in alarm. Mary couldn't bring herself to move. Shouting and screaming could be heard just outside.

"Off the air! Off the air!" One of the producers shouted. Another staff member pressed a button on the mixer, abruptly ending today's Pokemon History Serial.

Eduardo ran out from the booth and into the mixer room. "What's going on out there?!"

"I don't know!" One of the staff shouted back. A young woman yelled into the intercom by the door leading into the hallway. No response. Another man pulled out his cell phone, ready to call the police.

It was then that they heard the sound of rapid firing outside the door. Gunfire. The woman who tried the intercom dove underneath the mixer table. Then, before anyone could react, the door burst wide open, making everyone recoil. Five people, including the two staff members Eduardo saw shuffling around before, barged right into the room, rifles in hand, pointed right at them. Three of them were dressed in all black uniforms with red Rs on their shirts. One of them already stormed into the booth, a rifle pointed right at both Eusine and Mary.

"Who are you people?!" Eduardo cried.

"Team Rocket!" Eusine exclaimed, PokeBall in hand.

Meowth watched as a shaking Mary pushed her hand under the table, pressing a large red button. There was no sound. Nobody else saw her do this.

"Nobody move!" One red haired Team Rocket grunt shouted. "Move and you're all dead!"

Eduardo gasped in horror when he saw someone just outside the door sprawled out on the floor. He could only make out some high heeled shoes. Was that one of the guards?

"Relax. She's just knocked out," A blonde haired grunt told him unsympathetically. Even as he saw the horror on everyone's faces, his face showed no remorse or sympathy. "Now, you're all going to do as we tell you. Defy us, and you'll die right here."

"How did you crooks get in here?!" Eduardo barked, pushing his fear to the side for a moment. "You couldn't have gotten past all of our guards!"

" _Your_ guards?" A woman's voice asked. Into the room came Ariana, with a pleased smirk on her face. "The correct term would be _our_ guards," Ariana clarified. "We had disguised some of our Team Rocket members into your employees for months now, just waiting for the perfect chance to strike. If you're wondering about your other guards...well," She simply shrugged and smiled like she heard a boring lecture. "They're done for. It's their own fault for getting in our way."

Nobody could believe it. Ariana was basically confessing to killing some of their guards, perhaps other people, and here she was acting like it was no big deal. This was really bad. They could all feel it. This was all very, very wrong. Eusine clung to his PokeBall. By Arceus, did he want to call out his Alakazam and drive them all away right this instant! But he wasn't so naive as to think sending out his Pokemon would solve the whole problem. If anything, it might make things worse. Team Rocket was a large crime organization, and they had likely planned this for months. It wasn't worth the risk.

Ariana stepped into the booth, stepping right past Eduardo. She shot a sharp glare at Eusine. The Pokemon trainer could tell that she was silently telling him that they would pay dearly if he tried anything. Then, she grabbed Mary by the arm, pulled her out of her seat and threw her to the ground. Mary let out a pained yelp as she fell to the floor. Meowth was quick to rush to her aid, as was Eusine.

"Mary! Are you alright?"

"Yes. I think...what's going on?"

"I think we'll find out soon enough."

"I...pressed the silent alarm," Mary whispered, keeping her voice low so Ariana wouldn't hear. "The police should have heard it by now."

At this time, Ariana took the microphone in her hands. One of the grunts pressed the tip of his rifle against one staff member's head. "On the air. Now," He hissed, his tone leaving no room for nonsense.

As ordered, the man pressed a button, making the broadcast go live.

"Listen up, people of Johto! We are Team Rocket!" Ariana announced in the loudest, most authoritative voice she had, and she was known for being very good at sounding authoritative. That was part of being a Team Rocket Executive. "After years of working underground, we have finally come forth, and you will witness the rise of a new age! Your Pokemon are now ours for the taking, and we shall rule!"

* * *

 **A/N** : Alrighty! The Goldenrod Radio Tower arc has FINALLY started after so long! Well, at least this update didn't take another year unlike the last one. Here's hoping things will be smooth sailing, especially now that my new job is letting me have more free time to myself. Plus, with MarJour and my Tales of Zestiria fic being almost done, I'm starting to feel like I have my writing mojo back, especially now that I've come to enjoy writing fan fics again!

So...I've been doing some thinking, and here's my decision: After I finish MarJour, I probably won't work on the sequel until much later, one reason being that I have some Harvest Moon fan fics I really want to write and get out of my system. Seriously, the Harvest Moon fandom (or, specifically, the small part of it that I'm in) has been so unspeakably kind to me ever since I got into the series, and it's been a joy not only playing all the games, but meeting so many nice, intelligent, mature, rational people who have given me so much support and kindness compared to other fandoms I've been in. (*coughcoughprettycurecoughcough*) I also have a crap ton of Harvest Moon fan fic ideas that are just dying to pop right out of my brain and onto paper! I kind of want to write those out before getting back into Pokemon fics. The second reason is that I haven't seen much of Pokemon Advanced and the later seasons in the Hoenn era for quite a few years. I want to try rewatching that season before writing MarJour's sequel, that way I'll have a better idea of how I want it to go and immerse myself in Hoenn before writing it out. I hope everyone understands!

And man, I really need to give Eusine a bigger role in this. I don't think I've done him much justice. Here's hoping I can rectify that in the next chapter. Look forward to it!


	52. Radio Tower Siege!

Chapter 43: Radio Tower Siege!

News of Team Rocket's takeover spread like wildfire. People could hear it on their PokeGears, since Team Rocket themselves were delivering their announcement via radio broadcast. Before noon, police cars and SWAT trucks had clustered all around the radio tower, crowding the streets. Police officers were already setting up barricades around the area, preventing any civilians from getting inside. They didn't want to risk any of the citizens getting hurt or worse. The lights on the police cars glowed in ghostly red and blue lights, illuminating the entire front area. People could see the flashes from their houses, even from tall buildings and apartment complexes. The combined police cars and black SWAT trucks clustered all in front of the tower looked like a mass of large, black and white bricks making a big barricade, with SWAT members right behind them, shields and rifles in hand.

One police car arrived later than all the others, pulling behind one of the SWAT trucks, one that was far bigger and longer than the others. Out from the police car came Falkner, dressed in full uniform, with a gun holstered to his waist. He approached the SWAT truck and pulled it open, revealing that it was actually a makeshift command center. People sat at computers, watching for anything that might happen. Other officers, accompanied by Bugsy, Jasmine, and Morty, were gathered at the other end of the truck, talking amongst themselves before watching Falkner come inside. Several other people were running to and fro, both inside and outside the SWAT trucks.

"Falkner!" Whitney was the first to notice the man's presence. "About time you got here!"

"Sorry about that," Falkner said, brushing some sweat off his brow the minute he arrived. "You won't believe how bad the traffic is. Anyway, what's the situation?"

A man sitting at the computers was the first to answer. "Team Rocket's taken over the whole building," He explained grimly. Falkner leaned over to look at the screen. It showed six different rooms on six different cameras. In the top right corner, Mary, Eusine, and Eduardo were all trapped in their room, with Team Rocket members pointing their guns and rifles at them. Another showed a dead guard lying in a puddle of his own blood. One screen in the far left showed two Team Rocket members conversing amongst themselves, but there was no audio.

"There have been eight confirmed casualties so far, all of them guards. There may be more that we don't know about yet," The man explained further.

Jasmine's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at her sandals. "Those poor people…" Her heart went out to not just the dead guards, but their families as well. Why did this have to happen? Seeing her friend's sorrow, Whitney simply put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it sympathetically.

"We need to find a way to get into the building and save the hostages," Another police officer said. "But there are Team Rocket members swarming the city. There might not be any way for us to get in without their noticing."

Falkner folded his arms. "Agreed."

The situation was dire, and they weren't even in the building. "Does anyone have a layout of the radio tower?" Morty asked. "There has to be a back door somewhere."

"I got it!" A woman at another computer announced. Immediately, a blueprint of the radio tower materialized on her screen, showing every door and exit possible. "But we don't know if they're all being guarded or not."

"I have a visual on one of the back doors," Another man exclaimed. His monitor showed two Team Rocket grunts guarding one of the doors that led to the back of the tower. Both grunts donned white uniforms with red R's on their torsos.

Falkner and some other officers leaned closer to get a better look. "Hmmm…" The cogs in his mind were already spinning, putting together a potential plan. "I think I have an idea. Morty," The police chief turned to the Ecruteak gym leader. "Your Gengar knows Hypnosis, right?"

Morty nodded. "Yes, he does," It didn't take long for Morty to catch on. "You want Gengar to knock those guards out, thereby allowing the police a chance to get inside?"

"Precisely."

"And Bugsy," Falkner turned to face the youngest gym leader among them. "Your bug Pokemon may be able to help as well."

The young gym leader flashed a grin. "I'd be more than happy to help in any way I can, sir!"

"Chief…" The man sitting in front of one of the monitors furrowed his eyebrows, looking concerned. "Surely you're aware of the risks involved."

Jasmine stood up. "Charlie is right," She held a closed fist to her chest. Falkner could see it shaking. "I do trust you. We all do. But if any part of your plan fails, many innocent civilians could die. We could die, or our Pokemon could die in the attempt."

Everyone could hear the worry in her voice, as much as she tried to hide it. Falker could only cross his arms. He knew the risks all too well. Being a police officer-and the police chief at that-was practically gambling one's life in and of itself. Every day was filled with risks, the very real possibility that Falkner would either get seriously hurt or killed in the line of duty being one such risk. It was always on his mind every day of his life. He understood her concerns. Falkner had put his life on the line multiple times during his career. But living in fear of dying wasn't going to get him anywhere. He knew that for a long time. Not once did Falkner ever regret working as an officer and helping those in need. After all, his job was to make the world a safe place for people and Pokemon to live in.

Helping the people and Pokemon trapped in the radio tower was no different. What kind of man would he be if he left them in the hands of Team Rocket? He'd never forgive himself if he didn't at least try. Team Rocket had no right to do what they were doing. Not on his watch.

"I know, Jasmine. I know. But we need to do all we can to save everyone inside, even if it means facing certain danger," Falkner reassured. "I know we can do this, because you all are here with me."

All the people in the room smiled at his encouragement.

* * *

In one corridor, two Team Rocket grunts holding rifles guarded one door, keeping their eyes on several frightened hostages. "Heh. This is too easy," The black haired grunt chuckled under his breath. "Look at these people! They're cowering like baby Caterpie!"

"I know, right?" His partner, a blonde haired grunt, agreed. "Still, I don't know why they're not broadcasting the signal right now. Is Archer even ready yet?"

"Who knows?"

Unbeknownst to them, a set of glowing red eyes appeared on the walls, scanning the scene before them. Several employees were stuck to their desks in fear. Others were hiding in the corners, curled into fetal positions. It was then that the blonde haired grunt suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Whoa!"

"What is it?"

"Is it just me, or did it suddenly get cold in here?"

The black haired grunt raised an eyebrow. "Come on. It's September. Of course it's cold, you moron!"

"No, I mean...it's colder than usual!"

Something told them to turn around and face the wall. When they turned, they saw red eyes staring right at them. Before they could react-or probably scream, as any normal person seeing creepy, disembodied eyes on the wall would do-the eyes glowed in an eerie light. The grunts began to feel lethargic, and could no longer keep their eyes open. The energy was sucked right out of their bodies, and their wobbly legs could no longer hold them up. After that, the grunts collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious. The red eyes disappeared, and a shadow moved across the walls, going out the other door.

Before long, the shadow materialized into a Gengar. Gengar looked both ways, seeing if the coast is clear. No Team Rocket grunts were around at the moment, so it seemed safe for now. Attached to its forehead was a small device, blinking in a soft red light. Gengar cackled to itself, happy that it could do all these cool things like turn invisible or possess people's shadows. Now he was using his powers to help people! What joy! But he had to stay focused, or else the mission would be a complete failure. Gengar turned invisible once more, floating down the many hallways to check for hostages and grunts. He could make out one set of voices in one door that came within his line of sight.

"You have no right to keep us here!"

Gengar stopped, having recognized the voice. That was Eusine, Morty's friend! Gengar phased through the wall, getting a better view of what was going on. Eusine, Mary, and Eduardo were trapped in their booth, with several grunts pointing their rifles at them. Mary stayed in her seat, looking straight down at her desk, staring at nothing. Probably trying everything she could to keep herself composed in spite of her all-consuming fear. Eusine stood in front of the table, glaring at the grunts like he always did when he was mad at someone or something. Mary's Meowth stood on the table, tail puffed up and claws ready to slash these stupid grunts for daring to threaten its trainer.

"I said shut up!" A brown haired grunt yelled. "Just because Ariana left doesn't mean you start talkin' again! Now be quiet or you're gonna have a bullet in your head!"

" _Gengar. Use Hypnosis on the grunts. NOW,_ " Morty's voice was full of dread as he gave Gengar the command.

It was easy for Gengar to sense everything from his trainer, even just from hearing his voice in a tiny device implanted in his ear. He was a ghost Pokemon after all, and one that could feel any negative emotion known to man. There was no mistaking it: Morty was dead serious. Without hesitation, Gengar's eyes once more glowed in an eerie red light. This time, the grunts didn't need to look it in the eyes. Gengar could glimpse their eyes from where it was, and he just needed to see them in order for Hypnosis to work. Thankfully, the grunts' eyes grew heavy, and they could no longer keep themselves awake. Soon, they were limp and unconscious, falling to the ground, their rifles clattering to the floor as their owners left for dreamland.

"What…?" Eusine's mouth fell open. Why did those grunts fall asleep like that? Then, a Gengar materialized from out of nowhere. Eusine's confusion turned into joy, a radiant smile flashing across his face. He knew that Gengar anywhere.

"Gengahh!"

"You're Morty's Gengar, aren't you?" Eusine greeted it with a handshake. Reluctantly, Mary and Eduardo broke from their positions, approaching the Gengar with trepidation. "Thank you for saving us."

Gengar beamed. "Gengahahaha!" With a hearty laugh, Gengar then pulled the earphone out from his ear, handing it to Eusine. Knowing what it was for, Eusine held it to his ear.

"Can anyone hear me?" Eusine asked.

" _Eusine! We hear you loud and clear!"_ Morty's surprised voice responded immediately. " _It's me, Morty. I'm in the command center right now. How are things on your end?"_

A wave of relief washed over Eusine. His friends were looking out for him. He always did appreciate Morty's kindness, even back when they were kids. But he couldn't celebrate just yet. "Team Rocket is everywhere. But from what I've heard, the radio signal hasn't been broadcast yet. Mary and Eduardo Innocenti are with me right now, safe and sound."

" _We're in the process of trying to secure an infiltration route as we speak,"_ Suddenly, Falkner's voice cut through the static, replacing Morty's. " _Morty's Gengar is helping us with that,"_ He explained.

Eusine looked over at the unconscious grunts, lying on the ground without a care in the world. Gengar must have used Hypnosis on them for that purpose. "Hold on a second," Eusine then turned to Mary. "Are there any places in the building where only staff and personnel are able to enter the tower through?"

"Huh? Uhh…" Mary pushed her fear aside and looked up at the ceiling, ruminating. Then with a gasp, she put two hands together. "There's the back entrance just behind the Magnet Train station near the parking lot, but hardly anyone knows about it because it's so well hidden."

"Did you hear that?" Eusine turned back to his earphone.

" _Loud and clear,"_ Falkner replied with confidence. " _That'll be our ticket inside. Eusine, take Mary and Eduardo out that back entrance. Gengar can protect you, and I know you have your own Pokemon who can help as well. But don't take too many people out, lest we draw too much attention."_

"Got it."

Falkner explained further that they didn't see anyone guarding that back entrance as of right now, so as soon as Eusine got out, everyone else would go right in and do what they could to stop Team Rocket. As far as Eusine knew, he, Mary, and Eduardo were on the fourth floor, and grunts were still nearby, so they needed to be as quick about getting them out of the way as possible while staying out of their sight. Gengar could definitely help with that.

" _We'll keep an eye on you from here, so we'll know right away if something goes wrong."_

"How can you see us?"

" _I put a video recorder on Gengar's forehead, so anything it sees, we can see here in the command center. Anyway, get yourselves out of there right away."_

"Right. Thank you, Falkner."

With that, Eusine gave the earphone back to Gengar. Trembling, Mary wrapped both arms around Eduardo.

"So we're going with you, I presume?" Eduardo asked.

"Yes. Come with me. Gengar here can help us out," Eusine gestured for them to follow him.

Gengar went on ahead, immediately making himself invisible as he left the room. Eusine, Mary, and Eduardo followed. Through every corridor they walked, they saw Rocket grunts either lying on the floor or against the wall, all unconscious. Gengar put them all to sleep. Finally, they made it to the stairs and walked right down several floors. They picked up some confused and frightened employees along the way, some of whom were bleeding from either their arms or their legs. Not long after, they found the back door. An officer opened it, gesturing for them to come right out. Eusine, Mary, Eduardo, and the four people they brought with them burst right out of the building, relieved to finally be outside.

"Alright! Move in! Move in!" The officer barked as he charged inside. Several other officers decked in SWAT uniforms followed suit, along with Falkner, Jasmine, Bugsy, Morty, and many of their Pokemon. Several Butterfree flew through the halls, flapping their wings and producing clouds of glittering green powder that spread all over the place. Several Team Rocket grunts, unfortunately, sniffed the powder, and with one whiff, they were out like lights, falling to the ground before they could comprehend what was going on.

"Keep it up, Butterfree!" Bugsy commanded, rushing past some of the sleeping grunts. "Make sure you don't knock out any innocents, okay?" The Butterfree nodded and kept their Sleep Powder attacks focused solely on the grunts. Jasmine and several officers escorted some employees out the front door, once that area was secured. Many of them were injured, and EMTs were quick to rush to their aid, medical supplies and all.

It was now or never.

"Hey!" Several grunts who hadn't been knocked out caught sight of Falkner and his group. "Don't move or we'll shoot!" They pointed their rifles right at the officers.

"Spinaraaaaak!" Of course, they had no time to act, because a group of six Spinarak, all of whom crawled onto different areas of the lobby, spit silk at them in all directions. Their arms and legs were literally tied as String Shot had them trapped. Some of them couldn't keep their balance and fell to the ground, their rifles clattering against the floor.

"You're all under arrest!" Once the grunts were down, several officers skidded toward them and dragged them away, leaving not a moment to spare.

Falkner couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. Their plan was working so far! But he couldn't celebrate just yet. There were still a few more floors they needed to secure, and many more people to save. The most important one was obviously the director. Where was he? He didn't see him anywhere on the first floor. Was he in his office? It was likely he'd be there, assuming maybe a Team Rocket grunt held him hostage up there. Not really helping matters was that his office was on the fifth floor. Grunts from all directions cried or yelped as Spinarak, Butterfree, and many other Pokemon pelted them with any attacks they could belt out, unable to do a thing.

"Falkner!" Morty approached him from behind, his Haunter and Misdreavus tailing him on each side. Several officers followed suit, waiting for their superior's orders. "They've got it covered down here. What do you suggest we do next?"

He didn't have to think twice. "We're going up to save the Director and stop this radio signal from getting out," Falkner told them. "This'll be dangerous, so I'll head to the radio transmitter room. Morty, you and Officers Stabler, Benson, and Tutuola head to the Director's room. For all we know, he may have been taken hostage. Got that?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright! Let's move!" With that, they were on the move once again.

The second and third floors had more Rockets on patrol, but that wasn't a problem. The Spinarak had already crawled as far as the third floor, and several of them were already trapped in half-finished silk cocoons. Others tried to launch sneak attacks on Morty and the other officers. Seeing this coming, Morty's Haunter and Misdreavus knocked them away with Shadow Ball while Gengar put them to sleep with Hypnosis once more. When Falkner reached a side door, which would lead him to Mary's studio and the radio transmitter room, he found himself at an impasse. The metal door refused to open no matter how hard he pulled or pushed. Then he looked to the side. A card key slot was right next to it.

"Darn! I forgot you need a card to get in here," Falkner cursed himself for forgetting such an important piece of information. No matter. He had another way in anyhow. He took his pistol and fired one round at the key slot. Just like that, the metal doors opened wide, allowing him and other officers to get through. At this point, there was no time to be worrying about getting a card and entering the usual way.

"Oh no!" Falkner heard several grunts cry out when they heard the shots. Of course he'd alerted them to his presence. But he knew that was an inevitability. They'd find out about him whether he made his presence known or not. "They're onto us!"

"Pidgeot!" Falkner pulled a PokeBall out and threw it. "Use Gust and blow them away!"

Out from the PokeBall appeared a large, regal, tan bird with long wings and a glossy yellow and red head crest that stretched as long as its body. As soon as Pidgeot flew in front of the army of grunts, it flapped its wings with great force, creating a swift, furious gust of wind that blew every grunt off their feet. Some of them were sent flying down the corridor, unable to keep their feet to the ground. Falkner found an opening and sprinted through the crowd as Pidgeot continued to flap its wings. By this time, Bugsy's army of Spinarak and Butterfree had arrived on the floor, ready to subdue them while they were down.

"It has to be around here somewhere," Falkner muttered to himself as he searched every corridor. As far as he could tell, he was on the fifth floor right now, and the transmitter room was nearby. If he could break into the room and stop Team Rocket from broadcasting the signal, the whole mess would be over, and millions of lives would be saved.

Eventually, he found the corridor in question. Two Team Rocket grunts draped in white uniforms stood side by side, guarding one door in particular. Rifles were in their hands, and two Pokemon, both Raticate, stood guard along with them, baring their large, sharp teeth, obviously to scare off any intruders. Or rip them to pieces. Falkner could only eye them from the side, lest he risk getting spotted. How could he get past them right now? Could he wait for Bugsy's Butterfree to show up? Or would he risk it all and subdue them himself? But if he did that, whoever was in the transmitter room would likely hear the commotion and let the others know.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think too hard. One of Bugsy's Butterfree appeared right at that moment, giving a quiet coo, greeting Falkner.

"Quiet. I found my objective," Falkner whispered, pointing to the hallway. "Use Sleep Powder on them, but don't let them see you."

Butterfree nodded, having understood his request. Falkner backed away as he let Butterfree flap its wings, creating another glittering green cloud of powder. It didn't take long for Falkner to hear the grunts' bodies fall to the ground. The last of the obstacles was cleared. Falkner entered the corridor and gestured for Butterfree to leave, which it did. Pistol in hand, Falkner finally burst through the transmitter room, kicking the door so hard that it opened all by itself.

Falkner kept his pistol pointed at whoever was in the room. Both Ariana and Petrel stood up from their chairs, eyes wide and taking in the sudden presence of this man. The actual transmitter room wasn't much except for a small room whose space was taken up by tall, rectangular machines with lots of dark buttons and blinking red and green lights. Both Ariana and Petrel stood before several computers, all of them displaying moving red lines going across a blue screen. Ariana narrowed her eyes into slits once her shock wore off.

"Tch. I knew the grunts we put out on patrol were pathetic," Ariana spat, putting a hand on her hip.

"Get your hands in the air, now!" Falkner bellowed, keeping his pistol pointed at the two Team Rocket executives. "It's over! We've knocked out every single grunt you have under your control!"

A smirk spread across Petrel's face as he shrugged his shoulders, sitting back down in his computer chair. "I must admit, you must be quite strong if you managed to come this far, Police Chief Falkner Uccello," Petrel told him in a smug tone of voice.

It took everything Falkner had to keep himself calm. Petrel was deliberately condescending him in an attempt to catch him off guard by using his full name and title. He knew this tactic all too well. Then again, Team Rocket was known for doing their research on anything and anyone they had their eye on. They didn't manage to take over the tower by being slackers, after all. But Falkner knew he had to make sure he didn't fall for any of their tricks. Petrel was likely about to lay some kind of trap before him right now.

"But don't think having defeated all of those useless grunts ensures victory," Petrel said.

Ariana pulled a PokeBall out. "Go, Arbok!"

A large, purple cobra stood before Falkner, baring its fangs and sticking its tongue out, like it was ready to consume its prey whole. "Chaaaa-baka!"

"I don't have time for this!" Falkner hissed, eyes blazing at the sudden development. Of course they were going to try and distract him. "Noctowl! Use Tackle!"

A Noctowl popped out from the PokeBall, throwing itself right into Arbok's chest. The force wasn't so strong that it knocked the cobra off its tail, but it was enough to take the air right out of its body. For a brief moment, no air came into Arbok's lungs. It hurt to even try to breathe.

"Hypnosis!" Falkner shouted. He had to stop them from activating the radio signal above all else. Obviously, this battle was just a distraction.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Noctowl was quick to make its eyes glow in an eerie red light. Thankfully, Arbok was so stunned by the Tackle from earlier that it wasn't able to avoid making eye contact with Noctowl in time. As soon as the cobra met eyes with Noctowl, the energy in its body began to drain away, and it suddenly became lightheaded. Its eyes grew heavy and wouldn't stay open. No longer was it able to keep its balance. Before long, Arbok fell to the ground, asleep and drifting off to a peaceful dreamland.

Once Arbok was asleep, Petrel found his chance. He pressed a button on the computer. The monitor displayed a red box with white letters on it, which read ' _Evolution Inducement Wave Transmitting.'_ Falkner's eyes shrunk in horror. Even more so when he could hear shrill, pained cries coming from just outside.

"Spiiiiiiin!" All of Bugsy's Spinarak had completely keeled over, all lying on the floor, their spindly legs curling in and out, unable to stop. Some of the Spinarak writhed in agony, their bodies shaking violently, like they were having severe epileptic seizures. Others simply kept shaking their heads, crying in shrill, strained voices.

Jasmine came down the hall, stopping at the sight of the group of Spinarak screaming like they had never screamed before. Behind her, two Butterfree and Falkner's Pidgeot stood guard, unaffected by whatever was causing the Spinarak so much pain. Jasmine skidded to the floor, scooping one poor Spinarak in her arms as gently as she could, like she was holding a baby.

"It'll be alright, sweetie. It'll be alright," Jasmine crooned in a soft, motherly voice, stroking Spinarak's back in a slow rhythm. Her heart and ears were assailed by the Pokemon's pained cries. It didn't take long for several officers and Bugsy to witness the scene themselves.

"What is this?!" Bugsy cried. "Spinarak!" He was quick to grab all of his PokeBalls and recall every single Spinarak, saving them from further pain.

Falkner kept his pistol aimed at the two Rocket executives, eyes flaring with rage. "Turn that radio signal off! We know about your plans!"

"As if!" Ariana spat. "We didn't come this far just to let you brainless idiots get in our way!" She roared, baring her teeth like an Arbok ready to snap at its prey.

Too bad it was here that she completely forgot about Noctowl. Seeing an opening, Noctowl took the chance to make its eyes glow in an eerie red light. Suddenly, both Ariana and Petrel found themselves numb. Ariana tried to move her arms, but they did not stir. Petrel tried to stand up from his seat, but his body refused to obey his commands. Nothing happened. Suddenly, their bodies were as lifeless as marble. A glowing red aura surrounded them.

Falkner's mouth fell agape. What happened. "Toroooo!" Noctowl's trill pulled him out of his confusion and he swung his head in his friend's direction. Of course! Noctowl was using Psychic to keep them from moving! Falkner wished he had told Noctowl to do so earlier.

"I...can't...move!" Petrel choked out. Even his vocal chords struggled to make sound, like they were close to turning into stone.

"Now's my chance!" Falkner seized the opportunity. The blue haired man bolted over to the transmitter and pulled out a tangle of plugs from the outlets, shutting it off. The monitors on the computer turned pitch black, with nothing else on the screens. The blinking lights on the rectangular machines stopped glowing. No longer did he hear pained screams coming from the hall behind him.

"Falkner! The signal's stopped!" A police officer yelled as he burst into the room. "You did it!"

"Fools…" Ariana choked out.

Both Falkner and the officer turned to Ariana, who was still trapped by Noctowl's Psychic attack.

"If you think…" Ariana kept hissing every word she spat out. Whether it was Noctowl's powers hindering her or she was intentionally hissing the way she was, neither Falkner or anyone else could tell. "You've won...just you wait!"

There was more? Falkner and the officer exchanged perplexed looks. What else was Team Rocket doing? What else did they have planned? Falkner was sure that stopping the radio signal from airing all over Johto would stop them in their tracks.

Crackling static echoed out from Falkner's walkie-talkie. "Chief Falkner! The signal suddenly started back up again!"

The signal was still airing? But how? Falkner put a hand on his chin. They shut off the transmitter, and Noctowl kept Ariana and Petrel here the entire time. There was no way they could have activated the transmitter.

Unless…

Both Ariana and Petrel flashed smug smirks in his direction, which told them that they were still one step ahead of everyone.

Falkner shouted into the walkie-talkie, "They have a backup transmitter somewhere! Search every inch of the Radio Tower and anything else within its vicinity! Question every Team Rocket member you've got! I repeat, they have a backup transmitter! Find it! Find it!"

* * *

"Shuckle!" A yellow turtle Pokemon with a red shell ran across a grassy field under near a starstruck sky. Behind it, Amara and Gengar gave chase. The ghost Pokemon, sensing an opening, managed to fly further ahead. The turtle Pokemon couldn't afford to stop, its heart thundering with every step it ran. Then, down from the sky came Gengar, its malicious, twisted grin and sharp white teeth frightening the poor Pokemon into freezing up.

"Shu-Shuckle!" The turtle Pokemon shivered. Suddenly, the air around it grew cold. Much colder than it was earlier. Now everything around it seemed almost frigid, like a harsh blizzard was blowing through.

"Gengar! Use Dark Pulse!" Amara commanded. Unlike before, Amara's order wasn't twinged with her usual aggravated annoyance or anger this time.

Gengar only had a second to notice that before shooting a slew of glowing, dark circles right at the helpless turtle. Since Shuckle was too slow to react, the Dark Pulse knocked it right off its feet, sending it rolling across the grass. It did, however, manage to pull its head and legs into its red shell, protecting itself from anything else that could harm it. Once the Dark Pulse attack faded, Shuckle didn't come back out of its shell at all. Its head and legs remained inside, as if it didn't want to come back out again.

But that was just what Amara expected to see happen. "Yes! You weakened it!" Amara cheered before pulling a PokeBall out from her pocket. "Go, PokeBall!"

With a swift throw, the PokeBall landed right on Shuckle's shell, turning it into red light and pulling it inside. The PokeBall then fell to the grass with a soft thud before rolling side to side, the red light blinking. Gengar and Amara could only stop and wait as anticipation gripped them. But already, Amara was wishing the PokeBall would just stop swaying right now. Why did capturing a Pokemon have to take up so much time? Amara groaned after the PokeBall swayed for a third time. She never did like having to do things that took too long. Patience was never one of her strong suits. Many people had told her this, not that she liked admitting it.

Then, the red light faded, and the PokeBall stopped blinking. Amara walked over to the PokeBall and picked it up with one hand. "Yes! We caught a Shuckle!" For once, Amara couldn't help but smile at having caught a new Pokemon.

It was then that Gengar noticed something else. Amara turned in his direction and flashed a soft, proud smile. Gengar raised an eyebrow. Was Amara...smiling at him? That was rare. Amara hardly ever smiled at her Pokemon. Was this some kind of trick? Gengar narrowed his eyes into slits as Amara walked over to him, preparing himself for either a scolding or a slap to the face. The slaps he could handle, as he could easily make himself intangible. At least, unlike the other Pokemon, he had a way to avoid being used as her punching bag.

"Hey, Gengar," Amara said. "Thanks. You did a great job."

What? Gengar's body relaxed, and his eyes widened in shock. Did he hear right? Did Amara just praise him? She actually thanked him? For a moment, the ghost Pokemon thought the night was playing tricks on him. But it wasn't a trick. Gengar functioned best at night. This Amara was still his trainer, as much as he hated to admit it. What's more, Gengar didn't sense any negative feelings inside of her. He didn't feel any negative energy coming from her like he always did. That told him that she was serious. She meant what she said just now. Just like she was serious about having given Granbull to that girl Maria a week before, and for releasing Victreebel.

"I know...I haven't been the nicest trainer towards you," Amara told him, her voice lowering to a soft, almost sad tone. "I don't blame you for hating me. After all, I...still kinda hate Pokemon in a way…But…" She looked down at the PokeBall in her hand. "Maybe...I don't have to spend my life hating the ones I caught myself, you included."

Gengar's feet met the ground beneath him. He had never heard Amara talk in a soft, almost kind voice before. Maybe she did have some good in her after all.

"Do you...want to leave?" Amara asked. "You don't have to stay with me. I can release you-"

"Gengah?"

Rustling leaves stopped their conversation completely. Gengar had longer ears than Amara, so he heard it before she did. In the stillness of the night, anyone could hear just about anything. Then, a white flash of light suddenly ran across their eyes, blinding them.

"Ugh! What?!" Amara squeezed her eyes shut as she shoved Shuckle's PokeBall in her bag. Gengar simply melted into a shadow nearby, disappearing from sight.

"Excuse me! Miss!" A man's voice called out from behind a bush. Amara could feel the light moving away from her eyes, so she found it safe to open them. Still, the pure white light against the dark of the night was still blinding in a way. She was able to make out two adult men coming toward her. Both of them were wearing dark uniforms.

Gold police badges gleamed under the flashlight's rays.

' _Oh crap!'_ Fear pricked her spine. ' _I gotta get outta here right now!'_ It was the police! If they figured out who she was...She quickly turned around, attempting to make a break for it. A hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist, stopping her from moving even a single step.

"It's alright, miss. We're not here to hurt you," A dark haired officer told her kindly.

The officer next to him, a blonde haired gentleman, held a cellphone in his hand, using one finger to scroll through some information about missing people. One image came up that made him stop. A young girl of about thirteen, with light brown hair in a ponytail. The name read Amara Parisa.

"No doubt about it," The blonde haired man said. "She's definitely the runaway from New Bark Town, Amara Parisa. Her hair's a different color, but it's her."

The realization hit her right then and there. The police found her, and they were going to probably send her back to New Bark Town! And she was one badge away from having all eight of them! If she were to go home now, she'd not only have her Pokemon and badges taken away, but it was likely she'd be put on the blacklist permanently.

"You'll have to come with us, Miss," The dark haired officer told her as he escorted her away from the clearing.

"No! I don't want to go home!" Amara yelled, dragging her feet as she tried to use her free hand to push the officer's hand off her wrist. But the officer had an iron grip. It didn't hurt, but the last thing she wanted was to be sent back home. "You can't send me back! I'm not going!"

"You don't have a choice in this one, kid," The policeman with the blonde hair didn't mince any words with the resisting thirteen-year-old.

Her struggle against law enforcement was futile. Even so, Amara couldn't let her journey end here. Not when she had come so far all on her own. "Let me go! Let me go!" She resisted and screamed and thrashed, but Amara was pulled away from the clearing. Nothing she tried convinced the policemen to release her. Before long, she was put into a police car. Gengar, reappearing from the shadows to get a better look, watched as the car with the blue and red lights drove away into the night.

Gengar wasn't sure what to do. Go about his merry way and finally leave her, or try and free her from the police's crutches? It was a hard choice.

* * *

 **A/N** : FINALLY! MarJour's finally been updated after so long! First chapter of the new year and it DOESN'T take months to come out this time! I really hate not being able to work on my stories. But when inspiration and motivation isn't around to make you bang those chapters out, along with life in general, putting a chapter out is like pushing a bulldozer but without using any of the controls, even when you know how you want the chapter to go. Anyway, with this, the Radio Tower arc has started! The second part, hopefully, won't be as hard to write this time around and probably won't take as long. Still, I don't find myself proud of how this chapter came out. Probably because I'm not used to writing about adults or police raids on...well, anything, nor have I really done so before. Even so, this year, I'm not gonna leave MarJour by the wayside in favor of other projects now that I'm almost finished with my Tales of Zestiria fan fic. Not when I've come so close to the end! Expect more chapters to come! Sorry this one took so long to come out!


End file.
